Repotting

[nnjjohn]

I'm using the small 72 cell jiffy tray cells with the plastic hood.. now the hood is off and the sprouts are under a fluorescent fixture.. I used pot mix to fill 3 inch cups and will transplant them by using a sardine fork and it works lifting the roots and all out to drop into the 3 in. cups I bought for 12 at a dollar store. I guess I'm going to eventually bring them outside for sun time as prescribed here.. one hr first and increase that as i see fit each day? All I know is I give myself an "F" for last few seasons doing it before I started using the seedling approach learned here.. If I have to buy plants for failing again , no big deal.. but I like trying it this year thanks for this tomatoville site

[Havman]

OK, I give. Can someone tell me what dampening off plants means? I understand how. I just wonder why? Super new at this and learning from the tomatovillians everyday.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Havman

OK, I give. Can someone tell me what dampening off plants means? I understand how. I just wonder why? Super new at this and learning from the tomatovillians everyday.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.b2I&cad=rja

[livinonfaith]

Even if you do break a plant in half, plant it anyway. In fact, if there are leaves on both the rooted part and the top broken part, plant both! As long as a tomato plant has leaves and is put immediately into moist soil, it has a good chance to either grow side shoots or root from the bottom.

Of course, it will take it a little while to repair itself, so if you have plenty of extra non-broken ones, you would probably want to use those instead.

Tomatoes are incredibly tough when they are young!

[Cole_Robbie]

The wiki article on damping off had a long list of causal agents. I had thought that it was almost always pythium that was the culprit (maybe that's just in hydroponics), and pythium is one of those everywhere all the time bacteria. What makes a plant die from it is that the bacterial balance has tipped too far in the pythium direction. They overpopulate, and it kills everything. Roots rotted from pythium smell just like potatoes that have rotted in the ground.

[Stvrob]

I give the roots a pretty vigorous workout where they were touching the edges of their previous container to make sure none of the circling roots survive. Im not actually sure I do it the right way, but it has always worked for me. For other plants (nursery container grown, not veggies) I will take a sharp knife and carve off about 1/2" of the soil and roots around the edge of the container. For permanent landscape plants you most definitely do NOT want a circling root. and I assume it doesnt do a tomato any good either.

I've found tomato plants to be very resistant to abuse when up potting. I've purposely abused them by pulling them from the soil by the stem and bare roots and up potting them. I've never been able to see any difference between those abused plants and up potted plants treated gently. I always make sure the soil is soft and the plant pulls easily.

This year, I experimented with not up potting at all. I let all my seedlings remain in the six pack cells they germinated in. They performed well with the exception of getting a little leggy and root bound. I planted average 18" tall plants outside in the soil on March 3 and they are doing fine. They haven't started the fast growth rate in the soil this spring as they did last year. I believe it is more a matter of the weather cycles we have experienced this year over last than the overall smaller root balls.

When I'm ready to plant the seedlings in the soil, I run a sharp steak knife around the inside edge of the container or pot. By cutting any roots which may be attached to the pot, the plants seem to slide out easier from the container.

Ted

Oops! duplicate post.

[Got Worms?]

OOPS...wrong thread

Oh well, I was going to post here anyway....

When I pot up from yogurt cups to cut down 2 liter soda (pop) bottles (4 1/2" dia.) , I do the old Vulcan Greeting ("Live long and prosper") stem between the fingers of my left hand and grip the cup. Turning it upside down (palm up) I squeeze the sides of the cup and roll it with the fingers of my right hand. A little shake and I'm holding the root ball. I then use my right hand again to tease/tickle most of the soil from the roots, hardly touching the seedling a all.

At this point it is fairly light and I can hold it by the leaves without the weight of a root ball.
If a leaf tears off it's a whole lot better than if the stem breaks.

I pot into the 4 1/2" plastic bottles, because not only does it give me about 25% more capacity for the root system over a 4" pot, so I can start earlier, but when I plant out to the garden; the size is perfect for the 5" auger that fits in my 1/2" battery operated drill, and makes things go quickly, neatly, and easily.
Live long and prosper in your garden!
Charlie

[Deborah]

Ted, I'll take your word for it but that scared me !

[socalgardengal]

LOL, I like the drill and auger for making holes, thanks for the great idea!

[OtterJon]

I'm with ted on this one...I usually try to kick at least a few of them...and trip and break a few in half....not abusive to plants...just very clumsy..grab them by the stems...Nothing really seems to phase the tomato, is what I'm saying....last year I broke one by accident...and threw the remanants in the weeds...three days later I felt bad and planted what was left in a pot....and about two weeks later...with no leaves just stalk...green popped up...and I ended up caring for it all season..
They can be relentless root producers. I have hurt more plants with overcare then undercare...when I first started...I doted...and over fertilized..Not saying it's the right way to do it...(actually the opposite) but just saying...tomatoes are tough guys....and I have found "handle with care" doesn't seem to matter much...though I do try. Ever want to test their fortitude...cut a stalk or sideshoot...with a couple leaves left..put in a brown bottle with water..and place in a sunny window..within two weeks or less, it will produce a ton of roots, and you now have a clone of the plant.

I take some of my plants indoors in the waning days of summer here in Northern Michigan, cut them down to almost nothing..and they go under Ceramic Metal Halide lights...and it's April now...and will go back outside once the weather gets warm enough...for next season. I have about 5 that I have kept going for about 4 years now...it's like seeing old friends when they bloom out.

Jon

[guruofgardens]

Havman - you deserve an 'atta boy' for starting your own plants from seeds, learning how to care for them, KEEPING them healthy, leaning a hardening off process, and then planting them into the soil where they will thrive.

Keep the questions coming as you have great answers from expert tomato plant growers here. There's nothing like fresh picked tomatoes on a hot summer afternoon.

[RebelRidin]

I pot up into the generic drink cups (16 oz) from the dollar store. 2$ for a pack of 39. I use a long 1/4" drill bit and drill two holes down through the stacked cups. Quick and easy, literally takes less than a minute to prepare a whole package. I like the translucent cups because you can see the root growth and the moisture in the potting mix...

PS "Atta boy!"

[guruofgardens]

Yes, socalgardengal! I love using a drill to put holes in the cups. Just got a Dremel drill and the zip-zip-zip through 4 cups at once made for an easier project. A few years ago I was using pushpins to make drainage holes - everyone - DON'T do is this way as the cups/plants just don't absorb the water from the bottom.