The best time to transplant tomato seedlings from a pot to your garden is when they are between 5 and 8 weeks old, and well after the last frost in your area. Read the following tips to ensure successful transplantation.
Make sure your tomato plants are a garden - not greenhouse - variety.
Leave your seedlings out in the sunlight for a few hours each day up to two weeks before transplanting. Leave them out at night during the second week if the temperature is above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. In this way, the plants will acclimatize to being outside and so be hardier when they are transplanted.
Preheat the soil in your garden before you transplant tomato seedlings by laying black plastic over it for a couple of weeks. Tomato plants love heat.
Plant seedlings deeper than they were planted in their pots. Plant so that just a few top leaves are above the surface of the soil by digging a deep hole (twice as wide as the root ball) or a horizontal trench (the plant will straighten up and grow towards the sun even if you plant it flat). This encourages a more extensive root structure, as roots can form all along the stem.
Sprinkle manure around holes and add some kelp meal before planting.
Leave two to three feet of space between plants.
Pat down soil firmly after planting, and water well.
Do not mulch too early. Mulching is good because it helps the soil retain moisture, but it also keeps the soil cooler than it would otherwise be.
Remove the leaves from the bottom one foot of a plant when it reaches 3 feet tall. This helps to minimize the risk of fungal infection.
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