"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
news
DigitalVinyl said:

I just received my tomato transplants. The grower and many sources
recommend deep planting an additional 4-6 inches of stem.

My question is do you do anything specific with the branches on the
bottom 4-6 inches?

I assume I should completely bury them?
Do I leave the leaves on the branches I bury?

I remember reading an article in National Gardening years ago which
put the
'strip and deep plant' tomato technique to the test vs. 'plant only as
deep as
the lowest healthy leaf.' Strip and bury came in second. The
verdict: never
sacrifice healthy foliage.

What I've found, when digging up the remnents of last year's tomatoes,
was
that only small, minor roots formed on the buried stems. The largest,
most
robust roots all originated from the original root ball. (And those
roots were
WHOPPERS.)
--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Early in the season when the soil is still cool, plant at the same depth
as in the pot. If the plant is root-bound like many nursery grown
plants, separate the roots before planting. If planting late when the
soil is warmer, the plant may be set much deeper with only the growing
tip and a few branches showing. Additional new roots will develop along
the stem and help to strengthen the plant. If the plants are tall and
spindly as with some indeterminate types, the root ball may be placed on
its side and the stem (or vine) laid along a four-inch deep trench and
covered with soil with only the growing tip and a few branches showing.
This helps develop more roots along the stem. It may be necessary to
place a weight on the covered stem to keep it in place and also to prop
up the growing tip until the plant develops new growth. With
thick-stemmed determinate varieties, it is best to keep the plant erect
because attempts to bend the stem will often break it instead.

Olin