2/3 Buried?
May 1, 2024 4:08 AM Subscribe
What does “Bury 2/3 of plant” mean?
Every year, we plant a lone cherry tomato plant in a container. And, every year, I wrestle with the planting instructions for the plants. The tags always say “Bury 2/3 of the plant.”
This year’s plant has a large 4” tall cup with the root ball, and a healthy, green, leafy 8” plant above. Does the “bury 2/3 of plant” mean 2/3 of the entire thing, including the rootball? Or, does it mean 2/3 of just the green stem above the rootball?
Either way, it seems I would still be burying a lot of healthy green stem and leaves, which seems...odd. To me, anyway.
Please hope me, MeFi horticulturalists, understand these probably-crystal-clear-to-everyone-but-me instructions.
Every year, we plant a lone cherry tomato plant in a container. And, every year, I wrestle with the planting instructions for the plants. The tags always say “Bury 2/3 of the plant.”
This year’s plant has a large 4” tall cup with the root ball, and a healthy, green, leafy 8” plant above. Does the “bury 2/3 of plant” mean 2/3 of the entire thing, including the rootball? Or, does it mean 2/3 of just the green stem above the rootball?
Either way, it seems I would still be burying a lot of healthy green stem and leaves, which seems...odd. To me, anyway.
Please hope me, MeFi horticulturalists, understand these probably-crystal-clear-to-everyone-but-me instructions.
I thought I remembered something similar on this site - it's a bit more comprehensive with its instructions for growing tomatoes. 2/3 of the plant sounds a bit much, but that site explains that a tomato can sprout roots along any part of the stem as long as it's underground - and the more roots, the healthier the plant. She recommends removing the bottom two leaves and then burying it up to just under the new "bottom leaves".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:18 AM on May 1 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:18 AM on May 1 [2 favorites]
You can also bury it lying kind of on its side. Like if you are using 12” spacing, you count from where the stem pokes out of the dirt, but a lot of your 12” is taken up by the stem and root ball relatively shallowly buried. Easier than digging a big deep hole.This is what I have done all my life and it works very well. The stem will take root anywhere it’s underground.
posted by HotToddy at 4:42 AM on May 1 [4 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 4:42 AM on May 1 [4 favorites]
BTW, burying the stem of a new plant is only good for tomatoes. Many plants would die if treated that way.
posted by tmdonahue at 5:08 AM on May 1 [4 favorites]
posted by tmdonahue at 5:08 AM on May 1 [4 favorites]
2/3 of the whole height. 8" is bigger than ideal. You can't hardly bury too much, but you can easily plant too shallow, which will lead to a weak plant and decreased yield. Best practice is to sink the plant at least six inches deep, which is about 2/3 of a 6" transplant.
Pro tip: for any gardening question in the US, search google but append "extension" to the end. Then you get reliable info from university extension services, like so.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:14 AM on May 1 [3 favorites]
Pro tip: for any gardening question in the US, search google but append "extension" to the end. Then you get reliable info from university extension services, like so.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:14 AM on May 1 [3 favorites]
What you are doing, when you bury a tomato seedling this way, is creating an artificially deep, strong root system for your genetically-manipulated-for-8000-years freak of a plant that would otherwise rip itself out of the ground from the sheer weight of its unnaturally massive and numerous fruits.
I love growing tomatoes.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:44 AM on May 1 [27 favorites]
I love growing tomatoes.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:44 AM on May 1 [27 favorites]
If you look closely up the stem of a tomato plant, you will see little goosebumps. Those all want to be roots, and will do so if they are underground. You want that - it will look like nothing is happening for a while, as all the action happens underground, and then one day it's like a starter gun goes off and boom, intense growth starts aboveground.
I dig my hole a little extra-large around, take the dug-out dirt and mix it up well with a big scoop of Tomato-tone and several cups of compost or bagged manure, put the plant down in the hole to measure, take it out and add a bit of my dirt mix if I need to raise it up some, and then gently fill the hole, lightly packing every few scoops. I actually mound it up so high that I've got no more than maybe 1" of leaf-tips showing, knowing that as I water it in and over the next few days it'll compact down and expose a couple more inches.
Some people swear you have to put a fish head at the bottom of the hole, but I've always gardened in critter territory and I'm pretty sure a raccoon would just yank the whole plant out to get the fish.
For something as big as an 8" plant, if you are going to have trouble digging enough of a hole you can plant sideways if you've got enough space or put it in a deeper planter/barrel with a sturdy enough base to not tip over later (you can also stabilize a planter with stakes around it).
It feels wrong, but I promise they want it this way.
posted by Lyn Never at 5:45 AM on May 1 [5 favorites]
I dig my hole a little extra-large around, take the dug-out dirt and mix it up well with a big scoop of Tomato-tone and several cups of compost or bagged manure, put the plant down in the hole to measure, take it out and add a bit of my dirt mix if I need to raise it up some, and then gently fill the hole, lightly packing every few scoops. I actually mound it up so high that I've got no more than maybe 1" of leaf-tips showing, knowing that as I water it in and over the next few days it'll compact down and expose a couple more inches.
Some people swear you have to put a fish head at the bottom of the hole, but I've always gardened in critter territory and I'm pretty sure a raccoon would just yank the whole plant out to get the fish.
For something as big as an 8" plant, if you are going to have trouble digging enough of a hole you can plant sideways if you've got enough space or put it in a deeper planter/barrel with a sturdy enough base to not tip over later (you can also stabilize a planter with stakes around it).
It feels wrong, but I promise they want it this way.
posted by Lyn Never at 5:45 AM on May 1 [5 favorites]
Lyn Never is right. You bury extra stem (i pinch off leaves) and the plant makes more roots to harvest nutrients. You can bury it deep or sideways. You'll get more tomatoes, and it won't delay them.
posted by theora55 at 9:04 AM on May 1 [2 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 9:04 AM on May 1 [2 favorites]
I've planted tomatoes for like 20 years, and seen professionals do it, and never heard of this. This is so cool - I have to buy a tomato and try it myself. Thanks for the question!
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:29 AM on May 1 [1 favorite]
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:29 AM on May 1 [1 favorite]
The only exception to the excellent tomato archive above is for grafted tomatoes - these will have a lumpy bit of stem which is where the top was grafted onto a stronger root stock. You don't want to bury this graft point as you'll then have your fancy top tomato growing roots.
posted by In Your Shell Like at 4:45 AM on May 2 [1 favorite]
posted by In Your Shell Like at 4:45 AM on May 2 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks all!
I planted the little fella in a big grow bag this morning, with close to 2/3 of it buried.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:25 AM on May 3 [1 favorite]
I planted the little fella in a big grow bag this morning, with close to 2/3 of it buried.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:25 AM on May 3 [1 favorite]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by maudlin at 4:16 AM on May 1 [1 favorite]