Topic: Potting on

[caroline7758]

I think I may have asked this before and forgotten the answer! I know we're told we can plant tomatoes right up to their first leaves when potting on, but is there any way of knowing which other veg and flowers will tolerate this treatment? I've got some leggy Cosmos, for example?

[Tee Gee]

I know we're told we can plant tomatoes right up to their first leaves when potting on, but is there any way of knowing which other veg and flowers will tolerate this treatment? I've got some leggy Cosmos, for example?

" First Leaves" If you mean the seed leaves (cotyledons) then I would say all plants. If you mean true leaves then the only ones I know of are Solanum tuberosum e.g,Potatoes & Tomatoes as these will send out roots from the submerged stem.

[caroline7758]

Thanks, TeeGee.

[Seacarrot]

I potted up 3 trays of leggy cosmos a couple of days ago.

Potted them with at least 50% of stem lower down, they are all looking very well.

[Vinlander]

There was recent thread pointing out that brassicas will root from the stem given half a chance.

Anything that roots from cuttings or can be air-layered is likely to root when buried - even rhododendrons.

I would give the medal for easiest rooting to the pepino dulce (Solanum muricatum) - day-length sensitive so the crop is unreliable, but the cuttings always root in 1-2 days, even very late when you need them to overwinter on a windowsill. So reliable that named clones were available here (but not recently). They are also more hardy than the tomato and might be a useful rootstock. The plant has root problems where it comes from but I never noticed any. 

On a seasonal note, basil stems root easily in water - an easy way to propagate that 89p plant from the supermarket.

Cheers.

PS. It's a pity that peppers have been too difficult for me -  does anyone know a reliable way to root them?

[squeezyjohn]

Brassicas definitely can tolerate being planted out deeper than they were in the pot provided they're mature enough ... I find that if I do it with small seedlings then they rot off at the stem before they make roots.  However almost any brassica will root from almost any part!  I have planted a brussels sprout before and it turned in to a whole plant (but bolted straight away ... presumably because it's an annual and the hormones for flowering were already activated)

You can definitely do it with tomatoes.  I don't mind leggy tomato seedlings anymore ... and I don't pot them on either.  I just grow them from seed in root-trainers and then when planting time comes, I dig a really deep hole, take off most of the lower leaves and bury all apart from the growing tip and 4 leaves.  They tend to race away then, and the roots are nice and deep and need less watering in.

Technically you can do it with sweetcorn too ... but they're normally so small when I transplant them out that they'd be drowned in soil.  However it's a good idea to earth up around the base once they're a decent size because the extra roots which grow above the soil line can take in nutrients and also help stabilise the plants against the wind.

[Vinlander]

I have planted a brussels sprout before and it turned in to a whole plant (but bolted straight away ... presumably because it's an annual and the hormones for flowering were already activated)

I assume you mean when you buried the whole stem? Amazing idea either way - a good chance of an immediate crop of sprout 'broccoli' - which I love.

If it was a bought sprout then you can get seed of a variety that might be new (especially if they're red) - and you've tested its flavour. If it's home grown you're getting fresh seed - without being stuck with a manky 100x60cm plant that's probably in the wrong place.

If you bought the stem then the same advantages apply, it's still a great idea for dealing with the leftovers, and well worth the experiment. This thread can be read as meaning they have a reasonable chance of rooting and sprouting.

I may experiment with this year's home grown stems to see what chances a bought stem might have next November when they appear in the shops. I might even pop into the big posh food halls in the city to see if there's a wider range (they are a good source of anything unusual or special - you can often get red Jartichokes etc. to plant and delicious stuff to eat, like yellow pitaya fruits [with tiny but viable seeds for friends in warmer climes] and yellow passionfruit  [that are just as nice with their mandarin background flavour as the normal ones that are hyper-raspberry flavour]).

Ideally you'd leave any damaged or immature sprouts on there for a quick result (you wouldn't want to mollycoddle the stick for a whole year - unless there was some chance of more sprouts). Maybe you could cut just the bit of the sprout that goes in the pan - in my house that would leave quite a few buds behind for every sprout taken.

It's crazy- I've been smashing the stems with a lump hammer so they will rot in the heap, but by doing that I was throwing away food that's actually fresher than what I paid for!

What's even more annoying is I found some sticks of a lovely red sprout in Lidl last Xmas - I love red sprout broccoli even more!

I understand that this type of epiphany is what they now call "life hacks" - maybe we should have a new category for them?

Cheers.