Why does nobody talk about how to fix a leggy tomato plant...

I was out in my backyard garden last June in Portland and realized three of my tomato starts had gone completely leggy from not enough light... I buried the stems sideways in a trench instead of straight down like usual, and they grew back way stronger... Has anyone else tried trench planting for leggy tomatoes or is there a better trick I missed?

2 comments

2 Comments

karen4101mo ago

Well, didn't I learn that one the hard way about six years ago, huh? My tomatoes looked so sad I was convinced they were auditioning for a horror movie. Trench planting is definitely the way I go now, but I have to admit the first time I tried it I dug a hole so deep I almost buried the whole plant. It's a little embarrassing how long it took me to realize you just lay the stem in a shallow ditch. Honestly, I think my biggest mistake was not pinching off the lower leaves first - that just turns the buried part into a mushy mess. So yeah, trench planting works great, just maybe don't forget to strip those leaves.

alex_king1mo ago

Gotta push back a little on the trench planting hype. I tried it a few years back and my tomatoes actually did worse than the ones I just stuck in regular holes. The stems got all pale and weak underground, like they were trying to turn into roots but couldn't quite pull it off. I think the whole thing depends a lot on your soil type too. My clay soil gets super compacted and waterlogged, so laying a stem in a ditch just rotted everything before roots could form. Regular deep holes with lots of compost worked way better for me. Maybe trench planting works great for sandy soil folks but it sure bombed in my heavy dirt.