Disturb roots or not?

[Tracey]

Well, I am happy to report that the heirloom Lakota tomatoes I started from seed back on April 2nd are three inches tall and ready for transplant.

6/9 germinated.

I have read to plant them up to the first set of true leaves and will do this for sure.

I have an old wise Italian neighbour, master gardener from the old country, he tells me when I transplant into bigger pots, to shake off old soil from roots as this will cause the roots to grow stronger in the new pot. He does this transplant to bigger and then bigger pots about 3 or 4 times before planting in his green house. His tomatoes are spectacular.

I am more inclined to leave the roots alone, pop seedlings of their small cells so gently so as to not disturb the roots.

So which is it folks? What do you recommend.

Great forum btw, I have been reading and gathering so much info, I hope I am not double posting with my inquiry today.

Thanks! ~Trace

[organichris]

Originally Posted by Tracey

Well, I am happy to report that the heirloom Lakota tomatoes I started from seed back on April 2nd are three inches tall and ready for transplant.

6/9 germinated.

I have read to plant them up to the first set of true leaves and will do this for sure.

I have an old wise Italian neighbour, master gardener from the old country, he tells me when I transplant into bigger pots, to shake off old soil from roots as this will cause the roots to grow stronger in the new pot. He does this transplant to bigger and then bigger pots about 3 or 4 times before planting in his green house. His tomatoes are spectacular.

I am more inclined to leave the roots alone, pop seedlings of their small cells so gently so as to not disturb the roots.

So which is it folks? What do you recommend.

Great forum btw, I have been reading and gathering so much info, I hope I am not double posting with my inquiry today.

Thanks! ~Trace

I say you may want to listen to the old man. If he is a master gardener and he is willing to give you advice, and you still want to maintain that relationship, you can demonstrate your value of his opinion by listening to him.

For the record, I wouldn't probably do it the way he suggested. But I do a lot of strange and unusual things anyway. Most people would think some of the fertilizer concoctions I brew up are the work of a mad man.

[Worth1]

I'm no Master but I have to tell you, you cannot hurt the roots.

I rip plants apart with no regard to the roots and they do just fine.

The things will not know the difference in a week.

Now some plants dont like their roots disturbed but a tomatoes are not one of them.


Worth

[RayR]

It's near impossible to ★★★★★ out seedlings from cells without disturbing the roots anyway. Just make sure to water them in good to their new soil.

[tam91]

Maybe try a few his way, and a few the regular way (potting up once, not shaking the soil off the roots).

Carolyn posted about the fact that potting up once changes the natural taproot structure of the roots to a more fibrous system, which is beneficial.

I'm not sure there is an advantage to potting up repeatedly, but if you have enough to try it both ways, you could see which works better.

[rxkeith]

you do not have to be very gentle with the roots. i shake off the dirt chunks so they are easier to transplant. as long as the tiniest piece of root is still on, the plant will grow. there is no one right way of doing things. still, you do want to pay attention to people that consistently have good results, especially the old timers.


keith

[Lunacy]

This is the second time I've heard a long time gardener that gets great results talk about removing the soil when potting up. I think I will have to try it.

[amideutch]

Since you have 6 seedlings I would do as tam91 suggested and try the technique on a few and do a comparison. Ami

[b54red]

I have some older seedlings that are root bound and need to be potted up again to a larger pot if they are to survive much longer. I think I will try what you mentioned and see how it works. I have plenty of seedlings to experiment with and I try all kind of crazy things and sometimes one of them pays off.

[Tracey]

Wonderful people you all are, thanks for all the replies!

I think I will experiment with both methods and see what happens. Glad to hear tomato roots are tough fellas. It will be very interesting to see if the plant, blooms, fruit and roots differ between the two methods (seems to me that if the roots differ, the rest of the plant will too). That is, if I can NOT disturb the roots on one of the batches.

I do have such deep respect for my elders and their wisdom. I am quite honored that in in years past he has shared his seedlings with me and guided me along on how to prune the suckers, how much to water, etc. He says he is proud of my tomatoes and that last year I got more fruit that he did (although I don't think so, I do feel a huge grin coming on when he tells other neighbours this). Truly, I have much to learn!

Again, many thanks for all your opinions and experience, it is really appreciated!