How to Transplant Heirloom Tomato Plants into the Garden

Heirloom tomatoes don't produce as many tomatoes as hybrids.

When you start your own heirloom tomato seeds, germinating and caring for the seedlings until planting time is only half the battle. When temperatures rise, it is time to replant the seedlings in the garden. Getting this process right is fundamentally important to having a bounty of tomatoes this summer from your heirloom tomato plants.

Things You'll Need

• 4-inch pots
• Seed starting mix
• Balanced fertilizer
• Aged manure or compost
• Garden trowel
• Mulch

Instructions

1. Transplant heirloom tomato seedlings into 4-inch containers when they are 2 inches tall. These containers need to be filled with soilless seed-starting mix to keep your seedlings protected. Bury the stems of your transplants up to the base of their leaves. This helps make your tomato plants extra strong, and ensures an extra healthy root system.

2. Keep your plants indoors until the soil temperature is above 50 degrees. This means waiting at least several weeks after the last frost date. Your heirloom tomato plants crave warmth. If the soil gets cold at night, your tomatoes go dormant, which slows their growth, making them more susceptible to disease and pests. Ensure outdoor temperatures are reliably in the 50 to 55 F range and your soil temperature is at least 50 degrees.

3. Start your heirloom tomato plants on fertilizer -- feed them an organic, natural fertilizer at half strength every two weeks. Start putting your plants outdoors during the day when the weather is sunny and warm. Keep them indoors during windy/rainy days because they're easier to protect -- keep them in a bright, sunny spot in the house, or to use grow lights.

4. Dig well-aged manure or compost into a garden site with full sun. Dig holes for your heirloom tomato seedlings that are at least 2 inches deeper than the root balls of the plants. Make holes 2 to 3 feet apart. Once you've planted all your plants, mulch them generously.

5. Apply a balanced fertilizer to the heirloom tomatoes every two weeks, and water generously, but not excessively. Regular watering is important once the tomatoes start to form fruits because fluctuating water levels can cause fruit to crack.

Tips & Warnings

• Depending on the variety, you'll be waiting about 80 days for your heirloom tomatoes to ripen.

• Stay away from non-organic fertilizers and mulches -- you're growing heirloom tomato plants for a reason and there's no reason to drench them with chemicals!

References

• University of Minnesota Extension: Starting Seeds Indoors
• Clemson University Extension: Heirloom Vegetables