"sjstokes" wrote ...
Hi, yes, you should plant the stems as deeply as possible, so that the
leaves are just clear of the soil. The stems will root and therefore
give a
stronger root system. For the past 2 years I grew tomatoes from seeds
planted in January/February, but I've always had trouble with lanky stems
due to lack of light at this time of year (even though my seedlings were
on
the window ledge). I've also had trouble putting them too early into an
unheated greenhouse, because they really get knocked back if it's a bit
cold
one night. This year I've decided to wait until March to sow the
seedlings.

Thanks for that. Planting them right up to the leaves would mean
planting them a good three inches deeper. Is it OK to go as deep as
that? Did your lanky stems 'beef up' sufficiently over time or did they
remain scrawny?

I'm not an expert by any means, but my gardening teacher, and books that
I've read, advise to transplant seedlings as deeply as possible, including
tomatoes. The first year the lanky stems remained thin and lanky and I had
a bit of trouble keeping them upright, but they did produce loads of heavy
tomatoes. Last year the stems beefed up after I planted them as deeply as I
could (although the pots weren't deep enough to plant up to the leaves). If
you have plants to spare, try planting half very deeply and the other half
not so deeply and see what happens. Lots of daylight and not too hot I
think is the trick - something difficult to achieve in February when
daylight is short and we turn up the heating indoors.

Good luck.