Question about re-transplant - Page 2

TZ-OH6 · February 26, 2009

Tomatoes (being vines) are about the only thing other than cucumber/mellon/squash vines that put out adventitious roots from the stem. Vegetables that normally stand up on their own, like peppers, generally only put roots out from the original base of the plant. There is no harm in repotting a baby pepper an inch or two deep though, it keeps them from falling/ over or washing out when you water them too vigourously, you just don't want to treat them the same way you would a tomatoe when you put them in the ground (pulling off leaves and deep planting).

Jimche · February 26, 2009

Thanks, TZ. I was wondering why growing tomatoes required burying the stems deeper after they germinate and when you plant them, given that tomato plants in the wild do not get this treatment. I gather the reason is that a more robust root system helps them to stand upright, whereas they might be more naturally inclined to sprawl along the ground, sprouting roots wherever they can. I know how they feel - I'd rather sprawl out than be tied to a stake or stuck in a cage, but that's just me. We are very short on space and long on tomato variety ambition, though, so we'll probably stick with the stakes and cages.

TZ-OH6 · February 27, 2009

Looks like I was wrong. I checked the FAQS on the GW hotpepper forum and it seems a couple of ag studies found higher production of peppers when they were treated like tomatoes...deep planted to the first leaves.

Jimche · April 16, 2009

Had an interesting conversation with a farmer who grew thousands of tomato plants each year for 10 years. He pretty much confirmed what Carolyn said above, perhaps going a bit further. In his experience, seedlings can be germinated and grown until outside transplant in 72-cell inserts, with no adverse effects. I tend to take his opinion seriously, as he has lots of practical experience, thinks critically and participates in educational opportunities with friends at the Rutgers agriculture department. So, I was initially bothered that I'd built a seed-starting setup that was twice as big (and expensive) as may have been necessary. Then, I realized that next year, I'll be able to do twice as many seedlings

. Would be interested to hear feedback from any who have tried several different approaches (under reasonably similar conditions).

dice · April 17, 2009

Mine seem to suffer in 72-cell inserts after a few weeks if I
don't pot up to larger pots. If they sit too long, it becomes
harder to separate multiple seedlings in a cell without losing
most of the root system, too. (If you only have 1 seed to a cell
or if you pinch out all but one seedling in a cell, maybe this
works better.)

barkeater · April 25, 2009

In my neck of the woods, the vegetable growers always used the 48 cells/tray for tomatoes for best results, and the 72's for peppers.

April 17, 2009	#20
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	Mine seem to suffer in 72-cell inserts after a few weeks if I don't pot up to larger pots. If they sit too long, it becomes harder to separate multiple seedlings in a cell without losing most of the root system, too. (If you only have 1 seed to a cell or if you pinch out all but one seedling in a cell, maybe this works better.) __________________ -- alias

February 26, 2009	#16
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 848	Tomatoes (being vines) are about the only thing other than cucumber/mellon/squash vines that put out adventitious roots from the stem. Vegetables that normally stand up on their own, like peppers, generally only put roots out from the original base of the plant. There is no harm in repotting a baby pepper an inch or two deep though, it keeps them from falling/ over or washing out when you water them too vigourously, you just don't want to treat them the same way you would a tomatoe when you put them in the ground (pulling off leaves and deep planting).

February 26, 2009	#17
Jimche Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 58	Thanks, TZ. I was wondering why growing tomatoes required burying the stems deeper after they germinate and when you plant them, given that tomato plants in the wild do not get this treatment. I gather the reason is that a more robust root system helps them to stand upright, whereas they might be more naturally inclined to sprawl along the ground, sprouting roots wherever they can. I know how they feel - I'd rather sprawl out than be tied to a stake or stuck in a cage, but that's just me. We are very short on space and long on tomato variety ambition, though, so we'll probably stick with the stakes and cages.

February 27, 2009	#18
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 848	Looks like I was wrong. I checked the FAQS on the GW hotpepper forum and it seems a couple of ag studies found higher production of peppers when they were treated like tomatoes...deep planted to the first leaves.

April 16, 2009	#19
Jimche Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 58	Had an interesting conversation with a farmer who grew thousands of tomato plants each year for 10 years. He pretty much confirmed what Carolyn said above, perhaps going a bit further. In his experience, seedlings can be germinated and grown until outside transplant in 72-cell inserts, with no adverse effects. I tend to take his opinion seriously, as he has lots of practical experience, thinks critically and participates in educational opportunities with friends at the Rutgers agriculture department. So, I was initially bothered that I'd built a seed-starting setup that was twice as big (and expensive) as may have been necessary. Then, I realized that next year, I'll be able to do twice as many seedlings . Would be interested to hear feedback from any who have tried several different approaches (under reasonably similar conditions).

April 25, 2009	#21
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	In my neck of the woods, the vegetable growers always used the 48 cells/tray for tomatoes for best results, and the 72's for peppers.