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Posted by poppy1980 (U14508471) on Tuesday, 12th April 2011
Hi, i know they are no where near ready yet, but how big should tomato plants be before you plant them outside into pots/raised beds?? also mine are currently in 3inch pots, will i need to pot them on again? also i have forgotten to label mine, Gardeners Delight, and 100s and 1000s any way of telling them apart before it is too late - whoops??
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You can plant out when the seedlings are 4 to 6 inches high. If they've already been transplanted they don't need another one before planting out. If they haven't been transplanted yet, it's a good idea to do it. A transplant shocks the roots and gives them a kick along.
When planting out it's a good idea to take off all the leaves up to the top set and plant deeply, right down to the top leaves so they're all you see above ground. All of the stem that's underground will develop into root structure.
If the toms are all regular leaf varieties, there's no way of telling them apart unless you're familiar with the particular varieties' growth habits.
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All the leaves to the top set?? wow, sounds drastic, but if thats how to do i might give that a go when i plant mine out.
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The roots are the key to a tomato's success, dave, and the stem that's buried - after you've nipped off the leaves - will all become roots. Gives the plant a terrific foundation instead of just relying on the existing baby roots. Most of the serious tomato growers do it.
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Roots are the key you're right. I too plant my outdoor toms deeply.
Indoors I also plant deep but in deep pots which I don't fill to the top with compost. As the tomato plant grows I top up the pot over the course of a few weeks with more compost, encouraging more roots at the surface of the compost each time.
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Good stuff. It's amazing how quickly and easily tomatoes will root. If a branch trails on the ground for a week it will have already started trying to set roots.
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Highly technical enterprise! It is not beyond me, but the costs are high in terms of purchased compost , coilhotbeds, greenhouses.
Has anybody got non-fisherman's crop results over the last few years, or even one?
I've always been one fo0r chucking seed out on to soil and hoping.
Broad beans,French beans, poppy seeds, aquilegia seeds,and so on.
The enthusiasm of boarders has changed me!
I can now see the advantage of growing controlled quantities, and knowing what one has got ,and where!
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