When to move into bigger pots?

PeteW

Hiya,

I've got tomatoes, chillis, cucumbers and peppers growing in pots in the greenhouse, but I'm never really sure at what stage they need to go into bigger pots )and how big those pots should be).

Are there any rules of thumb based on age or plant height I should be following?

Thanks

Pete

mrbadexample

I think it's mostly guesswork, at least when you first start. If it helps, today I've repotted this chilli and this tomato from the little black pot to the ones they're in:



I think it was about the right time, both had roots to the bottom of the first pot.

Kay_Peel

The more you repot a tomato plant the better. Every time I re-pot it, I bury the stem a bit more. As the stem grows thicker I remove the bottom leaves with a sharp knife and bury it even deeper. That way it will grow more roots and grow stronger and I'll get more tomatoes that way. Little by little, it goes from a 3 inch pot to a big deep flower bucket.

I can usually tell when it needs re-potting because

* it looks too big in it's pot
* there are tell-tale little roots coming out the bottom of the pot
* it needs a lot of watering and the soil surface gets quite solid and cakey.

For cucumbers etc I watch the number of leaves and the state of the roots. I repot when it's got 4 leaves and then 8 leaves and before it gets root bound.

Hope that helps

:beer:

misskool

I repot when the roots start sticking out from the bottom of the pot. Another rule of thumb I heard recently was that the width of leaves = width of pot.

EmptyPockets

Kay Peel... almost every time you post, I pick up really helpful info, this thread included. Thank you :T

Orange_King

I was repotting tomatoes yesterday and while I did it I also threw in a few water retaining crystals and some plant food on top of the new compost so the roots would have instant access to it. Hope it reaps rewards!