Carol,

I've seen them do it both ways. It takes longer than you'd think for the plants adventitious roots to send out roots when the plant is in a cup.

For several years I potted up 2 or 3 times into successively larger cups so the plant could grow a bigger root system, but couldn't necessarily tell it was worth it.

Nowadays I generally only pot up twice....the first time from a 72-cell starter flat where all the seeds of each variety are sown thickly in one cell into 3 or 4 oz. cups. The second time they go from the tiny cups to large ones. They may or may not send out adventitious roots once they're in the larger cup, but that likely is because they go into the ground only 3 or 4 weeks after that. I plant them as deeply as I can into the ground, and they do root along the buried part of the stem there but not terribly early on.

When I bury the plants deep vertically they do not seem to form as many roots along the buried stem as they do when I dig a trench and bury them horizontally.

Dawn

I don't know but I tried the vertical planting for the first time this year in planting mine in 5 gallon buckets. They took off like there was no tomorrow! Both plants are extremely sturdy and producing tomatoes as we speak. These are Rutgers and Jet Star. I am going to move the Jet Star to that big 20 gal. container that Andria gave me because it is about to outgrow the bucket already. I planted them in Sta-green potting soil, and added a bit more Flower Tone to the mix (didn't have Tomato Tone, but Flower Tone also has micronutrients, including calcium and magnesium). This is the best any tomatoes have ever grown so well for me, and it could be a combination of many things, not just by planting them deeper, after removing the leaves from the nodes I buried, but also soil, fertilizer, etc. I've always planted them in the ground before, but I like the buckets cuz I can move them around if needed.

Anyway, all of that said, I will do this for my other tomatos if they get big enough to transplant, that is.

Susan

Since taking the plant out of the ground is SO LONG after transplanting, I don't ever think to pay attention to how the roots have formed. In the cup, I can only see roots forming at the bottom. In fact some didn't get quite enough soil packed down around them and I could tell where the growth started in each transplant stage.

I always plant deeply into the garden, but I am wondering of there is an advantage to doing so in a cup, or if it is just best to provide room for bottom roots. It would be an advantage if the transplant was leggy, but I don't normally have that problem. Just a thought. Thanks for responding. Carol

Since taking the plant out of the ground is SO LONG after transplanting, I don't ever think to pay attention to how the roots have formed. In the cup, I can only see roots forming at the bottom. In fact some didn't get quite enough soil packed down around them and I could tell where the growth started in each transplant stage.

I always plant deeply into the garden, but I am wondering of there is an advantage to doing so in a cup, or if it is just best to provide room for bottom roots. It would be an advantage if the transplant was leggy, but I don't normally have that problem. Just a thought. Thanks for responding. Carol

I only transplant to a bigger container when the plant has gotten too tall and leggy for what it is currently in. Maybe twice. And solely out of laziness, because I don't want to re-pot any more than I have to, I always bury the plant in the pots. By the time the plants go to the garden, they always have to go in the ground 12-18 inches deep.

That being said, I know burying deep whenever the plant goes in the garden causes the roots we have been taught about because I have 'root system' curiosity and always check the root systems on the various tomatoes whenever I pull them out of the ground in the fall. I'm always amazed at the difference in tomato root systems from one variety to another.

Carol, did you all get any rain last night on your end of the lake?

Marcy

Carol,
Read your question when it was at the top of page 1 and intended to answer and never did. I will add some of my observations and opinions. I start all I start inside in 72 cell trays and then just before the 2nd true leaf starts I start potting up. By the time I get 3 or more trays potted up the last trays usually have 2 full leaves and almost ready for the 3rd. I pot up into 16-18 oz cups. Usually that is the only time I pot up before they go into the ground. If small I may only fill the cup 1/2 to 2/3 of the way full. Then as they grow add more potting mix. I did some of that today as I was inventorying what I had inside. I saw a few today that has roots growing up the stem above the original root ball. I've noticed the bigger the plants get the more you will see it. Some varieties seem to do it more readily. You can see the bumps on bigger plants that will turn into roots if covered. I plant at least half of my plants as sprawlers. If we have any rain I have the stems on the sprawlers send down roots. I'm one that pulls every plant and looks at the roots. I usually have roots all along the covered area of the stem. I've noticed several things effect the root system on a plant. Variety, mychorizal fungi and other root growth aids make a difference, how root bound the plant was when planted also affects the roots system and its growth pattern. On direct sown plants I've pulled plants with up to a 30 inch tap root that was still 3/16 of an inch where it pulled into. I firmly believe in covering the stem when potting up or transplanting. I usually dig a post hole and plant more vertically than laying it in a trench. I have tried both and see little difference if mulched heavily like I usually do. I have found if I don't mulch the vertical plants seem to do better and have a better root system. My opinion is that the soil here gets so hot if exposed during hot weather that the soil temps runs high and the roots do better if down in cooler soil. If mulched this helps lower that soil temp and you see less of a difference. Next year I plan to start earlier as I will have the greenhouse. And I plan on potting up more. I'm already gathering up 4 inch pots to use. I will also transplant some into the molasses tubs in the greenhouse and then move the tubs outside after the weather warms. On them I plan to follow spudleaf's advice and only fill the container half way and then fill it up as the plant grows. Jay