I bought tomato plants at the nursery, Question about planting in garden.?

I seem to remember hearing that you need to loosen and shake the dirt out of the roots when you plant in the garden. Then a friend told me no you leave just as you pulled out of the pot. Any help.

I bought tomato plants at the nursery, Question about planting in garden.?
when i buy my plants i leave them outside on the porch for at least two days,they can tend to go in shock if they dont get use to the temperature,make sure you have good soil.i dont shake the dirt out of the roots,i gently break the bottom roots so they can grow ,if you dont plant them kinda deep they will not produce alot.also stake them before they droop over,
Reply:Shaking out the dirt can easily kill the plant/tree. Never disturb the roots of any plant or tree when you plant them. The only exception is if the plant is severly rootbound. A plant will die from root strangulation if this is the case. Just squeezing them will not work in most cases. You have to 'free' the roots. On root bound plants take a knife and cut the roots on the bottom and sided in an X pattern (two cuts side to side) about a half inch deep. This will free up the roots to grow outward. I actually had a Azalea bush die because of it being rootbound last year.





For tomato plants you will have to bury not only the roots but 1/2 of the plant itself into the ground. This promotes strong root growth. Cut out the bottom of a milk jug, get some bamboo stakes and cover the plant with the jug with the cap off and slide the stake through the hole into the ground to stabilize the jug. Also push the jug into the ground a little for stabilization. This will protect the plant plus help it keep moisture and provide a small greenhouse effect. Once the tomato plant starts growing out the top of the jug remove the jug and replace the stake and jug with a tomato basket. And that is it.
Reply:I dont know how many plants you bought, but they will grow pretty good size so space them about 8 inches apart.


first till your soil, you may want to put some Natural fertilizer on it, like horse or cow manuer, mix good, plant your plants about 3-4 inches in ground, it is good to have some type of stake to attach them to so they do not fall over from the weight of the tomatoes produced. You can get small dow rods from your local hardware store really cheap. Tie your plants with something soft, like old strips of cotton, or even old nylon hose from old panty hose is good. you will have your tomatoes stand strong and tall and putting out lots of yummy tomatoes. We do use some of the vegatable grow from Scotts after they take root and get small tomatoes going.


Good luck!
Reply:leave them as they are if you want but make sure to bury their stems since they put out lots of roots that way and get really established well. Use Osmocote fertilizer- it is slow release and stake the plant early. Plant in as sunny a location as possible and water heavily once a week
Reply:Once the plant has been removed from the plastic pot I always give the roots a gentle squeeze to loosen them out - sometimes they can be 'root bound' (a mass of roots all twisted round in the plastic pot) and releasing them a little helps them spread out and root down better when they are planted.
Reply:Don't disturb the roots. Unless the are REALLY root bound, in which case you should make a few slices. It the plants are leggy, plant them deep or if relly leggy, bury the leggy part sideways with the top gently bent up above the surface. Roots will form from the stem (they are vines).
Reply:take them out of the pot, loosen roots a little, plant, watch it grow, eat.

rodeo buckle