Proper Tomato Planting

Spring has sprung and it’s time for many of us to start preparing for the best crop of tomatoes ever! Some of you can boast of having a fine tomato crop last year and some of you can’t but, as they say, there’s always next year. Well, “next year” has arrived and hope springs eternal.

Meanwhile, I have recently discovered some very interesting things about our favorite garden fruit-the tomato. There are those who have studied the internal workings of all kinds of vegetables, including tomatoes. Their findings suggest that some of the things we have been doing with our tomatoes have perhaps not been in our best interest at all. 

Most of us like to plant our tomatoes early, hoping for an early harvest. And some of us plant our transplants as deep as possible after removing one or more leaves, thinking that they will grow more roots along the stem. More roots equal more leaves and stems equal more tomatoes. Not necessarily.

Experiments were conducted in which different numbers of leaves were removed from tomatoes at transplant time. Later, the root systems of these plants were examined. Those with no leaves removed had the largest root systems. Surprisingly, those that had all but the top cluster of leaves removed grew almost no new roots at all, from neither the original root ball nor the part of the stem that was buried. In fact, since those plants had no energy to grow new roots, it took eight weeks for them to recover, according to the researchers. 

Ideally, plants should be set out in the garden just a little deeper than they were planted in the container. Generally, the container should be at least three inches in size for best root growth. Plant the transplants up to the first set of leaves. Don’t remove any healthy leaves at all. Tomatoes do have the ability, as advertised, to grow roots anywhere along the stem, but every single leaf is important, if it is green and healthy. Ostensibly, removing a leaf reduces the energy that a transplant will have for making new roots. 

The research suggests, however, that if the plant is pot bound and leggy, it is best to go ahead and bury the stem. Why? Because it probably won’t be able to grow many new roots, and most of the new roots will form above the root ball along the stem anyway. But, removing any healthy leaves under any circumstances is not recommended, because they are needed to grow new roots. 

It is also a bad idea to set out a tomato plant with any fruit on it. That one fruit, it is thought, will hog practically all the nutrients available to the young transplant. What we growers need to be doing is encouraging the growth of new roots, since a good crop of roots means a good crop of fruits later on. But with a developing fruit attached, the plant directs most of its energy to the fruit at the expense of new root production. Plant development will also be delayed several days. According to the research, once a plant has a full fruit set on it, the roots don’t grow any more at all. 

If you have a tomato transplant with even one fruit on it, it is best to remove it and let the plant develop more roots instead. You will be much better off in the long run. 

Moreover, I suspect that the aforementioned principles will apply to peppers as well. 

Tim Lewis is a Georgia Green Industry Association Certified Plant Professional, gardening writer, and former Perry High School horticulture instructor. He can be reached at (478)954-1507 or timlewis1@windstream.net.