Should I uproot my tomatoes and plant them deeper?
Question:I just planted twelve little tomato plants between about five and nine inches tall a week or so ago, but realized last night, after conducting some tomato research online, that I probably didn't plant them deeply enough. I buried the roots and maybe an extra inch of stem, but the websites I read recommend burying 75 percent of the plant to ensure root growth. I know that root growth is important to tomatoes, but hadn't realized that I needed to bury a whole _75 percent_ of the plant. Now I'm worried that they're going to turn out poorly even though I've been devoting a lot of time to watering them and getting them their two gallons a week, and am planning to stake them shortly. Should I uproot and re-bury them at the proper depth, or will this just cause unnecessary trauma? What will happen if I leave them as they are?
Answers:
Your plants will be fine. I've never heard of burying more than an inch or two of the stem, and I've certainly grown plenty of tomatoes without burying 75% of the stem :-) Whatever stem you put under the ground will produce roots very quickly; as long as you stake them, you're in good shape. If you can get tomato cages, they are a lot better than stakes, in my opinion, as they support the plant from all directions; the more support, the better your fruit will be.
They will be OK when they take off.
I have NEVER buried 75% of a tomato plant. They might benefit from having the very lowest leaves buried but mine are doing fine and they aren't 75% underground.
rather than uprooting them, why don't you just mound some soil over them? I don't know about 75%, I've never done that and I've always had beautiful tomatoes.
you can always mound up dirt around them as high as you want they will grow new roots out of the side of the plants it will make you plants mush much more stronger and you will have to water them less
No one buries 75% of a tomato plant, it would probably die. Just leave them alone and they will be fine. Get the tomato cages now before they get too big, not silly stakes
I have been planting tomato plants for years and never heard that 75% thing,I think your bigger problem is (if your in the same zone as me, east cost) you planted too late in the growing season,I usually plant around may 15th or after the last frost.Tomoato plants can take 60-90 days to produce edible fruit. You can even plant earlier but you run the risk of frost killing you plants,happened to me in the past.
Sounds like the consensus is adding more soil to cover more of the stem. When they say bury "75%" they mean 75% of the stem,,,,not the whole plant. I usually bury them up to the first outcropping of folage. It is good to do this as the stems will sprout roots and you "will" have better growth. Oh Ya... it is sort'a late to planting them. You may not get much crop.
Tomato plants are actually vines; that's why some people recommend burying so much of them at planting time (but not 75%). Uprooting and reburying them at this point, as you already realize, could cause trauma. Tip for next year (what I do): plant them against a trellis. My tomato plants grow up 7 feet tall this way.
Please do not uproot them. Just add more healthy dirt...otherwise, you might not get any tomatoes from them if you transplant them.
Best wishes.
I think it would depend on the soil, is it fresh and ideal for growing veggies? If it is, I wouldn't replant them, if anything try to loosen up the dirt with a hand held fork ( not a dinner fork :) And loosen up the soil around each stem. With proper sun light and water there shouldn't be any difference than replanting them. If the soil is generally tough I would dig small holes by the stem and throw in earth worms, they work miracles.
tomatoes arelike weeds, they will grow if simply planted in some good old earth. I agree with mnost of the others, NO ONE plants them any deeper than you did. how you planted them was perfect. Egads they grow as long as they have dirt and water. I recently cut one at the stem by mistake when weeding... tossed the cut off stem aside on the ground, and now the dern thing has grown all by itself to almost a foot high plant! oh and i live in Connecticut USA, I planted on may 5th this year.I already have beans and tomatoes 6inches sized so pooey on those who say plant later..
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