Posted on 03/09/2012 10:51:08 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
.
Good afternoon gardeners! After a high of 81 degrees yesterday, we are at 50 degrees today after experiencing high winds and 3 inches of rain last night. Radar would indicate that there is more rain to come, as I see it in Texas right now. I hope that all of our Texas gardeners are catching up on much needed rain! PTL!
We have so many new gardeners in our group, in addition to folks with the desire to begin gardening, that I thought a primer on transplanting might be useful. Please feel free to add to the discussion with your regular practices. And, as always, please feel free to ask any questions that you may have. This group loves to share information, and advice is free for the asking!
Because I plant over 100 tomato plants every year, I've got my transplanting down to a science that works for me and allows me to move down the row quickly. My tools are a bulb planter, a old spoon from the kitchen, a small bucket and several 2-liter soda bottles. (One day I'd love to do a thread on all of the common non-garden-related items we all use in our gardens.)
I start off my mixing up several bottles of a starter fertilizer, either the TNT pictured below, or Miracle Grow Quick Start. Whatever you use, make sure it is a low-nitrogen product, or you will grow lovely leaves and not much else. I also put some tomato food around the base of the tomato after transplant. Please notice the N-P-K formulation on these products. Similar products from any manufacturer are fine, these are what stores in my area offer for sale.
My tomatoes are planted through a commercial quality landscape fabric for weed control and moisture retention. It has other benefits, but weed control is my major concern. I begin by measuring off 30 inch increments and marking them on my fabric, then I go back and cut X's in the fabric and fold the corners under to access the soil.
Begin by digging your hole. I use a bulb planter because it makes the perfect diameter hole for a transplant that comes from a commercial 6-9 pack, or the small newspaper pots that I make myself. Tomatoes should be planted "deep", so dig your hole accordingly.
Here is an example of a bulb planter:
By "deep", I mean that you are going to plant more than just the roots, you are going to plant at least half of the stalk as well, up to 3/4 of the height of the plant is perfectably acceptable. Bonnie Plants, which supplies the likes of WalMart, Lowes and Home Depot garden centers, used to suggest 80% of the plant stem, but they have since backed that off to 2/3. This method is really the ONLY way to grow the strongest possible plant. Roots will develop on the entire length of the stem that is buried, giving your plants lots of roots to anchor the plant, as well as the ability to absorb more moisture and nutrients. In the photo below, the top of my index finger is indicating how deep I'm going to plant this tomato.
The next photo shows that I have pinched-off the leaves of the plant up to the point that I will bury the stem. This is not a required step, many folks let them stay, but it is my personal preference to remove them to avoid air pockets around the new roots.
Next, gently place your plant in the hole you've prepared. You can see from the photos below that there is enough room in the hole to surround the delicate roots with looser soil to accomodate quick spread and avoid transplant shock.
In the next step, you should replace the soil you removed with the bulb planter, just enough to cover the existing rootball. I use the small bucket to break up the soil and hold it until I'm ready to put it back. If you're not working on landscape fabric, of course you can keep the soil on the ground next to the hole. The important thing is making sure you break it up well.
Then water that soil in with your starter fertilizer/water mixture. Water until the loose soil is underwater and then allow it to soak in. It only takes a minute or less.
After the water soaks in and settles the loose soil, fill in the remainder of the hole, and build it up to a small pyramid. The next rain or watering will take that pyramid down to level ground and, if it doesn't, that's okay too. At this point if you have not already fertilized your soil, place a tablespoon or two of a good tomato fert around the base of the plant. DO NOT let the crystals touch the stem!
My final step is unfolding the landscape fabric to cover the soil, and standing back to watch the growth!
.
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
Please add me to your weekly garden thread. I’m a newbie but would like to grow some tomatoes in a container this year. Thank you.
I use a velcro tape to tie the plants to the rebar. It is reuseable from year to year. I am going on year 4 with some of the pieces.
Thanks.
I know a better way to set those tomatoe plants in the ground.
Make a furrow and set the plant in it laying down on its side. Have some of that stalk in the furrow too. The entire length of plant in the furrow will turn into root structure which will increase the capacity of the plant to get nutrients.
Go Tigers!
Howdy, howdy. It’s 55 and overcast in my corner of the DelMarVa Peninsula, after being in the 70s yesterday. It was supposed to clear up by now, but it looks like it wants to rain again. The ground is still over saturated from the rains we got last week, and last night’s rain didn’t help any.
You’re welcome. Thank you for stopping in.
In our divided house, it is always the Tigers ... me with Auburn and my husband with LSU. I’ll yell for LSU if they aren’t playing Auburn. :)
Hey! We are thankful for the rain after last year’s drought, but it has been an awfully wet winter. Thank goodness my husband and son got several hundred acres of corn planted earlier this week. It’s not too late yet, but it is getting close and we have hundreds of acres yet to go.
Here’s a tomato stake ‘horror story’ for you. My elderly aunt has had a vegetable garden all her life. Back ‘in the day’ (depression years), you had a garden or you starved. Anyway, even in her older years, she has always had a small garden in the back yard. When she was 81 or 82, she was pushing wooden tomato stakes into the ground (from a standing position) and when they didn’t go in easily or deep enough, she was really pushing hard and leaning into the stake. Well, a stake she was leaning on broke and she fell head-first into the dirt. As she became aware of where she was and more or less what had happened, she realized she couldn’t move …. not her arms or legs. She laid there for quite some time and, in her usual calm manner, had decided that she was probably going to die, right there, lying in the garden.
As time went on, she began to feel tingling in her hands and then her feet … gradually she was able to move her arms and legs. She tried to get up, but her neck was hurting so she took both hands and held her neck and tried to get up again. Being an older woman, she always wore cotton dresses and even though she was able to get to her knees, the dress was keeping her from walking on her knees or getting up. She started trying to call for help. Her neighbor had a side porch where he stored junk on the side of the house facing my Aunt’s house. She said he NEVER came out on that porch ….. but that particular day he did, heard her weak cries for help and came to her aid & called the Rescue Squad. It turns out that she had a broken neck …. they put her in a halo brace and the doc told her that it would be a ‘wait and see’ …. at her age, he wasn’t sure if her bones would heal on their own or if she would need surgery. She recovered just fine – neck healed up, no surgery needed and no adverse affects. February 1 of this year, she turned 92 and is doing fine, if a little forgetful these days.
I guess this illustrates another REALLY good reason to use rebar! :-)
Excellent article.
Even though we are having a mild winter here in CNY, I can’t wait to garden.
Wow ... I am so thankful she was okay in the end. What a trooper!
Holy cow. What a story!
LSU is playing Kentucky, but they are falling behind...
For me, tomato cages ended up being nothing more than a perch for the birds that enabled them to ruin ever tomato they could reach. I haven’t had a bit of damage by birds since changing to rebar! My tomato cages always bent and collapsed or fell over. They are okay for smaller varieties of peppers though.
Thank you so much!
Your tomatoes are nearly on top of each other. How do you avoid disease? Isn’t your crop yield low? You must water alot for such dense planting.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.