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To: Diana in Wisconsin

8a and 8b, the plants will do fine if I plant them now but if I repotted them I could get them looking better and stronger and more durable, but......... if I repotted them how long would they need to spend in the new pots before I ground planted them, how long does it take them to recover and gain something from the repotting?

If it takes too long to make a gain from repotting, or if little is gained, then I may as well put them into the ground right now, my ground temperatures are adequate already.


643 posted on 03/29/2026 8:01:52 AM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: ansel12

If this is your normal planting time, then go ahead and put them in the ground.

HOWEVER - I think you’ll have better results and less loss if you follow my lead:

My tomato plants are re-potted from under lights in the house when they have two sets of ADULT leaves (not the little seed leaves) for about 4 weeks before I plant mine at the end of May. They also go into the unheated greenhouse then because it’s plenty warm in there.

Then, I move them outside during the day, and inside at night to ‘harden them off’ which makes the plant stronger. The wind moves them around a bit to toughen up the stems.

I put a 1/2 cup of crushed eggshells and a 1/2 cup of bone meal in the planting holes when I plant them out, then I cage them and fertilize them when I see the first blooms forming. The first items prevent Blossom End Rot. Works like a charm.


645 posted on 03/29/2026 8:19:47 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: ansel12

If I don’t disturb the roots much, I find very little loss from repotting tomato plants into larger pots, and if the soil / potting soil they get potted in is good, they usually do very well / get a net gain. However, esp. with determinate plants, this year I may just start 2/3 plants in large pots and cull the weaklings or attempt to separate and repot them into a cooler location to (hopefully) fruit later, as the early producers fade.


662 posted on 03/29/2026 3:34:28 PM PDT by Paul R. (Old Viking saying: "Never be more than 3 steps away from your weapon ... or a Uriah Heep song!" ;-))
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