How to Transplant Tomato Plants

Tomatoes are popular in the home garden for their easy care and prolific fruit production. There are many varieties of tomato available, from diminutive cherry tomatoes to larger Big Boy tomatoes. Whether you are growing them in the garden bed or in a container garden, the seedlings will need transplanting to their permanent home. Transplanting them correctly allows them to grow healthy and strong, preventing damage and leading to better fruit production later in the season.

Things You'll Need

• Spade

Instructions

1. Harden-off seedlings before transplanting outdoors. Place the seedlings in a protected area, such as a patio, for two hours the first day, then bring them back inside. Gradually increase the time each day until they spent an entire day outside on day seven.

2. Prepare your garden bed or container before transplanting the tomatoes after the last spring frost in your area. Moisten the soil thoroughly but do not soak it.

3. Dig the planting hole 3 to 4 inches deeper than the tomato is planted in the nursery pot. If stems are particularly long and weak, dig the hole 6 inches deep.

4. Grasp the tomato plant around the stem at the soil surface. Pull the pot from the plant with your other hand. Carefully loosen the roots on the bottom of the plant with your fingers.

5. Set the plant into the planting hole. Cut off any leaves that are below the soil surface.

6. Fill in around the plant with soil, firming it gently. Leave a slight depression in the soil around the base of the plant to collect water.

7. Water the bed or container soil thoroughly after transplanting the tomato plant. Continue to water the plant weekly, providing approximately 1 to 2 inches of water per week.

Tips & Warnings

• Transplant tomatoes outside on a cloudy day or in the evening. This prevents transplant shock from leaves not yet used to the full sun.

• Place support stakes in the ground behind the plant shortly after transplanting. Waiting until the plant is larger may cause damage to the roots when the stake is driven in.

References

• Texas A&M Extension