| Well, the time is here. You've been growing | | | | second fingers. Turn the cup over so the root |
| and nurturing your little tomato seedlings | | | | ball lands in the palm of your hand and pull |
| the last six to eight weeks and it's time to | | | | the cup off with your free hand. |
| put them in the garden. Don't worry. You'll | | | | |
| be fine. Transplanting tomatoes really isn't | | | | When you have gently removed the plant from |
| rocket science. | | | | its seedling cup, lay the root ball and the |
| | | | stem in the furrow up to the true leaves. |
| For those gardening in the upper two-thirds | | | | They're the very first set of leaves that |
| of the country, don't plant your tomatoes | | | | were produced during germination. |
| outside until at least Memorial Day. In fact, | | | | |
| when I lived in Vermont, we never planted hot | | | | The best thing about this process is that |
| season crops until the first moon in June. | | | | tomatoes will grow roots along the stem as |
| Tomatoes are part of a crop of what's known | | | | well as continue growing roots in the root |
| as "tender" annuals. | | | | ball. Planting tomatoes this way will ensure |
| | | | a stronger root base and better fruit. Does |
| What makes them tender? The cold. Anything | | | | this mean you can't plant the traditional |
| below about 55-60 degrees at night and | | | | deep-hole way? No, you certainly can. I've |
| tomatoes aren't happy. Planting around | | | | found, though, that my tomato plants are |
| Memorial Day weekend will ensure that you | | | | stronger when they're laid in a furrow |
| won't lose your tomatoes to a cold snap. No, | | | | instead of planted in a hole. |
| you won't have the first ripe tomato by | | | | |
| Fourth of July. But you'll have a strong | | | | Tomatoes are voracious eaters so feed them |
| yield in August when the early bird plants | | | | every two weeks or so with a liquid |
| are starting to die back. | | | | fertilizer. Toward the end of the summer and |
| | | | into early fall, keep your eye out for a |
| Prepare the bed in the garden before removing | | | | nasty tomato muncher called the tomato |
| the seedling from its cup. You'll want a nice | | | | hornworm. They're clever and disguise |
| deep trough to plant them in. Instead of | | | | themselves like the color of the plant so |
| digging a deep hole, make sure you dig a | | | | they're hard to see. Look for tomato plant |
| furrow to lay your tomato plant down. The | | | | green with white stripes. These pests will |
| root ball lies in the foot of the trough and | | | | destroy a tomato plant in the time it takes |
| the plant goes at the head. You may not need | | | | to change your mind. |
| to secure the plant to a trellis or tomato | | | | |
| cage right away but just be prepared to do | | | | Well, maybe not quite that fast but I've seen |
| so. | | | | them reduce a plant to stubs and half-eaten |
| | | | fruit in the course of a few days. When you |
| Next, remove any seedling stakes and plant | | | | see one ... and you will ... clip the branch |
| ties that have been supporting your tomato | | | | that they're resting on and kill them. I may |
| plants while they grew in their seedling | | | | get some comments about killing a living |
| cups. Next, gently massage the sides of the | | | | thing but I can't imagine one beneficial |
| seedling cup to loosen the soil. Place your | | | | thing a tomato hornworm does. If you know of |
| hand over the top of the cup with the stem of | | | | one, feel free to email me. |
| the tomato plant between your first and | | | | |