Last Updated on September 13, 2026
How to Transplant Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the one transplant you plant wrong on purpose: deep, with most of the stem buried. Here is how I set mine out, from hardening off to the first watering.
Wait for the frost date and harden off
Tomatoes go out only after your last expected frost. If you grew them indoors, put them outside for a week or two first, a little longer each day, and out of direct sun for the first couple of days. Nursery plants have usually been sitting outside already.
Check the roots
Mine are in soil blocks, so the roots are never circling. If you buy transplants in pots and the roots are wrapped around the root ball, loosen them by hand or cut the bottom of the root ball with scissors before planting, so the roots grow out instead of around.
Soil and spacing
The bed got a layer of compost at the end of last season, and that is all the feeding it needs. For spacing I mark the bed into 2 x 2 foot squares. Determinate tomatoes get one per four squares. For this 4 x 8 bed of Super Sweet 100s I ran three rows on the Florida weave and planted a little tighter, 12 plants in the bed. If you prune indeterminates to a single stem you can go closer still, one per square foot.
Plant deep, two ways
Most vegetables are planted at the depth they grew. Tomatoes root along any buried stem, so bury them.
- The deep hole. Dig 6 to 8 inches, clip the lowest leaves, set the plant in and backfill. Leave a small stick in the hole to tie the plant to until the trellis goes up.
- The trench. Dig a shallow trench, lay the plant on its side with the stem in the trench, backfill, and gently bend the top upright. Roots form along the whole buried stem, and you get a very strong plant.
Give them a boost, mulch, water
I feed the soil rather than the plant, so I do not fertilize as a rule. For transplant shock a fish and kelp blend is the one exception: about a quarter cup per gallon of water at the base, or as a foliar spray. Mulch with grass clippings, wood chips, leaves or straw to hold moisture and keep weeds down. Water heavily, a couple of times a day for the first few days, and support the plants right away so they do not snap before the trellis is up. Try to transplant on a cloudy day or in the evening; a plant in shock does not want full sun.
Key takeaways
- Only after the last frost, and only after a week or two of hardening off.
- Loosen or cut circling roots on nursery plants before they go in.
- Bury the stem: a 6 to 8 inch hole or a trench with the plant laid sideways. Roots form along the buried stem.
- Compost in the bed does the feeding; a fish and kelp drench is the one thing I add at transplant.
- Mulch, water hard for a few days, and support the plant right away.
When to plant tomatoes
These are the windows the Plan My Garden planner uses, counted from your average last spring frost. Enter your frost date on the seed starting calendar to turn them into dates.
| Start indoors | 5 weeks before to 3 weeks before your last frost |
|---|---|
| Transplant out | 2 weeks after to 3 weeks after your last frost |
| Days to maturity | about 80 days |
Questions people ask
Deep hole or trench?
Both work. The trench buries more stem, so I use it for leggy plants; the deep hole is faster.
How far apart?
One per 2 x 2 foot block for determinate types; single-stem pruned indeterminates can go one per square foot. Chart on the tomato spacing page.
Should I remove the lower leaves?
Yes, any that would be buried, and the lowest ones after planting so nothing touches the soil.
Plan the garden before you build it
Plan My Garden is free to start: it tells you the week to transplant tomatoes for your zip code and places them in your bed at the right spacing.
Related: The Florida Weave · How to Prune Tomato Plants · Soil Blocks for Seed Starting · How Many Tomato Plants per Square Foot?
