Topic: Potting on root trained toms etc

[Barnowl]

I used root trainers for my beans last year they worked really well so I thought I'd try them with chillies and tomatoes as well.

With the beans I plant out directly, but for the chillies, cukes and toms should I do an intermediate potting on from the root trainers into (say) 7" pots before putting the seedlings into their final large pots or can I just plant directly from the root trainers to the large pots?

[goodlife]

Hi there
You can go either way, but...
If you decide to plant straight away to the final position you have to get your plant as large as they grow in root trainers and after planting you have to be really, really careful with watering that you do not over do it...remember the plants have big job ahead to fill the pot with roots before they start to make lot of top growth.
It is safer to plant into"half-way house". That way your plants will continue growth steadily and they are quite likely to fruit sooner than doing it other way.

[Barnowl]

Thanks goodlife, that makes good sense.

[kt.]

I have just potted mine on from 3 to 5 inch pots.   They will be geting potted on again later prior to going in the ground.

[tim]

Just a thought, but trainers are 3 or 5". By the time they are filled, you could NOT pot them up into any normal pot. So it has to be straight out?? AFTER  the roots have filled the trainers.

[Barnowl]

Yes - I've got some in the longest trainers (by mistake - meant to use them for beans but wasn't paying attention  :-[ ) and they would have to go into at least an 8" pot The others are in shorter 'books' and could go on into 5"-7" pots.

The sequence I usually follow is : start in cells then pot on to 4" pots, then in to  7" to 9" pots (then to e.g. buckits for the larger plants), so I would at least be missing one stage.

Having done it the same way for so long it's a bit worrying making changes :), but I have to get them capable of surviving outside as soon as possible for space reasons (I can't keep 60 plus varieties in my green house) and I think root trainers may well be the answer.

[Tee Gee]

Are they pot bound in the root trainers ? and what height are the plants?

When do you normally plant out, and do you plant them outdoors or in?

Why I ask is; I would have thought 5" pots would be ample.

It doesn't matter about the depth of the pot so much providing the soil levels are similar (but not less).

Basically it is just a case of somewhere for the roots to run be that horizontal.

In my case; I avoid such a situations by working my sowing dates  backwards from my planting out dates.

This way I have less problems with storing / hardening off seedlings, generally no need to pot on in to bigger pots other than those I use at pricking out time etc.

That is they are growing the minimum of time possible from sowing to planting out.

In case you didn't see my tomatoes in another thread, these were mine yesterday  and they will remain in that size pot until planting out time in about  5-6 weeks time when they will be about 6"- 8" tall.

[Barnowl]

Hi Tee Gee.  They're only a 2-3  inches high at the moment. You're not meant to move them on until the root system is well established (which I suppose is similar to being pot bound) so in the 5" root trainers there will be a 5" deep root system - which is why I think they wouldn't be comfortable in a 3" pot but thanks for your point about roots being happy to go sideways.

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I'm not sure how tall the plants will be at the 'rootbound' stage so it will be a judgment call whether to pot on or go straight to the final container / bed. I'm expecting the ones in the 5" trainers will be ok to plant out (after a bit of hardening off) but the ones in the 3" might not be established enough. Nearly all my tomatoes are grown outside but I first get them quite large in the GH / cold frame - hence the larger pots than you use, but you may be right that I'm creating unnecessary work for myself!