It feels like summer here, hot days are not supposed to be here yet! It’s funny because a lot of people on my facebook were posting snow pictures. I held in my laughs ( for about 30 seconds) then ran out to smile at the sun . I can’t help it, after last years weather messing with my garden it’s great to finally have it working in my favor! Hopefully your weather will warm up fast! On to the garden-
My seedlings are ready to transplant to bigger pots and they are nice and hardy. While planting them I had a passer by ask me tons of questions and one of them I thought I would share with you guys. Question was- How do I pick out which to plant, not the type or variety but which seedlings when I have so many to choose from ?
Here is how and why I do it.
I have 2-3 tomato seedlings per small square and 3-4 squares for each tomato variety . They say you need to thin out to one per square ( or pot whichever) but I have found this ends up giving me about 50% or less chance to have a plant come out stronger. When I get ready to transplant to bigger containers here is how I choose.
Start with the way the plants look
I would toss the one with the worst health but keep the next runner up. The one on the right has so little chance on surviving into a healthy plant, it’s growth is stunted for whatever reason and won’t do you any good. The next runner up is healthy but not as healthy as you want it to be. There’s no reason to toss it just yet. It can still be a fine plant with time. Plus if something happens to the healthiest I’ll need the back up .
Next move to the roots. If you do not have a good root system chances decrease on the plant growing and producing healthy fruit.
The bad root system is string like and floppy so much it’s started wilting around the bottom of the stem which in turn will most likely kill the plant in due time. You could ( and I have) buried the stem to a plant like this before to produce more roots but I find if it’s at this stage , The plant in the long run doesn’t produce much at all and stays on the smaller side.
Next how you plant the seedling
The best way I’ve found to plant tomatoes is bury the stem. Extra roots will spring out just under the surface of the soil once planted if you bury the stem as opposed to just getting the roots covered. First of all you should never do that with any plant, second tomatoes carry heavy fruit in which a weakly planted root system will uproot itself quickly. The deeper you plant the stronger it is and the more weight it can bear.
The pen would be the soil . They will also grow much straighter this way. Since mine are still in little pots I don’t have them caged but once you do get them into the ground give it a support system. I will updated with the next planting with tips for that as well. It will only be a few short weeks.
I am getting emails on planting tips and will be happy to answer what I can. I learn as I go, am no expert in anyway but will share what I’ve learned along my journey as a gardener . You can post a question in the comments or just email me I’d be happy to help!
Plus I know you love seeing my hands dirty! 🙂 Happy Sunday everyone!
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Mellissa Hanks
aww look how cute those are 🙂