A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum The Tomato Forum Cover 80% of the tomatoe plant?! Please advise.

I am the Newbie from Kansas who just joined the Forum, ---and is giving planting tomatoes a try for the first time. Since, we (wife & I) don't have land to plant tomatoes, we are going to try a large container on our patio. I've already purchase a large container (with drain "dish" for the bottom)--- I've put a few rocks in bottom for drainage, and I filled the container with Miricle Grows soil for vegetables and flowers. Now I am ready to purchase a tomatoe plant. I've looked at several varieties of tomatoes that yeild tomatoes larger than the cherry variety but are still considered ok for the "patio" or containers (e.g.,"Better Bush"). Several of these plants are ready to transplant-- they are sold in bio-degradable containers (5" high) --and the plants growing out of the container, are about 10" high. NOW, here's the confusiing part: On the growing instructions (on the container) it says to plant the tomatoe plant "deep" ---"plant 80% of the plant." Yes, "80%" ---Should I actually bury a tomatoe plant that has the total height of 15" (5" of roots in the 5 " bio-degradable container + 10" of plant growing above the container) ---12" deep?! (That's 80% of 15".) If I followeed those instructions, --only 3" of the tomatoe plant would be sticking above of the ground! Please advise. ---OK, I am new to all of this---be gentle--- I most probably misunderstood the meaning of "plant deep" and "80%."-----Jaes.

I've never heard 80% before. I snap off the bottom set of leaves for a normal plant and then plant it so the next set up is out of the soil. For straggly plants I might plant deeper. You want a nice top sticking out but you also want all the extra stem covered by soil. Hope this helps.
Isn't it late to be planting tomatoes?

I'm from KS and always glad to see another grower. Is it determinate or indeterminate? If det. I would plant as deep as the bottom leaves. It should probably be a stocky plant. If indet. and lanky plant deeper. Not sure what part of KS you are from but should still get some tomatoes. Although from May 15th to June 1st would of been ideal. I'm still moving some plants around my self. Just lost my first one yesterday. But will 78 you expect to lose a few. Part of the game. JD

To answer your questions--- (1) I am looking at "determinate" types of tomatoes, and (2) I live in the North East part of Kansas (Lawrence area). Probably going to purchase the "Better Bush" (apparently an "indeterminate")or "Celebrity" variety. ---Anyone have suggestions/recommendations as to which of those varieties? From the above comments, and from the instructions to "plant deep," I guess I'll be safe if I "snap off the bottom set of leaves" and plant the tomato plant up to the next set of leaves? --will that be ok? ---The comment about it being too late to start---has me concerned. Oh well, I'll give it a try anyway--- at least I'll have a green potted plant growning on the patio ---might not get tomatoes,---but I'll have a green poted plant growing on the patio. ---Jaes.

I snap off bottom leaves and plant 1/3 of the plant deeper. Never heard of 80%, I always go with 33%.

You can always take that patio pot in and place it in a sunny window if it gets too cold where you are. My season isn't long enough to ripen larger tomatoes on a vine so we always plant cherry tomatoes, but next year I am gonna try the 'pot' method for bigger tomatoes.

Please remember to water at the base and not directly over your tomatoes and to pinch off any suckers(leaves growing between the stems and branches)it helps keep your plants in control and remember to have fun...it won't be long before you're planting a full container vegetable garden

Good luck.

If planting determinates I wouldn't personally do any pruning except for those that will be on the ground. On indeterminates many prune the suckers and other stems. On determinates their growth is controlled anyway. JMO. JD

I'm a little farther south so I don't know what suits your area best? but, yes I bury them suckers at least 80% of the plant underground. all you need is a couple of leaves above the soil. you'll think it is a waste to bury such a big plant, but tomatoes like deep strong roots. every part of the tomato stem that is underground will develop roots. deep strong roots are more important than a tall plant for producing fruit. you say your growing in a container... I'd try to get smaller plants than 15" for container growing so they'd could be burried down with just a few leaves sticking up but still have some root growth underneath. (I don't cut any leaves or branches when planting.)

My 82 year old dad always told me:
to bury my tomato plant up to & just past the first set of bottom leaves.---sometimes I remove them & sometimes I do not--it depends on how big they are I guess.---it has always worked well for me----I do agree that each tomato plant needs a strong root system to hold itself and all its fruit up.

PS--I was alwasy told Grand dad's family had a greenhouse back in England.

I plant tomatoes in 17" containers. Here's another way of planting tomato seedlings. Pinch off the lower leaves. Plant the tomatoes lengthwise [80% of the length] 2 or 3 inches deep; at these depth, it gets warm faster..tomatoes like heat. Cover the roots with soil and firm them well; pack the soil from the roots up to the stem leaving just the top cluster of leaves. Later, the tomatoes will grow straight up. If you are short of space, you can plant at least 2 seedlings in one container. Keep the tomatoes well watered during the first two days.

I usually plant mine diaganolly under the soil, being careful not to break the stem. It plants them 'deeper' without having to dig such a deep hole.

Wow, thanks for all the great, informative responses. I can see that there is a lot of different ways to plant tomatoes, from-- "Never heard of 80%" to-- "Plant tomatoes lengthwise [80% of the lenght] 2 or 3 inches deep.." to-- "yes I bury them suckers at least 80% of plant underground." to-- "...plant mine diagonally under the soil..." ---I always thought, you purchased the plant and carefully planted it just under the first set of leaves--- and that's it. With tomatoes, it seems, there's more to it than that. The only two parts of my original questions I didn't hear much on are: (1) Recommended types/varieties of tomatoes for large patio containers (types that produce tomatoes bigger than cherry tomatoes), and (2) If I planted about 10 days ago (Northeast Kansas/ Kansas City-Topeka area), did I plant too late? ---Put a better way: Next year, for this area Kansas, when should I start trans-planting tomatoe plants that I purchase from a nursery (I am not going to plant from seeds)? ---Again, thanks for all the great responses. ---Jaes.

I'm too far away to know your area about late planting or not but I do know that people plant 'Scotia' and 'Roma' tomatoes in pots here.

Patio Tomatoes are a bread that grows well in pots.
(I'll let someone else comment on when to plant in your area.)

As you can see, there are all different opinions on how deep to plant, but that's only going to affect total production, you'll get tomatoes regardless. I always just pinch the first set of leaves and plant an inch or so below the next set, I'm more interested in getting fruit as early as possible than in total production, so I don't want my plants putting all their energy into forming new leaves and roots right after transplant. It is late to plant, but worth a try. You should have a long enough season where you are, but you won't get good fruitset on most tomatoes if the weather is consistantly hot. You mentioned Celebrity, that's a decent tasting tomato and mostly disease-free. Many determinate tomatoes are good for containers, but any tomato can be grown in a 5 to 8 gallon container. That's adequate soil, the issue then becomes supporting the vine. I like indeterminate tomatoes because they produce fruit over a longer period, and not all indet's are huge...I can't comment much on the varieties you'll find in nurseries because I grow all mine from seed and mostly grow old-fashioned (heirloom) varieties. "Plum" type tomatoes like Roma get blossom end rot more readily than others, so in containers, you must be very consistent with watering...not too wet, not too dry, but Roma is a good size for containers, and it sure tastes better homegrown than from stores.