Hi, I’m Erin and this is Our Wyoming Life
Today Erin will be transplanting the tomato seedlings from the germination trays into
their own individual pots.
Proper tomato transplanting will help ensure better fruit production this summer.
Tomatoes are one of the most requested items at farmers market.
And the earlier we have them the better.
Today I am ready to transplant the tomato seedlings.
They were planted 3 weeks ago and are definitely ready for their own pots.
In all actuality I should have transplanted about a week ago but time got away from me.
Today I am working with the big beef variety.
I have all my supplies gathered and ready.
Pots, black trays, dirt, a pencil and water are what I need today.
I have premoistened the soil for easier transplanting.
I am still using a seed starting soil mix.
The pots that I will be transplanting into are 2 and a quarter inch square pots and they
are 3 inches deep.
With tomatoes you always want to use deep pots when transplanting to help establish
a vigorous root system.
First I’m going to go ahead and put about a half inch of soil in the bottom of the pot.
Then I will start the process of separating the seedlings from the germinating tray.
I use a pencil to lift the dirt and separate the seedling.
Since these are a little bigger than I would like them when transplanting there are more
roots then I would typically have to deal with.
So I’m just going to go pretty slow and be gentle about getting the seedlings separated.
Tomatoes are actually pretty tough plants so even if I break a few roots they are going
to be just fine.
Ok so here is the seedling free of the tray.
You can see the roots are still intact and it has formed one set of true leaves and everything
looks healthy.
This seedling will work great for transplanting.
Now we are going to bury this seedling up to it’s neck with dirt.
The really cool thing about tomatoes is that they are great at growing roots.
If I bury the stem it will grow roots along the entire length.
This will be absolutely essential for healthy production in the heat of summer.
The more roots the more nutrient and water absorption.
Some of these are actually so big that I will have to bend them into the pot.
Just be gentle with them make sure to not snap them.
If you hear or feel a snap it’s best to abandon the seedling and get another one.
The technique that I use is to hold the seedling in between 2 fingers and then with the other
hand gently add the dirt in.
I try to center the seedling but if it is big enough that I have to bend it the seedling
ends up being up against the side of the pot in some instanances.
That’s perfectly ok.
Just keep adding dirt until you get to the leaves.
Then I place the pot into the tray.
This tray will hold 36 pots.
I want to have 8 trays of transplanted tomatoes once I’m all done.
This will give me 288 tomatoes and I need 204 plants for the tunnel.
It’s always wise to plant extra.
Here is a look at some of the seedlings that I didn’t transplant.
They are smaller and some of them didn’t form true leaves yet.
You always want to select the biggest and healthiest seedlings.
I will take the tray back downstairs and put it under the lights.
Even though the soil is damp already I will add some water to the bottom of the tray so
the tomatoes can have a little drink.
They should only need watered every 3-4 days at this point but I will continue to check
them often to make sure they don’t dry out.
I will want to water when the dirt starts to dry out but before they wilt.
If you have a lot of air circulation they will dry out sooner or if the temperature
is above 70 degrees.
Down in the basement is stays a pretty consistent 55-60 degrees which is actually ideal for
most seedlings.
It took me two days but here are all 8 trays of transplanted tomatoes.
This will be the only time I transplant the tomatoes indoors.
The next time they are disturbed I will place them in the ground in the tunnel.
Here in about a week I will go ahead and apply our first batch of fertilizer and I will walk
you through that process.
For now we will just let me adjust to being transplanted and work on getting bigger.
As it’s needed I will move the lights up so that no leaves are directly touching the
lights.
Tomatoes are definitely my favorite homegrown crop.
The flavor of a vine ripened home grown tomato is so much more intense and rich compared
to most store tomatoes.
When I was a kid I remember watching the tomato plants for that first tomato to turn red.
Even now that first red tomato is always a delight and something worth fighting over!!
Luckily Mike isn’t a fan of a raw tomato.
I can’t get enough of them.
I can’t wait for a big plate of sliced tomatoes with salt and lots of fresh cracked pepper,
or a tomato sandwich or some fresh salsa with garden onions and tons of cilantro.
Gosh is it summer yet.
Hey you know what I bet there’s still a jar of pickled tomatoes in the fridge from
last season.
I’m going to go have a pickled tomato and dream of warmer days!
Thanks for joining me in Our Wyoming Life.