I’ve grown these Sungold tomatoes from seed under a grow light as I don’t have a sunny windowsill. I think they’re maybe a bit too leggy and there’s still a couple of weeks before I can safely plant them into their final pots in my greenhouse.
When it comes time to plant them, how many lower leaves should I look to be removing to plant deeper? I want to maximise the vertical space I have in my greenhouse but don’t want to stress the plants.
Thanks!
by Decent_Pool
4 Comments
As deep as you could. Remove the lower leaves till the top and burry it in soil
Conventional wisdom is to prune the lower leaves pretty soon after planting out anyway to keep they away from soil and splashback.
These don’t look too leggy to me and sungold is an aggressive grower and prolific fruiter. I’d plant as deep as you feel like but wouldn’t expect it to really matter in the long run.
To maximize vertical space, try allowing it to bush out a bit?
It’s best to remove the lower leaves. Noone can tell you how many. I remove most of them, leaving only the ones at the top.
One refinement of the process, if you would like to reduce plant stress, is to do that pruning a day or two before you plant out. It gives the cut places (the wounds) a chance to seal over. This makes them a less attractive place for disease to enter during the vulnerable “transplant shock” stage. Not essential, of course, just one of those optional “extra precautions.”
these are not leggy they are beautiful.
I would remove the bottom 2/3 sets and plant about 10cm deeper, only remove the 3rd if it is dragging. A total 20cm is a decent depth to start, the roots will grow down as well.
You can go as deep as you like but it is a compromise between leaf and root, they do need leaves for energy
Also remove the little suckers that are trying to form at the leaf joints for now. I would let them get a couple of side shoots later on for more fruit.