Seperating Tomato Plants?

[AlittleSalt]

We bought a Sunsugar tomato transplant that has two plants in the container. The plants are 4.5" tall. Is it safe to separate the plants at this stage?

[Worth1]

Yes just rip them apart trying not to do a ton of damage like snapping off the top or something.
I do it all the time.

[PaulF]

I agree...have at it.

[zendog]

Sometimes I pop them out of the pot and just use a serrated knife and cut down through the soil between them. That way I leave at least some of their roots undisturbed. They often don't even show any signs of the abuse, especially when they're young like yours.

[Rajun Gardener]

If you let the soil dry out it makes it easy to separate them with almost no damage to any roots. I do that when I have 60 plants in a 3"x 6" pot and never lose any plants.

[ContainerTed]

Robert, it's really a case of gentle persuasion. Prepare two new cups for the two plants and then get the two out of the original container. Then begin using your fingers and thumbs to gently dig into the plug. Don't be concerned about losing the mix around the roots. That's what the new homes are for. You're going to end up with two handfuls of some amount of growing medium and one plant each.

It is not a problem if you expose the bare roots for a very short time. Put the two plants into their new homes and firm up the growing medium around them to make sure they can stand on their own. Then water them in and allow them to drain well. Now put them in a "quiet" place for a day or two. Now you can treat them just like you would treat any other "single" plants you purchase from the retailers.

[Worth1]

Sometimes I wash the plant roots apart with a hose.

[taboule]

I concur with these treatments for tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. Then I ask, how about other plants, do the following fare as well?

Lettuce, cabbage, others

Thanks

[Scooty]

Originally Posted by taboule

I concur with these treatments for tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. Then I ask, how about other plants, do the following fare as well?

Lettuce, cabbage, others

Thanks

When I thin lettuce, cabbage, I actually split them and use tweezers to put them in another seed tray. The only ones that probably can't be treated the same way are more delicate seedlings - i.e. strawberries, some herbs, peas (kind of can be thinned and transplanted but its incredibly difficult to do it consistently), root veggies (carrots, radishes, etc..)

[SueCT]

Funny, I have found it easier to pull them apart after watering, when still wet. I also like to make sure they have had some time to take up some of the water first, figuring there will probably be a little shock to each plant right afterwards and they will be putting more energy into repairing root than taking up water right away. I have no scientific way of defending that thinking, however, lol. Anyway, I have never lost a plant that I can rememer doing this when both plants started out healthy.

[Scooty]

Originally Posted by SueCT

Funny, I have found it easier to pull them apart after watering, when still wet. I also like to make sure they have had some time to take up some of the water first, figuring there will probably be a little shock to each plant right afterwards and they will be putting more energy into repairing root than taking up water right away. I have no scientific way of defending that thinking, however, lol. Anyway, I have never lost a plant that I can rememer doing this when both plants started out healthy.

Same.

[AlittleSalt]

Thank you everyone. I did think about a big pair of scissors as I separated the plants. I had just bottom watered them. There were a lot of roots that filled the container. Roughly guessing at it - I would say the container is 3 inches wide x 4 inches tall.

I have done the mass planting as I watched in Craig's videos, but not separated tomato plants that big. I wasn't even going to buy the plants until I realized I didn't have any orange tomatoes otherwise. I have also read that Sunsugar tastes really good. Besides, I think saying "No" when tomato plant shopping is against the rules here at Tomatoville

[Rajun Gardener]

Referring to drying plants before separating them.
You need to try it dry. It's so light and falls off the roots just like when you initially put dry seed starting mix in the starter pots. The mix literally just falls off the roots with little effort and the roots hold on to some of the mix but not much.


And.... Don't worry about them being dry, they will grow better if you make the plant search for moisture. I usually don't have to water seedlings more than maybe twice before they get transplanted. I'm not an expert but I think the drying out process acts like air root pruning the same way it works in fabric bags.

Here's some pics from last year and you can see what I'm talking about.


All of these are separated and I just layed them down to make it easier to grab to transplant.



They grew healthy and strong, most were sold to a garden center.

[ddsack]

I prefer doing it dry too, there isn't any "sticky" water tension holding them all together, so they come apart faster and more easily with less pulling. And you water right after you replant them, so they won't be dry long enough to make a difference. Sometimes I forget, or decide to separate right after I've watered, and then I do wish they were dryer. But tomato plants are very resilient, so it really doesn't matter which way you do it.

[Worth1]

To make it legal you need a lawyer.