This Tomato Tip Is DESTROYING Your Yields! And EVERYONE Does It

One of the most common Tomato trick is to plant your tomatoes deep in the soil. But this tomato trick does not work for everyone. If you are in a colder climate for example the deeply planted tomatoes will have the opposite result.
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Ashley has had a passion for plants since she was a small child. In the long summers as a child, she would garden alongside her grandmother and it was then that she realized her love for greenery. With years of great studying, Ashley had begun her post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan.
At first, her second love, animals, was the career path she chose but while doing her undergrad she realized that her education would take her elsewhere. And with that, four years later she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor’s degree in science and a major in Soil Science.
Some of Ashley’s interests are KZbin, in which she posts informative videos about plants and gardening. The focus of Ashley’s KZbin channel is to bring science to gardening in a way that is informative but also helpful to others learning to garden. She also talks about the importance of having your own garden and the joys of gardening indoors. Ashley continues to study plants in her free time and hopes to expand her KZbin channel as well as her reach to up-and-coming gardeners.
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This description or comments section may contain links to affiliate websites. I receive a commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such a link. This includes the gardening in Canada website. You should assume all links both on the gardening in Canada KZbin, Blog, and all other social media are affiliates and I will receive compensation.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I want to stress - the stem does make roots. but these roots are stress induced AR roots. Aka post embryonic aka not the natural root System. I’m interested in developing the natural root system. If you want to cultivate AR go wild, it’s just a suggestion. The depth you plant outside would heavily depend on your location in the world and your soil type. General rules to think about, but not necessarily follow (you know more about your soil than I ever will). - warmer climate plant = to 1st true leaf - cooler climate = closer to the surface. - sandy soils are warmer = plant deep. - Clay soils are cooler = plant higher. - raised beds, containers etc maybe warmer. Plant them deeper. - leggy seedlings = deeper give them the support. - if you are convinced I’m crazy (which mind you might be a good call) do whatever you want. If you plant deeper in a cooler soil you could experience a delayed harvest. If you plant higher in a warmer soil you may experience BER. If you are still reading hello 👋 how is your day going? Just a couple notes in this because I can see a bit on confusion in the comments. 1. You will see roots coming off of the stem. Again, they are not from the Hair they are from the warty looking things. These roots act the “same” but perform differently in the soil when compared to a tomatoes, natural root. 2. If you do a tomato cutting and you get roots off the base of a tomato from this. These are considered a fibrous roots . It is a adventitious roots. They provide a similar role to that of which the plants natural taproot would. (Give or take a few things.) I will list all the different types of adventitious roots below. 👇 3. I was speaking specifically to the process of bumping up. And how that should be planted on the surface more so. This does translate in some cases to the outdoors. This video would be a good place to start if you were looking at it from an outdoor perspective. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5ObnH1mqNR4pdU 4. AR can appear naturally but can also be stress induced. Types of AR 1. Tuberous Roots - potatoes Fasciculated Root (asparagus) Nodulose Roots (tumeric)) 2. Stilt roots 3. Prop roots 4. Epiphytic (yes this type of AR is VITAL to the plants nutrient and water uptake) monstera is an example. 5. Assimilatory roots photosynthetic so orchids 6. Parasitic

[@artstamper316]

Love your videos. Hello, it's 1 pm and I haven't actually started my day because I just discovered two more of your videos I want to (re)watch. Plus reading all the comments takes time. Is it any wonder I'm not getting anything done? 😂

[@joniboulware1436]

You make so much sense. A good gardener has to be observant. That is how I learn. Every single day I am examining my plants. Generally I can figure out why something is working better one way vs. another.

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@joniboulware1436I agree be your own garden scientist

[@wylfire]

Super helpful breakdown!

[@edytais]

I actually did both things at once. I moved my seedlings to larger "pot" by giving them more room at the bottom and adding a bit more soil to some part of stem by planting them in half a gallon milk cartons. We collect them over the year. They work great! They end up being full of roots and I can just rip off the sides as I plant. The square shape makes them fit perfectly in my collapsible crates and I can just grab a crate of 12 "milk" cartons in and out during hardening time.

[@un-pankoed]

Just had to drop a comment to tell you that the Trudeau headshot completely took me by surprise and cracked me up 😂😂😂

[@GardeningInCanada]

I put little gems like that in as many videos as possible 😂

[@asquithmainlines699]

For years I have buried a 4 litre milk jug to the top beside each Tomato plant. Before I do that I drill several holes near the bottom and in the middle on the side facing the plant. It makes it very easy to then water them by just filling up the milk jug, also you can fertilize them by just mixing up what ever you use and pour that into the jug as well. Before anyone says ewe plastic remember you are drinking your milk out of that same jug.😂

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh that’s so smart! I love that

[@Barefootmystic]

Ashley....where was this video last week when I up-potted my toms????? Poor things are screaming at me from the bottom depths of their soil filled existence now.

[@Gardenfrog]

Lol. Love your description of the screaming tomato plants.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Ahahahaha this made me burst out laughing 🤣

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@Gardenfrogit was gold is agree 😂

[@andersjohansson6118]

Same here, I just bumped up everything last week. Speaking as a farmer, next year will be better.

[@stephaniel3378]

So the side roots don't get Nutrients out of the soil? They are just there for support?

[@tomjones4318]

YT is mainly vids parroting what other vids say as if they invented it. It's nice to see anybody here actually thinking for themselves.

[@TyLovePie]

This is so true! This channel is so refreshing. I really enjoy when content creators break down and explain the research. So many of them are just like, "Trust me, I learned this from some old-time gardener."

[@hmfoden]

BAHAHAHA the subtle Trudo shade 😂😂😂

[@aw2589]

That was excellent

[@kellymae2421]

‘Little tiny nubs’ 😂

[@GardeningInCanada]

😂 all in good fun.

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@kellymae2421 🍆🍆🙃

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@aw2589😏😏

[@mariapina1973]

😮 dear Ashley shameless to say I did it wrong but love your channel you are an endless source of information your hard work is deeply appreciated thanks 🙂🌻

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thank you so much! That’s a big compliment

[@jean-eriksylvain7659]

Even though I planted tomatoes every year for a decade, I still get new knowledge through my experiences and from others. What I realize this year is how much the science around plant growing is still not based on solid fundamentals . Think about it, physics can predict the next solar eclipse to the second years before the event but how to grow food science is still baffled by belief and false conclusion based on correlation. Thank you Ashley for your genuine approach, you bring science perspectives and yet still show that as most human we mostly rely on our beliefs or what "experts" said. This science vs common knowledge paradox is overwhelming.... or are we just overdoing it? Well, with this I will try not to plant my seedling too deep! :) Happy spring everyone!

[@thaliabudai2013]

Potting an (often leggy) tomato plant deep, outside in the garden, still makes sense to me, since the proper roots can extend deep down. In the pot, where there is limited amount of overall space it doesn't make sense to plant the stem deep, I agree.

[@kimmieb2u]

Agreed.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yes giving them the extra support when transplanting outdoors makes sense! Definitely worth it

[@elonzo5275]

Love the JT insert less than a min in 😂 I like you even more now 😂😂

[@GardeningInCanada]

I didn’t realize how quick it was into the video until I watched it this morning 😂

[@technoendo]

I appreciate the range of advanced topics in your videos. I am impressed at how good you are at communicating them. Thank you.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Wow, thank you!

[@elisabetk2595]

YES! When I pot up tomatoes I always give them the room to grow those roots, contrary to a lot of advice out there. However, and this is difference between gardening in Canada and gardening in Texas: I always plant them in the ground as deep as I can. Why? Because it gets so hot and so dry here so early, that moisture is much more consistent deeper down, even with a ton of mulch. If I'm planting on the early side or they are really small, I just leave them in hole which I fill in when they get big enough.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thanks for sharing!

[@Gardenfrog]

I love that you update with new information and new ideas. I quit burying my tomato plants when transplanting a couple of years ago too after I saw another gardeners experiment. Her theory was that unless you are burying the roots to keep them cool that it sets the tomato back a few weeks. It works for me. Thank you for clarifying why. It makes sense that the bottom roots grow down. Here on the Canadian prairies we need all the time we can get and strong roots.

[@GardeningInCanada]

To be honest, sometimes on the Canadian prairies you may be best hunting and date. I can get mega hot in some spaces.

[@Gardenfrog]

@@GardeningInCanada Very true. The summers can get very hot.

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@Gardenfrog combo that with our drought 😥 and our poor plants 🥹

[@richardpreston4320]

So glad you made that! I've been thinking about this logically for ages and makes so much more sense 😂 Thanks from the UK!

[@GardeningInCanada]

You are so welcome! 🙏 let me know how it works out for you

[@adamjchafe]

I have to bump up a few hundred seedlings this week! Perfect timing and it makes logical sense.

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is incredibly convenient. What are you all bumping up at a curiosity?

[@adamjchafe]

@@GardeningInCanada Just tomatoes and basil right now. I have seven varieties of tomatoes started I believe? Only two in large quantities though. I work at a non-profit with a community garden and heated greenhouse, and will be bumping up a lot of Manitoba and Vantage tomatoes to give to our local library for their seed library program.

[@francineperreault9373]

Thank you sooooooooo much! This is what I am doing today, bumping up my tomato and pepper plants. I absolutely love your channel! Much love from BC ❤

[@GardeningInCanada]

You are so welcome! 🙏 good luck. May the planting power be with you

[@francineperreault9373]

@@GardeningInCanada 😁

[@Goonsmobile]

I normally plant only root ball deep. However, two weeks ago i dropped a mater plant and broke it 😢 so i planted it anyways, but went deep so the break was under the dirt so it would mostly stand up… is still growing 🤷‍♂️

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh yes it definitely will!

[@leahnichol6665]

Thank you for this. I have decided to sink one of my tomatoes deeper when I pot it to its 20 inch pot to shorten it a bit and for stability. It is a tall pot, maybe two feet tall, so I think it will be fine. The other ones will be at soil level since they are growing more compactly. I am on a balcony so this is an experiment with three tomatoe plants.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Wonderful! That is perfect

[@657449]

I see videos of people putting tomato seeds in half full containers and as the tomatoes grow, they incrementally add soil to cover the root hairs on the stem.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yeah, it doesn’t really do anything. It actually if anything is a more of an energy expenditure that’s not necessary.

[@lindaaustin9126]

I’ve grown a lot of tomato seedlings this year and they’ve all grown according to the pot size they are in. The very tallest, strongest have hands down been the large double cup ones I’ve potted up in. Wonderful root systems with the bottom watering. I will only be using this method of growing in future years. You live and learn.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thanks for sharing that’s pretty awesome

[@jackitobin4747]

Well, obviously, I am potting mine up as you do, because this video came on the perfect day! Once again, thank you for helping me garden better in Canada!

[@GardeningInCanada]

You are so welcome!

[@xerr0n]

i see, i was wondering why my tomatoes didn't get that boost i expected when i planted them deep in the past, thank you for the information!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad I could help!

[@cdncampcook8680]

Recent subscriber here. I appreciate all your experience and expertise! These videos are fantastic. Your sense of humour makes it a blast to watch too. Many thanks from another Canadian gardener!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Welcome aboard the GIC Crew

[@suechannen293]

I started my tomatoes in soil blocks and am glad to know how to bump them up. I am on sandy soil so will transplant them deeper when it’s time to put them in the ground.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yup absolutely! You are one of the few commenters that actually read the pinned comment 😂 I appreciate that.

[@suechannen293]

@@GardeningInCanadaI have a text addiction. I read everything (almost)

[@1ugh1]

When I put the plants outside I have now gone to putting them right on top of the garden. In TN we have heavy clay and rock. Minerals are there but it gets virutually impenetrable for roots about 10in down. For support I just put rotting straw tightly all around them and put them inside a cattle fencing cage. Working great so far.

[@C3Voyage]

I don't pot up. I plant in 2.5" wide x 2.5" wide x 3.5" tall small pots. I grew my tomatoes for about 8 weeks. They were nearly 18" plus (6-8 true leaves). I just finished planting them all out. I planted them near to the bottom of the 10-gallon fabric container pots due to our high heat during summer and the extra stem length. I do it because I've trialed different methods. Guess where most of the roots were in those tiny pots when I planted today? Most were at the top half of the container and a few roots traveled down into the 1020 below where I kept nutrient water. At the size mentioned, none were root bound. I remember well where the roots were because I dabbled them in micos where most roots were. In the past when I examined tomato roots post harvest, they did create new roots near the top that were somewhat extensive, but not like the bottom. At post season examination, full grow tomatoes, that grew all season long, were not root bound in 5-gallon containers. Before the 10-gallon pots I use now, I used 5-gallon plastic containers. I took the tomatoes out and rinsed the roots to examine. The thing that's missing from your assessment is that if tomatoes are fed properly, they don't create tons of roots. I've never had a root-bound tomato in any container even growing to full size in 3/4-gallon pots which I did to send of for genetic testing. A lot of watering for sure. I mean, there was a lot of roots in that small container, but nothing like a root-bound house plant. I noticed this in all my hydroponic growing as well. Additionally, I've taken suckers from mother plants and grown them to the same standard as the mother plant--always healthy and robust. It's because tomatoes are vining plants and often root from the advantageous roots (and from none seen even) to become normal roots once they make contact with moist soil. They are no longer advantageous at this point. All said, it is true that depth is really only meant for the environment. Deeper for hotter, shallower for cooler. That's about all that matters if fed properly and in a growing environment otherwise. Don't pot up unless you start in 78-cell trays or something tiny like that. I use 32-cell trays for all plants. The key for real growth is post-transplant when it gets ideally warm and the days are longer. On the flip side, my cucurbits were circling the bottom of the small pots. Anyone can see how I do things if they like and make their own judgement. This is my experience on the subject.

[@gabriellakadar]

Adventitous roots are advantageous roots. I wish Ashley would have pronounced the word correctly because it was spelled correctly in the video. I plant tomatoes deep because I hate watering.

[@francestaylor9156]

Yep. When I potted up I planted deeper and a lot of my roots were up at the top where new roots grew so 🤷‍♀️.

[@gabriellakadar]

@@C3Voyage ??

[@nugget9k]

I literally spit up my drink at the trudeau joke

[@GardeningInCanada]

Sorry 😅

[@trishsmith2811]

I am soooo glad to find your channel! Love it! Great information and humor. What’s not to like? Plus, information on cool weather growing! YES! I live in the PNW - Puget Sound. Yeah, rain, clouds, night temps? 40’s for what seems like months. Well, actually it is months. It’s so hard to find good gardening information when your summer is lucky to see a week or two of 80’s. So Thank you Ashley! I’m 71 and I’ve never thought of the soil ‘under’ my transplants. Game changer

[@GardeningInCanada]

Welcome aboard!

[@dac7046]

I’ve never bought into the “plant it deep” mantra by KZbin dimwits as the root system will seek optimal conditions and planting deep makes it difficult for the plant to do that. What I didn’t realize is the roots out of the stem were adventitious only. Not sure I 100% buy that but my training was several decades before yours so I’ll go with what you said. We grow/harvest 40 tomato plants from seed each year with only 150 frost-free days to do it in and have found that well-grown, healthy seedlings are far more important than planting gimmicks.

[@SuperDranger]

lol love the JT insert. Hilarious

[@GardeningInCanada]

🍆🙃

[@strifamne1749]

Phew, you were getting me worried. Potted on my tomato seedlings deeply just this morning BUT they're in nice long yoghurt pots so roots have enough space. 😊

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh yea that’s the ultimate container

[@butternutsquash6984]

You mentioned this in an earlier video so I did it the other day, combined with using your information about bottom watering for several weeks and using bottomless translucent cups to bump up. Holy cow! The roots just took off. I'm seeing growth I usually see in a week but in 3 days. The bottomless cups and putting water into the tray makes that process so much faster too.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Wonderful! Love to hear it. Baby giants are in your future

[@SunnyNot]

What kind of bottomless cups are you taking about?

[@butternutsquash6984]

@SunnyNot I just bought 6 ounce cups at the grocery store and cut the bottoms off.

[@jewdy8915]

I’ve got 500 4.5” tomatoes of various ages all potted all the way to the bottom at work. Some are already flowering and a few have fruits. (Our last freeze date is June 1.) Imma pull a few of the ones we did a month ago out of the pot and see how much root is in there. I bet they are full of roots, top to bottom.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yup very likely. But again like I said I’m interested in growing the natural root system not the stress induced AR roots.

[@cindylarade]

Good to know, and it DOES make sense!! I was doing it all wrong 🤦‍♀️ I'll remember this for next year! Thanks for the tip!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Absolutely anytime!

[@BramptonGardener]

Very interesting. Another great reason to LOVE my soil blocks!!!!! I'll keep this in mind when potting into their grow bags though!!! Thank you for continuing to learn, and not be stubborn and set in your ways, that's something we can all learn from. Gardening is always a learning experience.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yes that is very true

[@RavenFirewind]

I wish you'd done this video a couple of weeks back when I started potting up. 😂 I can say I haven't planted them ALL the way down, but of all the gardeners I watch, NO ONE has ever mentioned this before. HOW?! 😭 I've been labouring under the impression that the hairs were potential roots for the past 3 seasons. Silver lining: I know better now, thanks to you. ❤ Thanks for making so many informative videos, especially ones that others haven't touched on. It'll be a huge help for my gardening future.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Absolutely anytime! Just plant them a bit higher when you go outside

[@laurieleannie]

Bahahaha that was some awesome shade thrown! Back to tomatoes…. I always thought we did it because if we let tomatoes grow naturally they grow along the ground and will root themselves in as they grow along the ground…..? Thanks for the tip!

[@GardeningInCanada]

They could. You can easily take cuttings from tomatoes and root them.

[@user-pb8bp6sr2u]

They do root in the ground all over the plant if you let them sprawl. I've done this before and they will put down roots so hard, and so healthy, and it's a very strong plant! The root system is massive.

[@myfitstoreuk5608]

What a great video! As always, thank you!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SunnyNot]

On the floor laughing at the little bumps

[@GardeningInCanada]

🤓 I’m here for education and entertainment. I’m a 2-in-1 package.

[@webenbanu]

That makes a lot of sense! I'm going to share this with my gardening group--thanks for making me look smart! (I will of course give them a link to this video, lol!)

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad it was helpful! Sharing helps the channel a lot

[@fairgolfer]

Thanks for the info. Makes sense. 👍

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad it was helpful! How many tomato plants do you have going this year?

[@waynesell3681]

Going to be potting up soon getting my next size pots ready. Going from 72 cell tray size. Great video almost scifi in the middle of the night! Browsing around the greenhouse!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Hahah I did that for the sake of my neighbours lol. My regular lights are mega wattage lol

[@jarnevanbec2886]

I once had a broken tomato plant while transplanting outside. (roots were fully disconnected) I put it in the soil anyhow, and it grew just as good as the other plants. So I wonder if it is really correct that the advantageous roots are mostly structural? Also when you put a tomato plant in a glass of water, you can see how fast a new root system develops. To mee it seems these roots really do benefit the plant for nutrient intake.

[@GardeningInCanada]

When you do cuttings you end up with a fibrous root system which is essentially what you created. That’s pretty cool

[@dnawormcastings]

Great information I just started my tomatoes this will help heaps 🇳🇿❤️

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cindysquirrelloffgrid9514]

finally someone that knows what she is talking about, how refreshing. It's almost like common sense. too many videos on misinformation out there, lol

[@GardeningInCanada]

Welcome aboard 🤪 we call ourself the GIC Crew and they will adopt you with open arms 🤗

[@yevgeniyakononoff3435]

👏 JT burn is much appreciated!

[@GardeningInCanada]

😉🤓

[@christopherhorn5274]

In the past, I've sunk them down just a little bit when planting in-ground just to keep them from falling over after they are planted. But I'll try planting them at the tip-top of the soil and see if I get a noticeable difference.

[@quantafitness6088]

Hey that is so interesting! I will for sure give shallower planting a try this year 👍🏼

[@GardeningInCanada]

Go for it! Even try them in different ways and see which ones turn out best for you.

[@natureboy6410]

I agree 100%! Every study that I've seen were they used both planting techniques side by side, there was only a moderate difference in root Mass and a moderate increase in the bulk of the plants stock for the ones that were buried deep, the deeper planted ones also took much longer to reach harvest Time, and there was no overall noticeable difference in harvests. So I guess the bigger question would be, do you want to grow the plants just for the sake of growing them? Then go ahead and bury them deeper, you'll end up with prettier, slightly stockier plants. However, if you want a earlier harvest with your determinants, or if you want to start your harvest earlier with your indeterminates, then just plant them like you would anything else.🤗

[@GardeningInCanada]

Interesting! I haven’t seen anything qualitative gardening experiments on this topic. But now you have my googling 😂. The whole harvest time actually makes sense

[@johnwiley2901]

After a little research, I don't think the advantages roots only add stability. I think they do help in the uptake of nutrients. But I do get your point. When you transplant, you should leave plenty of room th continue root growth down. But I think a little extra dirt on top to encourage advantages roots is a benefit too.

[@GardeningInCanada]

They take up water and nutrients as well. I said that a few times, it’s a fibrous root system. My focus is moreso on the tap roots for my bumping up.

[@rdraffkorn3184]

I've always tried to double the height of the container the plant's going into using the upper half to replace the previous container (but wider) and the lower half to be the space the new roots will grow into . Only planting out into the garden will i dig down under the mulch layer till i get to the strata i feel will mimic the pots layers and may be deeper than the pots height. And in a warmer climate i find putting the plant a bit into a hole to keep the new roots well away from the suns heat is a good thing.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

Interesting. Thanks for the tip.

[@GardeningInCanada]

You bet

[@belieftransformation]

Great information; thanks for sharing! 🤗🇨🇦

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thanks for watching! Did you start lots of tomatoes this year?

[@CapitanFantasma1776]

Gosh! Thanks! Great info!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mr.hamilton5393]

Sharing is caring 😊

[@GardeningInCanada]

Always!

[@nah6784]

Dear Ashley, your information is amazing. I have a sweet million tomato plant that I am about to transplant, it is very leggy, should I still not plant them too deep? How do I fix it then? I use Promix HP solid and liquid fertilizers. Thank you!

[@ElderandOakFarm]

3:45 👏 I've always thought planting them all the way at the bottom was silly. Common sense has always told me, "even if the tomato plants will produce roots along the stem, above the root ball, that it going to TAKE TIME. I know that RIGHT NOW, my plants' roots need more room... so it I put it ALL THE WAY at the bottom, it's not going to have much more soil to grow into!?!" So what I have always done, is sink it about 1/2 way into the new pot. This does 3 things- it give it more room/soil at the bottom, for the roots currently growing, it gives it room at the top, for new roots to form, & 3rd- it makes the tomato plant MORE STABLE! If you plant the tomato ALL the way at the top of the container, I find that it's more susceptible to being knocked over in the wind, & then the entire root ball comes toppling out... but if I plant it in the middle, then it's much less likely to tip over in the wind, but if it does, the root ball is more likely to stay put in the container! 😊

[@GardeningInCanada]

That’s pretty good logic! Planting outside is a bit different of a story though depending on your location. And I agree you need to provide the proper support.

[@katharine5606]

I started tomato plants in 3-4 inch cells this year, thinking I wanted to avoid multiple transplantings and they've done really well. A lot of gardening channels say to start in small containers to avoid root rot. It is a balancing act, with watering...

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea it’s not the container size that’s the issue it’s the watering technique. Totally agree. I can water in a container with zero holes and keep things alive.

[@libertycowboy2495]

Love the poke at tiny nub trudeau😂

[@gerardhuiskamp9660]

I sow tomatoes in a seed tray! Then I repot them in a p9 pot and place it at the same height as they came from the seed tray! After ice hollies I plant them outside! So I never plant them deeper! With good results!

[@GardeningInCanada]

That's a great idea!

[@novampires223]

The only time I bury my tomatoes is when they go into the garden, I figure there is more moisture down there. And they are so big sometimes cuz I start seeds tooo early. 😊

[@GardeningInCanada]

That’s fair

[@lostpony4885]

I watched a vid showing planting deep three times during repot with one specimen and keeping at level with another and the resultant root structures showed it all: the deep repotted one has whole new root structures at each level but none as developed as the one that kept the same level. I keep em at the same level now.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Holy moly that is wild

[@tbradtbrad]

Excellent Video!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thank you very much!

[@trevor5290]

your flash card at :50 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@GardeningInCanada]

When you are editing at 1:00 am choices are made

[@trevor5290]

@@GardeningInCanada my respect for you grew immensely lol 0>

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@trevor5290 🫡 see you in the gulag 😉

[@markcarruthers3313]

This is only my second year stating plants from seed indoors, myself, but I have not potted up anything, even tomatoes which grow roots out of their stems, any deeper than the cell soil depth they came out of. The only time I planted them deeper was when the “pot” was the soil of my garden. Then I used a post-hole digger to plant some, last year, because the plants had gotten SO tall before I could get them into the ground because of all the rain we got. They produced like crazy…but later than some of my tomatoes I managed to get in, earlier.🤷‍♂️

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea so that’s actually a thing 😂. So when you put them deeper, it keeps the roots a little bit cooler. Which may work in your benefit if you have a soil that is exposed to sun or surrounding area that’s warmer. So for example, a container, raise bed, sand or soil all are warmer than other soils in your area. It’s the cold roots that delay the harvests. Another thing too is that the lower areas could to have more nitrogen because that’s not where plant roots normally reside. So that again can cause the plant to takeoff a little bit better when you do plant it lower. But more foliage doesn’t necessarily translate into more produce of course we already know that. But it is something to think about anyways.

[@terrywallace5181]

Good information.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad it was helpful! Did you plant any tomatoes this year?

[@user-ok6in1jy1q]

I did learn quite a bit from this wow, I always thought I should plan tomatoes as deep as I can but now I will definitely change it up this year. But if tomatoes benefit from this, what about potatoes? I plant them in both large pots and ground, and I try to plant them at the bottom of the pot around 40cm deep inside the pot (still leave 10cm bottom), should I place the potato a bit higher too now?

[@alancadorette3447]

I transplant tomato seedlings into red beer cups, double cups, pull cups apart and put water in lower one. anyway ,I make half of cup is dirt for roots to grow down thru. worked for years, did that with my pepper plants witch I started mid February. maybe started to soon this year, its 4/28 now and peppers are 5 to 6 inches tall and half have flowers.

[@trek150082]

Ha now I have more ammo for when my wife says u didn’t sink them enough! It didn’t make sense to me either.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Hahah if you have warm soil she maybe right!

[@priayief]

A truly interesting video. But I'm thinking that this is more of a hypothesis than a conclusion. For me, the conclusive point is when I can show that the hypothesis results in observable results. In this case, I'd like to see a trial that compares the "traditional" method of potting up the seedling to the cotyledon versus not doing that. As a home gardener, I'm not interested in relatively minor improvements when I change a variable in my methods. The measure, for me, is will it give me an improvement that is significant and observable. That being said, I think I'll do my own trial on my next crop of approximately 12 tomato seedlings. I admit that's not even close to a sizeable enough trial to be conclusive, but, as I said, if I don't notice a significant improvement in half my seedlings, frankly, it's not worth me worrying about. Thanks for your many interesting videos.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yeah, certainly give it a shot. I’ll put the link to my article that I had wrote years ago. But inside of that it links to several references of trials, etc., and so forth that have looked at planting depth in the results that come from it. Pretty interesting stuff! Again, if you have a sandy soil or you were in a warm climate, I would just plant them deep. gardeningincanada.net/planting-tomatoes-deeper-in-cold-climates/

[@krisyallowega5487]

I potted mine up last week. I tend to give plenty of room for root development. Once in the garden I will plant them deeper in the soil. I always have and get plenty of fruit each year. I went overboard and kept 3 dozen seedlings.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I always planted mine deep as well. I sometimes wonder if because I usually have these and raised bends if that’s why it benefits me. Obviously raised beds aren’t nearly as cold as in the ground. But where I’m located if I was guarding the ground, I would assume my results will be less than stellar.

[@johnwiley2901]

When I have buried tomato plants deep in the past, i noticed that the roots didn't grow all along the stem. Rather, they were only in the original root ball and about a fist size from the surface. So, this makes sense.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I have had it where it’s the root ball, a space and then roots at the surface lol. Zero idea how this happened. But they do call them “stress induced” so maybe the centre sections wasn’t “stressed enough” 😅

[@ienekevanhouten4559]

Now you tell me! I had no idea. I wish I had seen this earlier.

[@garytaylor4135]

I just sunk my tomatoes in pots grrr. You make so much sense, so now what ? Lol will have the same tomatoes as last year but hopefully we get more rain here in saskatchewan

[@GardeningInCanada]

Just leave them and pot them a bit higher when you transplant that’s all

[@gardenshappen]

I fill the pot with soil, Take the pot or similar size pot I'm up potting from press that into the soil of the new pot, loosen the soil a little in the indent, then put the plant in, fill it and water.

[@GardeningInCanada]

That’s a good technique love that.

[@terrihubbard3741]

FINALLY, someone that KNOWS that the "hairs" on the stem DO NOT turn into roots!!! 🤩🤩🤩

[@comfortablynumb9342]

I feel like this lesson applies to cannabis plants too. A lot of people transplant them deep, and I have too. But now I wonder if it's a good idea.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I guess it would depend on like conditions you’re growing them in. So if they’re in a tent and particularly hot. Probably doesn’t make a difference whether you plant them because the whole thing is going to be warm. It’s such a small container size right. If it’s ingrown, then it definitely is probably negative if it’s a cooler area.

[@user-pb8bp6sr2u]

I transplant my cannabis slightly deep in ground, since they get pretty stemmy indoors very quickly. And they grow 6-11 feet tall, very big and robust. At end of season I can't pull out the plants, they are strong like trees! I have to cut them down. I have to wait until Spring each year, to shovel them out with the huge dead root systems. In the meantime they keep the soil intact.

[@comfortablynumb9342]

@@GardeningInCanada makes sense, thanks

[@BigWillDogg82]

Does this apply to rooting suckers and planting them? As a trial for my own plants, I was able to root end of season branches, allow them to grow (some up to 10ft in height), then remove another decent sucker which was rooted and is ready to be planted out as a comparison to fresh seed. Along the way I initially used straight hydro to get the 1st roots and growth, then rooted suckers in hydro and then into soilless mix which are now in organic fertilizers/worm castings/Pro Mix. So far I have no real differences between each plant and root balls seem comparable. Would love any thoughts or feedback on my methods.

[@GardeningInCanada]

The suckers make more of a fibrous root system. It would be interesting to see it in a hot dry soil vs regular conditions to see what makes it. That’s pretty cool, your should try a couple experiments

[@mssavedin92]

well, what you said makes sense. Really good to know. Thankyou.

[@GardeningInCanada]

You are so welcome. Have you grown any tomatoes this year? Any bizarre varieties?

[@mssavedin92]

Hi Ashley, thanks for asking. So, 3-5 plants this year, nothing bizarre...gonna single stem the beefsteaks....and my favorite to plant out will be the sungold cherry's we sowed..they're awesome IMHO. Cheers

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@mssavedin92 i’m trying the sun gold cherries for the first time this year. All because people in the GIC crew would not shut up about them last year. Totally convinced me I need to do these plants i’m trying the gold cherries for the first time this year. All because people in the geek crew would not shut up about them last year. Totally convinced me I need to do these plants 🤣

[@mssavedin92]

@@GardeningInCanada Well, aweome! I think ...and I hope you notice the difference. I sure did when I started growing them last year. Its a distinct flavor and to me...its flippn beautiful.Can not describe it but you shall see. If I could only grow one variety...that would be the one. Cheers!

[@danharmer2511]

Interesting. I’m having a very hard time finding any information that supports the notion of not burying tomatoes deep. I’ve been doing it deep for 30 years. The prevailing opinion has been the hairs, when buried, grow into roots. Can you post links to research. It would be an interesting read. Glad to have a Canadian posting gardening info. Thanks.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Here is the article I wrote way back. But if you click on the red words it will bring you over to some of the trials/debate. I can’t really find anything to prove that Trichomes are hairs and the bumps are roots. It’s not really an up for debate conversation, we just know that they are different in their roles. I linked a video below as well that may help explain the difference a bit better. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoOYlalpZ5KGm5osi=bDUh0-GhqaaU5wRq gardeningincanada.net/planting-tomatoes-deeper-in-cold-climates/

[@crazyabundance3159]

As a fellow Canadian the Trudeau part has me 😂😂😂👏👏👏

[@GardeningInCanada]

🫶🏻🫶🏻 I’m always here to bring joy lol

[@rtaskyy]

that makes sense, but when you put them into the ground outside where the roots have an unlimited amount of space below them, is it advantageous then to bury them as low as possible?

[@GardeningInCanada]

It’ll kinda depend on where you are. So if you have a Sandy soil you may want to put them deeper. If you have a clay soil, you may want to raise them up. The other thing to look at is where you’re located in the world. If you know, your soil is characterized as warm or hot then you would want to put it deeper. But if you were in a cooler climate, then you definitely want to move them up. You could do some experiments on your own and just see what performs best in your area. One thing to keep in mind is that raised beds and containers very likely would be different than ground. In a container I would lean to it being lower as the better option.

[@keyphabenyisrael3219]

Sorry, I just prefer "up potting" to "bumping up" Anywho, I have always up potted my tomato plants this way, just out of convenience I guess. When I use 2 plastic butter knives to pluck the seedlings out of my 72 cell trays, I use the knives to make a hole in the center of the potting mix I put in my solo cups that ends up being almost exactly the same size as the 72 cell plugs, so it works out really well.

[@amyschmelzer6445]

I say “pot up” and “up pot” equally. I don’t say “bump up.” Maybe it’s me being Midwestern American vs Ashley being Canadian.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Wonderful! I love the butter knife idea genius.

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@amyschmelzer6445 yeaaa maybe a Canadian thing but knowing me it’s just an Ashley thing 😅

[@keyphabenyisrael3219]

@@GardeningInCanada I thought so as well when I saw a video from youtube channel UT33200 demonstrating that technique. 👍

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@keyphabenyisrael3219 I’m going to the dollar store tomorrow 😂 my poor fingertips are screaming because of how dry they are

[@user-pb8bp6sr2u]

My soil tends to dry out easily on top, which is another reason i bury deep once they go in the ground. The water table here is rather shallow, and plants that root low can more easily get to the below ground water, creating longer, even stronger and healthier, roots. It's also why i don't constantly water my garden. I want the roots of my plants to grow long, seeking that water down below rather than depend on me top watering. Also since my soil is so loose and friable, plants need all the structural support they can get to anchor them as solidly as possible. And so, they do well.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yup that definitely makes sense for your scenario!

[@wylfire]

Amazing info! Just planted some of my tomatoes deep AF yesterday though lol. I am going to plant the rest like you describe here. Will be interested to see the results. They are in raised beds and my soil is incredibly sandy (coastal North Carolina) i wonder how soil type might affect results.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Sandy is much warmer loam or clay. I would lean towards your tomatoes you sink deeper doing better where you are.

[@francestaylor9156]

I think it makes sense to plant deep in the South. It’s the end of April and it’s already in the 80s this week. Even with a mulch, it can get pretty hot on the surface. But my raised beds are 32” deep and I plant my tomato seedlings up to about 12” deep. They have tons of space to grow down.

[@marilynturcotte5304]

I love the term " Bunny Hood," and you are definitely a Prairie Girl!!

[@BabyT709]

Its bunny hug

[@GardeningInCanada]

🫶🏻🫶🏻

[@GardeningInCanada]

I honest didn’t even remember that that’s a Sask slang

[@HarleyQuinnJokr]

tell me your canadian without telling me your canadian, you hate Trudeau lol 😂Fellow Canadian here!

[@GardeningInCanada]

😂😅 it’s just such easy pickings

[@JubileeHomesteading]

I got to this video just a few days after me doing this wrong. 😅 Shoot! Would you please make a video on how to handle tomato seedlings that have brown spotting on the leaves? I am dealing with some stress on my Brandywines after up potting up and am concerned it may be disease.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea! Absolutely

[@lexi-vx1pd]

Love your videos, wish you were in the states!

[@GardeningInCanada]

I wish! I wouldn’t have to freeze my tookus off up here 😂

[@NateFord]

As an American, I don’t know what’s going on with Trudeau right now, but that was hilarious

[@icouldjustscream]

The country has gone to hell.

[@GardeningInCanada]

He is an easy target 🎯 😂

[@marajokegr]

Well poop. But.... many of us do it because our seedlings are ridiculously leggy and won't be standing very well after we pot them up. I totally see what you're saying, and my ways shall be reformed from here on out (next season, apparently).

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is true. Leggy ones are never fun

[@Z06Fred]

well then next season i guess it will do it the right way....Thanks for your insight.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Anytime! How many tomatoes are you starting this year?

[@davidgallego8506]

Impressive.

[@user-pb8bp6sr2u]

I personally prefer lots of structural support for my plants. My tomatoes tend to get a bit stemmy, so i plant deep to counter this. Marigolds have these same bumpy structures. I like doing the same thing with the tall ones because, like tomatoes, they get top heavy and fall over later in the season. The more support the better. My soil is very loose and friable.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea that’s absolutely fair. Definitely makes sense.

[@jimmydemetriou7847]

Thanks for explaining this. I knew the hairs don't make roots. X

[@GardeningInCanada]

You’re welcome 😊

[@vikkiscott9296]

Hey I am so tempted to put my starts into the greenhouse which is not heated and I am live in Alberta and it is still -1 some nights. What do you think

[@jeil5676]

It all depends on the temp in your green house at night but sounds cold. 10 degrees is safe IMO. Colder might still be okay but I havent tried it. I have been putting my starts outside when its only 9 degrees or so but brought them back inside before night. Tomatoes only.

[@ZeFeratu]

Michigan Zone 5a here. I think I'm dealing with a slightly warmer climate, but there are nights that are still quite cold here as well. In December, I had a pest situation that yeilded in many healthy tomato suckers, so I decided to see what we grow, rather than feeding them to my worms. As soon as the weather started to warm up I begin to treat them as though I was hardening them off. Now I bring them outside every time the temperature is in the ideal range for each variety, and then I bring them back inside whenever the temperature drops to 50°F/10°C each day. I'm not willing to lose my plants without a fight, so I allow myself to be neurotic about keeping informed on the weather changes every hour during daylight. I understand this method is not for most people. Just know that it is possible to get your tomato starts some direct sunlight early if you're willing to put in some extra effort (or risk losing some in the event you decide to forgo the neuroticism) 😂 Good luck!

[@alligator_pie]

I’m in AB too , I’ve stopped putting tomatoes out early as there’s no gains.… It’s less a matter of the air temperature, but they hate “cold feet”. They will probably survive, but growth will be slow unless you provide some heat mats. Optimum temps for tomatoes is 21° to 35° C.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Don’t do it! Your tomatoes need a minimum temperature of 10°C. If you cannot keep your greenhouse above 10°C both at night and day do not put tomatoes outside or peppers or anything on the “tropical side”

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@ZeFeratu great, I love this very help

[@itme7685]

What about taking a sucker and rooting it in water. Those plants do fine, indicating they take up nutrients and water fine. I’m assuming those are adventitious roots as well and clearly the only roots in that case.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Those are actually are fibrous root system/come from the bottom of the cutting. The adventitious roots are the ones moreso on the stem. This will explain it a bit better unacademy.com/content/neet-ug/study-material/biology/three-main-types-of-roots/

[@FloraM44]

Hey Ashley great video! Do you have a good link that I could read more about what advantageous roots are good for? You said they're only good for support but wondered where you read that!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yuppers! - keep in mind that they do capture some nutrients and water just not an effectively. They are considered to come from non root tissue. gardeningincanada.net/planting-tomatoes-deeper-in-cold-climates/ www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4734560/

[@FloraM44]

@@GardeningInCanada thank you so much!!

[@FloraM44]

@@GardeningInCanada I was reading the article and started to wonder: if you plant a tomato plant deep and look after its needs so that it's not stressed, would it still grow adventitious roots under the soil? I'm wondering why it would grow them if the plant didn't need them? And if you don't plant it deep, will it still grow them? I've seen tomato plants with adventitious roots even though I planted them 6" deep! But I might not have been fertilizing enough, which is pretty wild to think it had all that extra access to soil and nutrients and still formed above-ground adventitious roots...... 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@Orange_You_Glad]

What about side planting at the potting up stage? It would seem plausible that side planting would maximize the container availability of the normal roots (even beyond soil-level planting because all would be higher up) while also activating some adventitious roots. I’ll probably run a three-style trial given the number of tomatoes I’m potting up.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I would give everyone a different trial in your garden. If you’re able to keep your water up then there’s no reason why a side planting wouldn’t work for you. The only reason I don’t love cycling is because if you do it wrong, you can snap the stem and it’s an incredible amount of pressure on that poor plant. But there’s lots of people out there that are careful enough and don’t have this issue.

[@Orange_You_Glad]

Sorry, I should clarify that I’m thinking of sideways during the up-pot, not planting out. It looks like a dry summer for us so I’m planning by to plant all tomatoes deep.

[@GardeningInCanada]

@@Orange_You_Glad absolutely that definitely makes sense. Good call!