jammer wrote:

On Fri, 04 Apr 2003 00:45:16 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:



My tomatoes are always leggy by the time I set them out. By the time
the danger of frost is over, the ground is warm. I set the tomato
plants in deep holes -- post holes; and I do not remove the lower
leaves, I just bury them. The plants take off with rapid sturdy growth
in just a couple of days. If your ground is still cool or wet, a trench
is probably better, but I would not remove the lower leaves.

I plant deep, but i do not pull off any leaves. I did that once and i
dont know if it was the weather or the pulling of the leaves, but i
didnt have a real good crop that year. I have 12 going right now. At
least 10 that are here for the duration.


Tomatoes will get leggy if (1) they don't get enought light or (2) they
are crowded in flats before planting or (3) they are in small cells.
Planting deep works, but they get set back a few days just by getting
leggy. Best to get them started in flats, then transplant them into pots
for further growth. Space the pots apart so they have enough light
getting to the sides of the plant and they won't get so leggy (although
they do like to grow upwards). I start my tomatoes in a 288 tray,
transplant them to a 72 tray and finally to 4" pots. That seems to give
them enough soil to encourage root development. Since tomatoes are
vines, they will put down roots along the stem if they grow along the
ground. If they are in too small a cell without enough soil they will
try to push the vine out to get to another spot where there might be
better conditions.

Another trick is to brush them regularly. Frequent mechanical
stimulation strengthens the stems and keeps the plants stocky. This can
be done by just running your hand over the plants to bend them
(slightly) back and forth, as if there were a wind blowing. Do this
twice a day. I have tried putting them in a spot where a fan blows at
them all day, but this doesn't seem to do as well as a twice a day
brushing.

If you have too many tomato plants and want to know which ones to plant,
choose the ones with thicker stems (they will resist windy periods
better) assuming other aspects of the plant health are equal.