Develop a big Tomato Root System

When laden with fruit, a good tomato root system is required to obtain enough food, minerals and water to sustain growth.

The best time to get a tomato to generate an extensive root system is when you transplant.

This year I removed an old laundry tub and placed it in a warm morning sun spot close to the house and a tap. I half filled it with worm castings and compost. I then put some bagged horse manure on top. The intention was to grow some strawberries.

It was a bit of a surprise when all these tomatoes started to appear. I guess the horse who supplied the manure was a tomato fan.

The seedlings all looked well and healthy so it is time to transplant them out and get them adjusted to our winter here in Brisbane. Currently the temperature range is 8 degrees C to 22 degrees C. Winter is the dry season here usually. This year it is still raining regularly and it is into the second week of June.

The seedlings have shot up because of the warm position and the rain. They are quite leggy. Usually if I am growing tomatoes in a plastic house I don’t want them to grow too tall as it increases the distance between the bunches of tomatoes. To regulate the height of the tomato you water sparingly. Growing outside leaves you in the hands of the weather.

In this case the seedlings being quite tall is an advantage.

Take the seedling and remove the branches and leaves up to the last three at the top.

Create a trench in the position you want to grow your tomato.

 

Lay the tomato in the trench with the top above the surface of the soil or growing medium.

Don’t worry if the tomato is not standing up, it will after a couple of days.

By planting this way you have increased the root area by over 100{cd07be7979728a86b172d4c3c193ee8254293b2598ced4c874c66a7b3dbba444}. A tomato will produce roots from any part of the stem that is in contact with the ground or growing medium.

When transplanting a tomato or any seedling there is usually some transplant shock. This can take a couple of days to a week for the plant to recover, depending on soil temperature and how much root disturbance. Once it is over transplant shock your tomato plant should power away.