What's more productive - root of leaves

[mobiledynamics]

Let's say for arguments say, when you transplant, you have a 10 inch exposed stem tall plant. With 5-7 inches of root mass.

Would you split the difference and just leave 5 inches of growth above the soil line and bury the rest in.

Or leave the 10 inches alone so it can catch the sun

I'm doing something different this year - to some degree. My goal is to continue upsizing - I think I got 1 more pot upsize before the final pot - I'm going to put them in 1 Gallon RootPots until final transplant. I might even keep them in rootpouches for a bit before they go into dirt/larger pots as the roots love the air exchange they get when in root pouches.

----

To expound on this topic deeper, buring deeper. Is there a indifference whether one does it in dirt or pot (in my case, pot is fast draining airy mix of perlite/composted bark).

[nbardo]

Where are the first set of leaves on that 10 inch stem? Thats how deep I would plant it. But I am no expert.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ricky Shaw]

I just plant them at the roughly the same relative depth they were at on transplant. I want the first cluster at 12 to 16 inches off the ground and prune to this point anyway. Normally that first cluster is around the 3rd to 5th axil, so planting axils puts me too low to the ground on the first cluster and I totally avoid pruning clusters.

The plant will come to a proper root and leaf balance on it's own once it's got adequate nutrients,sufficient sunlight, and proper soil temps. I could be wrong.

[Al@NC]

I think alot of people advise you to bury as much stem as possible including taking off the initial 2 cotyledon leaves and burying past them as well (if you look at the hairs on the stem, most of the stem can become root!).

The bigger the root the bigger the plant generally speaking. This is the advised way to grow "leggy" seedlings as well.

Photo is from this site below where it talks more about planting tomatos:

https://garden.org/courseweb/vegetab...ASS4/c4p6.html

Al

[SueCT]

Stocky plants with thick stems I plant as is at the same level it is in the pot. Plants that are a little tall and/or leggy from being in the pot too long or lack of light or starting a little too early, I plant deeply to encourage more root development. I find plants that are too tall and don't have thick stems are at risk of bending over in wind/rain, getting stuck to the mud and at risk of early onset of diseases, bend/broken stems, etc. So I guess I don't have one way of doing it, I base it on the plant at hand and what I think that plant needs.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Al@NC

I think alot of people advise you to bury as much stem as possible including taking off the initial 2 cotyledon leaves and burying past them as well (if you look at the hairs on the stem, all of that stem can become root!).

The bigger the root the bigger the plant generally speaking. This is the advised way to grow "leggy" seedlings as well.

Photo is from this site below where it talks more about planting tomatos:

https://garden.org/courseweb/vegetab...ASS4/c4p6.html

Al

I just burry them up to the first true leaves , pinching off the cot leaves. This should provide enough burried stem to stand against the wind and grow possibly more roots.
Later on as the plant get taller and has flower truss , and fruits appear then I trim the leaf branches below that. I have sèen how they do it in commercial greenhouses :NO LEAVES BELOW THE LOWEST FRUIT SET. Of course , they use Lower n Lean method of support. To me it make sense. Most often the leaves below the lowest fruits set are getting old and yellow. By then there should be plenty of foliage up on top for photo synthesis. This system provides good air flow under the plant and can be effective in reducing the chance of fungal disease and mold.

[bower]

In my experience, roots will expand to fill your container whether you bury the stem or not. I am limited by the depth of container but also feel there's a tradeoff between getting fruit starting closer to the ground by planting deep, soil being cooler at depth and, if I planted at the bottom of the container, nowhere for the natural roots to grow into, meanwhile losing extra leaves to plant the stem is going to be a photosynthesis setback and slow the progress of both root and stem growth etc. that is at the time of planting and when they have to handle transplant shock...

I do think it's good to plant at least deeper than the cotyledons, let them serve as root initials without sacrificing a lot of leaf at transplant time.

The trench planting approach for leggy seedlings is good for outdoors here, because you're laying the stem pretty close to the surface where the warmth is, so max benefit for the plant to have lots of roots in that warm earth zone.

That being said, I might turn around and have to do the thing I doubted, if weather doesn't get nice in a hurry.

[Worth1]

As you go from pot to pot put the root mass at the bottom of the next larger pot.
Worth

[PaulF]

The old lay it down in the trench method is dangerous for me. I used to do it that way, but because my fumble fingers were the cause of many snapped stems, that method was exchanged for just burying the plant deeper right up to the first set of leaves. Works for me.

[FarmerShawn]

Originally Posted by PaulF

The old lay it down in the trench method is dangerous for me. I used to do it that way, but because my fumble fingers were the cause of many snapped stems, that method was exchanged for just burying the plant deeper right up to the first set of leaves. Works for me.

Paul, if you find yourself in a situation where a trench seems best, I’ve read somewhere, and believe it, though I have not tried it, that you could strip lower leaves, dig the trench, lay the plant down in the trench and bury the roots only, and leave it for a day or two. The plant tip will bend toward the light (up, we hope) at which time you can go back and bury the rest of the stem without fear of snapping it. I share your fumble-finger syndrome.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Worth1]

You can always just lay the container over on it's side for a day or two and the end will turn up on its own.
Usually over night.

[Al@NC]

Worth's rite twice!

I always transplant deep when I pot up to larger pots and then lay them over for a couple of days before planting out. Although another poster said just plant them deeper you don't have to trench which is correct and I've done it before as well.

One of the biggest reason's I've had to plant deeper or trench is in the past when I plant out a larger plant I have ran into issues with the wind blowing the plant over and breaking limbs, etc...

Even when having the plants outside as much as possible leading up to plant out, if they are too large they're usually not ready for the outdoors (my experience).


Al

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Al@NC

Worth's rite twice!

I always transplant deep when I pot up to larger pots and then lay them over for a couple of days before planting out. Although another poster said just plant them deeper you don't have to trench which is correct and I've done it before as well.

One of the biggest reason's I've had to plant deeper or trench is in the past when I plant out a larger plant I have ran into issues with the wind blowing the plant over and breaking limbs, etc...

Even when having the plants outside as much as possible leading up to plant out, if they are too large they're usually not ready for the outdoors (my experience).


Al

By panting in the jump up in size containers deep you get a nice sturdy trunk to plant out.
As apposed to one that has roots right below the soil line and a weak connection between trunk and roots.
Now that trunk goes down into the soil.

Tomato plants aren't trees you can plant them as deep as you want in those next size up containers and you wont be sorry.
What you dont want to do is when you plant out in the garden dont drop the root ball into cold deep soil below around 60 degrees.
Unless you expect it to warm up fast.
If you do, what was growing fine in a container will now just sit and sulk.

Not an expert but this is not an opinion it is well documented fact from many of us here.


Worth

[PaulF]

Rather than fiddle around for a couple of days, I'll just continue to plant deep and upright.

[TexasTomat0]

I’ll take my seedlings and let them stretch a bit, then take off up to 2 sets of true leafs then bury all the way up to the next set. Down the road I’ll take off that set closest to the dirt.

To me when they’re young and aggressively pushing green growth, they’ll recover quickly and the extra buried stem for root growth really helps reach down and access water/nutrients deeper in the soil.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk