Re: [tomato] seedling transplant
Byron.Bromley (Tomato@GlobalGarden.com)
Wed, 3 Mar 1999 12:56:11 -0500
Maragaret,
I said breaking the tap root. If the tap root gets too long
you have a greater chance of breaking it pulling out of
starting medium or placing into potting medium. Once the tap
root is gone so is the plant basicaly. You will get some growth
but a very poor plant.
I have also found the deeper the pot the better, Most of mine
go into a 4in dia by 6in deep pot. This allows the tap root to grow
longer and send out more feeder roots.
I have a 90 to 100 day tomato growing season, If I can get 12 to 16 in
plants to transplant, I have a higher productivity.
Byron
----------
From: margaret lauterbach <mlaute@micron.net>
To: Tomato@GlobalGarden.com
Subject: Re: [tomato] seedling transplant
Date: Wednesday, March 03, 1999 9:32 AM
At 06:39 PM 3/2/99 -0500, you wrote:
>In 3 of my seed cataloges, Johnny's, Stokes and Vesey's
>they say to transplant as soon as the seed leaves are 3/8 in
>long.
>
> I tried some peppers and tomatoes in Jiffy 7's about 2 in deep.
>Some varities will have a tap root into the netting before the first
>true leaves are even formed, Removing netting or transplanting from 2 in
>pots increases the chance of breaking the tap root. Once that's done
>the plant might as well go to the compost pile.
> A sweet orange cherry or Amish paste will have a 2 in tap root before
>the seed leaves are standing upright.
> Some varieties have a very fast root development, a simple test
>is to plant into a 1qt clear plastic food service container, and watch
>for roots, I have had a few plants that had surface roots 80% down
>the side of the container before the plant was into the 3rd true leaf
>stage.
>
>Byron
>
Bending doesn't hurt roots, Byron. Margaret