With 4 weeks to go I would pot them up.

Holding them - low temps, less water, no fertilizer - for that long wont be effective.

Go to a nursery and ask if they have any extra 1 gal pots (point out you'll need a large bag of potting mix and maybe they wont charge for what they intend to recycle). Be sure to wash the pots out with mild bleach water.

cleo

I agree that you should pot the large ones up again, and soon, given the amount of time still left before they can go out. I guess if I had a choice, I'd go for a deep container rather than a wide one if possible, just so you can bury the stems.

Your roots look healthy and still not too rootbound, but they won't stay healthy for four more weeks!

Anyway, the deeper the container, the better.

I would. The roots are coiling.

Dave

I am a little confused on this because in Carolyn's book, her recommendation for the size of the container for the first-and-final pot up seems tiny - "I transplant into plastic four-packs that have 2 inch cells", she says. Even if she is only starting seed 6 weeks before plant out, it seems like the plants would be extremely root bound by that time.

*****

And that's the way I do it and so did all the commercial farmers in my area.

And yes, they are very rootbound when they get put out and that's also the way I want it. And the roots are not as fragile and break as easily when transplanted as with seedlings that were potted up, which I've also done.

I prefer seedlings that are about 6-9 inches tall to put out and yours aren't far from that already.

So it's up to you what you want to do but if it were me I think I'd put your plants in as cool a place as you can right now and hold back on water and nutrients b'c in the next four weeks you're going to have huge plants as I see it.

IN your MA zone 6 I think your last average frost date should be about May 1st, since in my zone 5 next door to you it's about May 15th, and I never plant out until about two weeks after last average frost,weather permitting, so for you that would mean planting out May 15th or so, so you'd have another month of growth on those plants.

Another thing you might consider is taking some lateral branch, aka sucker, cuttings right now and I bet you'd have decent size plants in roughly a month, after hardening off.

So pot up if you wish to; your choice. ( smile)

Carolyn

stick with your plan...16, maybe 20 oz cups, but definitely pot up. =) Obviously, poke holes in the bottom of the cups & maybe give a tiny bit of fertilizer after the transplant.

- Steve

Another thing you might consider is taking some lateral branch, aka sucker, cuttings right now
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They don't have any suckers, and tomato plants don't usually grow suckers large enough for cuttings until they are producing flowers. That's the way it is for me at least. The toms in those pics have no suckers at all as far as I can see.

They don't have any suckers, and tomato plants don't usually grow suckers large enough for cuttings until they are producing flowers. That's the way it is for me at least. The toms in those pics have no suckers at all as far as I can see.

Break one of the branches of leaves off and plant it in dirt, it will grow. That branch is on it's way to becoming a nice lateral. I've gotten a nice plant with less to start with.

I am continually surprised at the number of people who recommend feeding a plant immediately after transplant. It does not need it, water is all it needs.

Poke it in seed starting medium, then wait. After a few days it will perk up.

Bets

I vote for up potting again.

I'm in zone 5, I start my toms in Jan/Feb. I start the seeds in a tray, ribbed. Then transplant out into 72 cell plug trays, then when they are trying to topple over, I transplant into 4" pots, as deep as I can find. When these plants start to topple over the pot, they go into gal pots, also as deep as possible. After that, they go into the garden. Yes, I use a post hole digger or large round point shovel. I don't have a transplanter, just human power.

I have been doing this for a few years now. I also retail some of the plants. My customers LOVE the idea of the big pots, it makes them feel like they have huge plants. I try to plant the plants before they actually start to bloom, but if it's not possible, I haven't found any problems with blooming plants either.

bets: I recommend that, specifically a bit of diluted (1/4 to 1/2 strength) water-based fertilizer because it helps give the roots a "jump-start" of sorts on growing into their new home. It tends to cut way down on re-root time also. No watching paint dry for a week or more when you do this, maybe a few days. =) Also, if you somehow damage the plant in any way during the transplant, it helps with that & other transplant shock issues.

- Steve