If You Want to Grow a LOT of Tomatoes and BIG Tomatoes, You Need BIG Root Balls and BIG Stems. My Indeterminates grow to 14 ft Tall.
If You Want to Grow a LOT of Tomatoes and BIG Tomatoes, You Need BIG Root Balls and BIG Stems. My Indeterminates grow to 14 ft Tall.
by G-Money1965
3 Comments
G-Money1965
My trellis’s are about 9 ft – 9.5 ft tall at the peak and my Indeterminate tomatoes will grow several foot over the top of my trellis’s. I put 7 plants on one side of a 4 ft cattle panel….yes, 7 plants in 48 inches…..staggered diagonally.
My stems are usually about the diameter of a quarter and my root balls are about the size of a five gallon bucket. My root balls are at least 20″ – 25″ deep.
I water about once every 7 – 10 days. Each plant will get about five gallons of water every 10 days. It sounds crazy, but over-watering causes cracking of your tomatoes. By watering every 7 – 10 days, I deep, deep, deep water my roots and I make those roots work hard for their water.
G-Money1965
Each time I up-pot, I bury the entire plant all the way up to the lowest set of leaves. The roots go to the bottom of my next pot and I bury the entire stem. Every hair follicle (trichome) will turn into a new root when buried so by the time my tomatoes go into the ground, the root ball will fill an entire 1 gallon pot.
Then when I put the plant into the ground, I bury that root ball at least 15 in – 20 in deep.
I only allow ONE stem…..ONLY ONE!!! I trim everything off at least 18″ off the ground and do not allow any suckers or flowers until about six weeks after the plant goes into the ground. My plants have one purpose for the first 6 weeks and that is to grow roots and stems. Roots & stems, roots & stems, ROOTS & STEMS!!!!
My tomatoes grow at least 8 in – 10 in per week for the first 6 weeks and it is very important when they are growing this fast to weave them back and forth through the cattle panels because a full set of tomato plants could weigh between 400 – 600 lbs.
After 6 weeks in the ground, my plants are between 5 ft- 6 ft tall. At this point, I let them start to fan out and to flower.
3 Comments
My trellis’s are about 9 ft – 9.5 ft tall at the peak and my Indeterminate tomatoes will grow several foot over the top of my trellis’s. I put 7 plants on one side of a 4 ft cattle panel….yes, 7 plants in 48 inches…..staggered diagonally.
My stems are usually about the diameter of a quarter and my root balls are about the size of a five gallon bucket. My root balls are at least 20″ – 25″ deep.
I water about once every 7 – 10 days. Each plant will get about five gallons of water every 10 days. It sounds crazy, but over-watering causes cracking of your tomatoes. By watering every 7 – 10 days, I deep, deep, deep water my roots and I make those roots work hard for their water.
Each time I up-pot, I bury the entire plant all the way up to the lowest set of leaves. The roots go to the bottom of my next pot and I bury the entire stem. Every hair follicle (trichome) will turn into a new root when buried so by the time my tomatoes go into the ground, the root ball will fill an entire 1 gallon pot.
Then when I put the plant into the ground, I bury that root ball at least 15 in – 20 in deep.
I only allow ONE stem…..ONLY ONE!!! I trim everything off at least 18″ off the ground and do not allow any suckers or flowers until about six weeks after the plant goes into the ground. My plants have one purpose for the first 6 weeks and that is to grow roots and stems. Roots & stems, roots & stems, ROOTS & STEMS!!!!
My tomatoes grow at least 8 in – 10 in per week for the first 6 weeks and it is very important when they are growing this fast to weave them back and forth through the cattle panels because a full set of tomato plants could weigh between 400 – 600 lbs.
After 6 weeks in the ground, my plants are between 5 ft- 6 ft tall. At this point, I let them start to fan out and to flower.
Impressive!