Analyzing Root System.

9 years ago

I cleaned up all may half dead tomato plants 3 days ago. I did NOT pull them up then because I wanted to do some checking on the roots system.

Yesterday, I carefully dug up few roots, trying to get them in tact, as much as possible. The soil was/is very fluffy and real moist so I managed to do it satisfactorily. I am sure there was no way to get all the tiny hairline roots. But for all intent and purposes I did what I was looking for .

Here are couple of pictures:

This one belongs to a HUUUGE Mortgage lifter plant , over 8 ft tall and it wast very healthy. Thou the fruits were disappointing

This one belong to one of my Ananas Noires. Again, it was a huge plant loaded with big fruits up until the cold snap stroke and the fruits did not ripen.

SPACING:
I allocated about 2.5 to 3.0 square ft ground space per plant, in average. My observation has been that the roots system did not grow beyond a circle of 18" in diameter (~=2.25 sqr-ft area). So I think, as far as the roots systems are concerned my 2.5 to 3.0 sq-ft allocation was adequate.

MY TAKE:
Tomato plant spacing requirement is mostly to accommodate the top more than the roots. So by a good support system and some reasonable top management (pruning) you can get what you are looking for. This in conjunction with short growing season ( Like in our PNW of about 5 months) makes more sense to me. The first 2.5 months the plants are still small. It is in the following 2 months that they really get big.

Alright. Let us hear your views that may be different than mine.

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Comments (10)

John A
9 years ago
Seysonn - My views are not different than yours. I am also clearing out my garden. I just pulled the tomato plants yesterday and found a very healthy root system on all plants as you did. My plants were on 3' centers and I don't think that makes a lot of difference to the root system.
John A
hudson___wy
9 years ago
Seysonn
It may be the GH environment compared to growing in an outside garden - I pulled the rest of our GH tomato plants today and noticed the root system because of your post - I was not careful pulling the plant because I pulled it before remembering to look at the roots - so many broke off. It appears the roots are about 36" long. I'm of the opinion that one can plant tomatoes 24" OC in the GH provided one prunes the suckers to keep them under control. In a GH - 30" OC is best if one has the room - IMO. We grow directly into the soil and not in containers.
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seysonn
Original Author
9 years ago
Hi Hudson,

Your tomato roots look pretty healthy. As I said before, it is not possible to get all the hair like root ends in tact. But looking at what you can get out, you can tell pretty much accurately how much of width they had occupied. The roots go mostly down and side way at an angle of say 45 degrees. Of course there will some shallow laterals too.
So I agree with your assessment that a 24" floor spacing should be a generous spacing, as far as the root system is concerned. Now how one manages the top , that is another issue. I think it can be done by good system of staking, tying to trellis stringing or weaving. I bet greenhouse space is even much more valuable than an open garden space. So you would aim at maximizing your returns on your investment and efforts.

Seysonn
labradors_gw
9 years ago
When I pulled my tomato plants, way back at the beginning of October, I noticed that they were rather bunched up at the tops, indicating that they had been root-bound before planting out.

I planted the seed at the very end of March and potted them up into newspaper pots and then into large OJ cartons. I planted them in the garden on May 30th, so it was only 8 weeks.

Linda
ediej1209 AL Zn 7
9 years ago
We only planted 1 cherry tomato this year and it did not do well at all; when I pulled it out there was just this teensy root ball, but the Green Zebra next to it (about 2' or so apart) had roots that went everywhere! I had purchased the cherry tomato from a local nursery, so not sure why the roots were so bad on it, but it surely did affect plant size and production.
Edie
labradors_gw
9 years ago
Interesting Edie. I wonder if it had been grown in a peat pot as they can really impede root development.

Linda
lubadub
9 years ago
Does anyone think that how you feed and water your plants has anything to do with the root structure? If the roots are well fed near the base of the plant and watered daily at the base of the plant would this effect how far out or how deep the roots might go. What I am saying is will the roots grow out and down if they really have no need to?

This post was edited by lubadub on Fri, Nov 28, 14 at 8:39
lubadub
9 years ago
bump
miesenbacher
9 years ago
Just got done removing the plants out of my no-till raised bed at work. The roots didn't venture far from the main stem, maybe 8" and root depth was down to 6". Studies have shown most of your microbes/spores in untilled soil are in the 3" to 6" depth range. So basically the roots won't wander far if the nutrients and microbes are close to home and they get adequate moisture.
seysonn
Original Author
9 years ago
So basically the roots won't wander far if the nutrients and microbes are close to home and they get adequate moisture.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The purpose of the roots venturing is to find moisture and nutrients. If they can find it nearby, there be be no need/reason for them to run around. Also there won't be an urgency to grow more roots. So if the plants are watered and fed in a shallow fashion, that is how the root system would be, SHALLOW. But if you let them get thirsty between watering and water real deep, then they will have to go deeper, searching for moisture and food.

But I think also plants have some roots growth habit like top growth habit. But according to my analysis, a tomato plant can do fine in a 18 inch by 18 inch square surface area with a depth if about 18". That will constitute over 3 cubic feet of soil (about 20 gallons). The of course , managing the top growth is another issue.

Seysonn

Analyzing Root System.

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