"the issue is that due to capillary action the surface area of roots in the large pot of soil has contact with over damp conditions for a much longer period of time. This can often be detrimental."
It's even worse if the soil mix isn't free draining, and that applies to many plants. The vast majority of plants don't like sitting in permanently damp/wet conditions. If they did, there would be a lot more plants I'd be able to grow here. Anyone gardening in wetter, colder parts of the country will say the same. Tomatoes are actually best kept on the drier side.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Every year I grow about 20 tomato plants. I start them off in little trays in a windowsill propagator and prick them out into little pots, then they live on the dining room windowsill until the weather conditions are ok for them to go into my little lean to greenhouse before eventually being planted out into the veg patch or large pots.
If I started them off in large pots the windowsill wouldn’t be big enough 🤪
This is what I've been doing for decades; I wouldn't dream of starting them off in large pots for all the obvious reasons already mentioned.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
I agree with all the practicalities mentioned about using smaller pots first, especially as I only have a couple of small south facing windowsills available in a new build house in the UK, with a postage stamp garden shadowed by other houses and no greenhouse.
@jamesholt, I suspect there is more space, warmth and sunshine out in Texas, so you could probably skip much of the potting on.
In the experiment below, larger pots resulted in increased tomato yield. However the smaller pots were overall more economical. I can’t access the full text article though, so can’t see the details of other growing conditions used.
“In the autumn, the tomato cv. "Sagit 146"; and in the spring the tomato cvs. "Sagit 146" and "Amfora F1" were used as plant material. In both seasons 10 pots with one tomato plant in each pot were used in each plots. In the trials, peat, perlite and 1:1 peat-perlite mix were used as substrates, and 2 pot sizes; 81 (25x23 cm) and 16 1 (32x28 cm) were used. The nutrient solution recommended by Maas and Adamson (1980) was used as the feeding material.
The growing media, pot sizes and interactions between them had no effect on total yield, but growing media affected the total number of fruits and the highest total number of fruits was obtained from the plants raised in perlite in autumn. In spring, pot sizes affected the total yield significantly and the best results were obtained from the plants raised in 16 1 pots. Also, using 2 pot sizes and 3 substrates had no significant effect on the vegetative growth of plants.
So, using the 8 1 pot size will prevent over use of substrates providing economical advantages in container cultivation.”
We don't use seedling trays any more. Too much damage to the tiny seedlings when transplanting, and too many losses, plus it's fiddly.
We plant our Tomato seeds (and all others) into very small pots. These are deeper than the standard seedling trays, and it allows them to put on substantial roots, before we transplant them into larger pots.
It does mean that our greenhouse is chock full of small pots in Spring, with barely any room to move. However we find it overall an easier and more successful approach.
I can’t grow tomatoes outside, as @Nanny Beach. says, she knows me so well😀 i always start small and pot on, I was lucky to have a bigger Potter given to me for Christmas this year, I sow seeds separately into a small paper pot, now I have the bigger one so no root disturbance. The question of why? Because it’s what we’ve always done, but if some part of a tomato has escaped to the compost bin you can bet they will grow out in the borders, Strong plants, come up when they’re ready, I pull them out as I know they won’t have a long enough season to flower and fruit. But, they do grow.
Another reason for potting on, you plant much deeper each time so making a strong plant.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I have always sown tomato seed 5 to a small pot and potted on individually, as the roots show through the bottom of the pot. Seed compost contains enough fertilizer to support plants for 6 weeks which is why the seedlings need potting on regularly. As above, I also plant deeper each time I pot on as tomatoes produce roots along their stems.
If you have the space and want multiple plants of the same variety, you could try sowing half in a tray, pricking out and potting on in the conventional way, and half straight into their final pots. If you could keep all of them in the same conditions (heat, light etc) it would be a good experiment.
Like others I start mine in small trays and pot on gradually because I don't have space for the final pots on the windowsill where I start my seeds. They can't go into anything bigger than 3-or 4-inch pots until it's warm enough to put them outside into my cold frame or mini polytunnel, which is probably May.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
We don't use seedling trays any more. Too much damage to the tiny seedlings when transplanting, and too many losses, plus it's fiddly.
We plant our Tomato seeds (and all others) into very small pots.
KOG
At one of our very few gardening club meetings last year (as it is now), we did not have a recognised speaker, one of the members took it, in what was a question and answer session.
The question came up about sowing toms in individual pots or multiple sowing in trays!
As F1 toms seeds are so expensive, some said they sowed in pots because of the cost, others said trays.
The speaker said he always sowed in trays as when they were transplanted it was like giving a root prune, which when they got growing again they were more vigorous as they were producing more fibrous roots from were broken off in transplanting.
I think it would be very hard to judge the outcome, one way against the other!
After looking at everything and the fact I can't always do things at the most opportune time. I am going to try the red solo cup method. Holes are drilled in the bottom of a red solo cup. Seed mix is put in at 1/3 the height of the cup. 2 seeds per cup. Either pull one if both germinate or pot it on. As the plant grows add more soil until the cup is full. This encourages deep roots without transplanting. Add a mild seaweed fertilizer every 2 weeks until planting out. The cups should be able to be used multiple times. I think I will try this method this year and try and keep you updated.
Posts
Exactly @Desi_in_London.
It's even worse if the soil mix isn't free draining, and that applies to many plants. The vast majority of plants don't like sitting in permanently damp/wet conditions. If they did, there would be a lot more plants I'd be able to grow here. Anyone gardening in wetter, colder parts of the country will say the same.
Tomatoes are actually best kept on the drier side.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@jamesholt, I suspect there is more space, warmth and sunshine out in Texas, so you could probably skip much of the potting on.
In the experiment below, larger pots resulted in increased tomato yield. However the smaller pots were overall more economical. I can’t access the full text article though, so can’t see the details of other growing conditions used.
“In the autumn, the tomato cv. "Sagit 146"; and in the spring the tomato cvs. "Sagit 146" and "Amfora F1" were used as plant material. In both seasons 10 pots with one tomato plant in each pot were used in each plots. In the trials, peat, perlite and 1:1 peat-perlite mix were used as substrates, and 2 pot sizes; 81 (25x23 cm) and 16 1 (32x28 cm) were used. The nutrient solution recommended by Maas and Adamson (1980) was used as the feeding material.
The growing media, pot sizes and interactions between them had no effect on total yield, but growing media affected the total number of fruits and the highest total number of fruits was obtained from the plants raised in perlite in autumn. In spring, pot sizes affected the total yield significantly and the best results were obtained from the plants raised in 16 1 pots. Also, using 2 pot sizes and 3 substrates had no significant effect on the vegetative growth of plants.
So, using the 8 1 pot size will prevent over use of substrates providing economical advantages in container cultivation.”
https://www.actahort.org/books/491/491_52.htm
We plant our Tomato seeds (and all others) into very small pots. These are deeper than the standard seedling trays, and it allows them to put on substantial roots, before we transplant them into larger pots.
It does mean that our greenhouse is chock full of small pots in Spring, with barely any room to move. However we find it overall an easier and more successful approach.
i always start small and pot on, I was lucky to have a bigger Potter given to me for Christmas this year, I sow seeds separately into a small paper pot, now I have the bigger one so no root disturbance.
The question of why? Because it’s what we’ve always done, but if some part of a tomato has escaped to the compost bin you can bet they will grow out in the borders, Strong plants, come up when they’re ready, I pull them out as I know they won’t have a long enough season to flower and fruit. But, they do grow.
Another reason for potting on, you plant much deeper each time so making a strong plant.