Friday, March 28, 2014

Tips for Transplanting Tomatoes

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Get the Dirt on Transplanting Tomatoes

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We love to hear from our customers. 
Especially when they say "ALL of the seeds germinated.  Now what?"

This week, a customer asked me about transplanting tomatoes.  She said: The book just says 'Transplant tomatoes' but I don't understand when to do it.

We have a few tips and tricks.  Enjoy!

Transplanting Tomato Seedlings
-Before transplanting, work in a bit of compost for added nutrients.

-If you don't have compost or want to give your tomatoes an added boost, bury a handful of dead leaves and 1-2 banana peals several inches below the soil before you transplant.

-Remove the lower leaves from the stem and bury your seedling several inches deeper than it's current container.  This will encourage the tomato plant to grow more roots and grow stronger.

-Don't overcrowd tomato plants.  I know I get excited in the garden but tomato plants need plenty of fresh air to avoid disease.

-Water the soil thoroughly after transplanting and consider a liquid feed to reduce shock.

-Transplant time is a great time to plant companions around your tomatoes such as:
Basil, Borage, Marigold and Naturtiums.
These will deter bag bugs and attract good bugs!

-Sprinkle the plant and surrounding dirt with Diatomaceous Earth.  Adding a new seedling into the garden is like offering a feast to those nasty tomato hornworms and other harmful pests.


Diatomaceous Earth kills aphids, white flies, beetles, loopers, mites, snails, slugs, leaf hoppers, and harmful pests. Use Diatomaceous Earth inside your home, greenhouse or outdoors on fruits, vegetables, flowers, grains and grass.

Apply Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth up to and including day of harvest.

Do you have any tips that I may have missed?  Please feel free to share!
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5 comments:

Karla said...

Thanks for the tips. You said not to over-crowd. How far apart should they be?

Gina Alfani said...

Love your blog Mary! I'm a first time visitor from the Clever Chicks Blog Hog. I've placed a link to this article on my page "Guide to Growing Tomato Plants" http://donitaworld.com/Plants/Tomato/links.html. Thanks for your informative blog!

Kathy Shea Mormino, The Chicken Chick said...

I really enjoyed this blog about transplanting tomatoes. Hopefully it won't be long before we can do this, but in the Northeast today we unfortunately got another coating of snow.
Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

Black Fox Homestead said...

Great info! We have several transplants (started from your seeds) growing under our grow lights as we speak! Looking forward to great tomatoes this summer. Thanks for sharing at the HomeAcre Hop!

Jessi @ Practically Functional said...

Great tips! I want to get tomatoes planted at some point. I'm just stopping by to pin this and let you know that I featured it on my blog today!