How big is too big for transplanting?

[dustdevil]

You need to harden them off. If you plant them straight to ground after being inside all the time, they will usually take it hard on the chin.

[LoriA]

Yes, I will definitely harden them off. Unfortunately for at least the next 10 days our highs are 50 and lows are about 34, so it will be a while before they can move outside.

[matereater]

Set them out during the day and bring back indoors at night. The sooner you get them hardened off the sooner you can get them in the ground once the weather warms up. I would also suggest holding off on more fertilizer until you get them in the ground.

[Wi-sunflower]

When you do finally get to planting them out, you can always bury 1/2 the plant if they seem too tall.

Our plants are often quite leggy by the time we get them planted. We use a 1 bottom plow to make a deep furrow. Then we lay the plants on the low side and lay them sideways if necessary so at least 1/2 of the plant is covered with dirt from the high side. They will root from the stem and make a good rootball. We do that so the wind doesn't break off the tall plants right after planting.

You mentioned Tumbler being the tallest plant so far. Do you intend to put it in a hanging basket ??

If so, you should pinch out the tip of the plant. Let the side shoots grow and arrange those branches equally around the pot for a nice full basket. If you don't pinch, Tumbler tends to make just 1 nice branch for a lopsided basket.

Some of the newer varieties will do that better on their own than Tumbler. But pinching is an easy fix.

Carol

[TomNJ]

I have never understood those packet recommendations for starting seeds 8-10 weeks before setting them out, or even the 6-8 week recommendations. My plants are typically 12" tall in five weeks, planted in 3.5" square pots with no potting-up and little fertilizer. Perhaps the longer time recommendations are for folks not growing seedlings under lights.

TomNJ

[LoriA]

I transplanted all to 12" pots, planted deep and burying as much of the stem as I could, and they look much smaller now!

Carol - thanks for the tumbler info. I was confused as to why this one was so tall! I was planning on a hanging basket, but my strawberries beat the tumbler to my one basket. I am now planning on a 16" pot, possibly put up on a block or bench (strapped to my deck rail so it doesn't blow over) so the tomato can tumble. I'll pinch out the tip now. This plant isn't one of my favorites that I'm really looking forward to; I was just thinking the weeping habit would be fun for my kids. Thanks!

Steve - good suggestion on holding off on more fert. I'm in GR, by the way...

Tom - that's what I'm thinking too. Germination is pretty common for me in 72 hrs, in my dome on heat, then lights. My notes have reflected a later start date for next year!

[whistech]

LoriA, those are some beautiful tomato plants you have there. I wish I had your problem. I have managed to kill about 99 percent of the plants I have tried growing this year. With some help from members here, I am trying again to grow transplants.

[COMPOSTER]

I agree with TomNJ regarding weeks to transplanting. 5-6 weeks works best for me in a 68 degree house. Much earlier than that and the plants tend to get leggy. However, because I'm in the Northeast I always start a few 8weeks before last frost date for planting in 5 gallon containers in the hopes that the weather will cooperate and I can harvest some extra early fruits. This seems to work best for me with small fruited varieties. Also, I have had good results using a good quality compost as about 40% of the soil mix when transplanting to 4" pots and not using any conventional fertilizer.

[lycomania]

What do you mean by "a good quality compost?" I can go to home depot and get "Dehydrated manure." I can go to a local nursery and get any number of extremely overpriced soil ammendments with catchy names. I'm sure I could travel to a local farm and find some aged manure that may or may not have herbicides in it. Does any product in this spectrum qualify?

Not trying to single you out because you are so helpful, but I have seen one too many "good quality compost" posts and we don't all have a ranch!

[GoGayleGo]

This was my first year starting from seed. I'm hoping someone can help me to understand why it would matter if the plants were larger and/or flowering when they are transplanted?

My tomatoes were ~8 weeks old, rather tall (though not leggy), and some were flowering when I transplanted them this past weekend.

Last year, I purchased my plants. In fact, I purchased them late (mid-May) as I wasn't even intending to plant a garden and it ended up being somewhat of an afterthought. Those plants flourished.

So, wondering what exactly the issue is with larger plants?

[COMPOSTER]

Lycomania, unfortunately what I mean by a good quality compost is one that you know has been carefully made with reasonably diverse ingredients and doesn't contain pesticide or hebacide residue. I know not everybody has the ability to make cubic yards of compost but a lot of folks might be able to produce enough compost with materials from thier yard, garden, kitchen waste and perhaps some coffee grinds from the local coffee shop to use to make a very good potting mix. A lot of towns even seem to provide compost bins at a substantial discount to retail. I got one from my town for $25.

[habitat_gardener]

[QUOTE=GoGayleGo;343042]This was my first year starting from seed. I'm hoping someone can help me to understand why it would matter if the plants were larger and/or flowering when they are transplanted?.../QUOTE]

If the plant is putting its energy into flowering and producing fruits when it's planted, it's not putting enough energy into developing a good root system. So I pinch any flowers if I'm planting a leggy, flowering tomato plant. Otherwise, it will never develop a good root system and will just use up all its resources to produce that first flush of fruit.

If the plant is large, that just means you have to dig a deeper hole. I got 5 or 6 free tomato plants last year (leftovers from a nonprofit's seedling sale, offered a month after the sale!), all of which were 2-3 ft. high, and some of which may have been taller but had been pinched. Many of them had flowers. I pinched off all the flowers and planted them as deep as possible -- I don't recall if I dug straight down or planted them on their sides. My goal is usually a couple pairs of true leaves above ground. All but one flourished and produced well (a couple exceptionally well). The one was an uncharacteristically runty Black Plum; iirc, it had been pinched pretty severely, so I guess it never quite recovered.

[Ken4230]

Originally Posted by TomNJ

I have never understood those packet recommendations for starting seeds 8-10 weeks before setting them out, or even the 6-8 week recommendations. My plants are typically 12" tall in five weeks, planted in 3.5" square pots with no potting-up and little fertilizer. Perhaps the longer time recommendations are for folks not growing seedlings under lights.

TomNJ

I don't pay much attention to the back of the seed packets any more. last year i planted some 18" zinnias that were 4' minimum.
They were beautiful but in a bad spot.

My plant-out dates are approx April 1 and April 20. I usually start seeds the middle to last of Feb.
I grow under lights and keep the temp under 60 deg. even if i have to run the upstairs AC.
My plants are short and fat (in comparison to WalMart) and look like little oak trees with a dark olive color.
I do pot up into paper coffee cups and use a weak liquid fertilizer. I don't harden off, they go straight to the garden.
I did have one plant that i called a monster (almost twice as tall as my others- 15"). It will be interesting to see how tall it gets.

Ken

[COMPOSTER]

Working with leggy plants is just plain harder also. But they are great teachers. I remember the first time I started from seeds my plants were 3 ft tall before I planted them out side. Didn't have the knowledge that habitat gardener shared about burying them. I tied them to a stake about half way up the plants and the first windy day they bent in half. Great learning experience anyway.

[lycomania]

Thanks for your reply, Composter, and thanks for the tip too. I think there must be a compact way to at least compost yard/kitchen waste, so I'll go read up a bit.