time to transplant..How deep? w or wo leaves
 

time to transplant into large containers..i usually plant them as deep as possible but was wondering what the current thinking is on how deep and with leaves and stems attached (buried) or clipped off? they are quite tall w/ flowers (1.5 ft) Thanks!

1. Any part that is getting buried should have the leaves removed.
2. At least the cotyledons should be removed.
3. If the plants are long & leggy, it might be good to remove some more bottom leaves and bury deeper.
4. Remove any leaves that aren't perfect, such as yellowing leaves.
5. Bury the stem a bit below the bottom set of leaves you've left on. Try to keep the bottom leaves off the dirt.
6. If it's possible, have a few sets of leaves below the flowers. Because: you will want to keep the fruits off the ground, and later on you'll want to remove the leaves below the flowers/fruits to cut down on disease.


Nan

Great list. I could only add, if possible to remove any leaves a while before transplant day so that the wounds can heal before planting. Last year, the only plant I lost at planting was due to burying a freshly pruned stem that rotted where the leaf had been attached.

thanks!
these plants are big..1.5ft i have buried stems w/leaves before..without any problems that i know of. my reasoning was it would be better than an open wound. but i wanted to get opinions from others

Might not matter. I always bury with freshly removed leaves and have never lost one. I don't want the decaying leaves to become diseased and spread to the plant or soil around it. It all depends on your experience I guess. Once you have had a problem doing it one way, you are never likely to want to do that way again until you have a problem doing it another way. :) They should be fine either way and I agree, that is a good list.

I planted in 15 gallon pots but left 10 inches to add one soil later, like Hilling up.
Will they grow more rootstock new soil later? Has anyone tried this?
My thought is as lowerleaves yellow and fruit is higher up, will keep plants fresher and adding more organic will keep from needing fertilizer
Thanks

Welcome to Tomatoville, Bobscactus!



I think you want the plants to make roots first, and then make fruit later.
If you add soil later, it will feed them.

It is good to keep the lower leaves away from the ground. This helps prevent disease.



So I don't know if it is better to add soil now or later.

Nan

My thinking is that if the plant is not leggy there is no point in burying it. I've had in some years leggy seedlings that I buried deeper, and can't say they've done any better.

I do it differently depending on the seedling as well. If they are small or nice and bushy and filled out, I plant at the same level they are in the pot. If they are leggy, I plant deeper, depending on how leggy they look. They need to be able to stand upright without support ideally, so I try to plant the taller leggy ones deep enough to do that.