{"id":3618,"date":"2026-09-25T19:30:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=3618"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:32:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:32:17","slug":"transplant-overgrown-tomatoes-if-soil-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/transplant-overgrown-tomatoes-if-soil-cold\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Transplant Overgrown Tomatoes if Greenhouse Soil Too Cold?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-auto kksr-align-left kksr-valign-top\"\n    data-payload='{&quot;align&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;3618&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;valign&quot;:&quot;top&quot;,&quot;ignore&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;reference&quot;:&quot;auto&quot;,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;count&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;legendonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;readonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;starsonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;best&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;gap&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;greet&quot;:&quot;Share your rating&quot;,&quot;legend&quot;:&quot;0\\\/5 - (0 votes)&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Transplant Overgrown Tomatoes if Greenhouse Soil Too Cold?&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;_legend&quot;:&quot;{score}\\\/{best} - ({count} {votes})&quot;,&quot;font_factor&quot;:&quot;1.25&quot;}'>\n            \n<div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 0px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                \n\n<div class=\"kksr-legend\" style=\"font-size: 19.2px;\">\n            <span class=\"kksr-muted\">Share your rating<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"QAPage\",\"mainEntity\":{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How do I transplant overgrown root-bound tomatoes if the greenhouse soil is still too cold?\",\"text\":\"My indoor tomatoes have completely outgrown their cups, but the soil in the greenhouse is still very cold at night. How can I safely plant them out without freezing the roots?\",\"answerCount\":1,\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-18T20:55:00Z\",\"author\":{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Marina111\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/profile\/61409-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0111\/\"},\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"If your tomatoes are severely root-bound but the deep greenhouse soil is still too cold, try this hack: cut the bottom off the plastic nursery cup entirely. Place the seedling (still inside the bottomless cup) into a shallow planting hole, leaving the cup slightly elevated above the soil line. Do not bury the top with dirt. This keeps the main rootball in the warmest surface layer of soil while allowing new taproots to grow down.\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-19T00:00:00Z\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/transplant-overgrown-tomatoes-if-soil-cold\/#answer\",\"author\":{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Aleksan9ra\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/profile\/56700-aleksan9ra\/\"},\"upvoteCount\":25}}}<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"tldr-box\" style=\"background: #f4f9f4; padding: 20px; border-left: 5px solid #4CAF50; margin-bottom: 30px; border-radius: 4px;\">\n<h3>\ud83d\udccc Quick Summary: The &#8220;Bottomless Cup&#8221; Tomato Hack<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83e\udd76 <strong>The Spring Dilemma:<\/strong> What do you do when your indoor tomatoes are completely root-bound, but the outdoor\/greenhouse soil is still too cold for deep planting?<\/li>\n<li>\u2702\ufe0f <strong>The Hack:<\/strong> Cut the bottom off the plastic nursery cup! Plant the cup directly into the soil, leaving it slightly elevated above the ground.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udd25 <strong>Why it Works:<\/strong> In spring, only the top 2 inches of soil get warm. This hack creates a mini raised bed for the plant, keeping the main rootball in the warmest layer of air and soil, while allowing the taproots to push down into the earth as the ground slowly warms up.<br \/>\nPhoto author: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/gallery\/image\/173437-%D0%A2%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0%20%202015%20%20%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%B9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Russi<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"add-review-cta\" style=\"margin: 20px 0; padding: 15px; background: #f9f9f9; border-left: 4px solid #4CAF50; border-radius: 4px;\"><strong>\ud83d\udcac How do you warm up your greenhouse soil in the spring?<\/strong> <a href=\"#wpdcom\">Drop your favorite hacks below!<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">M<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Marina111 (Marina) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (7,377 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Pskov Region (USDA Zone 4b) | \ud83d\udcc5 April 18, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">Ludmila, what is the soil temperature in your greenhouse right now? I remember someone posted a chart on the forum comparing outdoor vs. greenhouse soil temps. I think I even copied it down, but I can&#8217;t find it. Was it you who posted it?My tomatoes have completely outgrown their seedling cups, and I have absolutely no larger pots to move them into. I am thinking maybe I should just put them in the greenhouse dirt too? The soil in their little cups gets freezing cold at night sitting in the house anyway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"answer\" class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">A<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Aleksan9ra (Ludmila) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (15,056 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region (USDA Zone 4b) | \ud83d\udcc5 April 19, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">Marina, I don&#8217;t use a soil thermometer, I just feel the dirt with my hand.I looked at my tomatoes and realized there was no point keeping them in their cups. They had eaten up every speck of potting mix, there was nothing left but a solid block of roots. So I figured, why let them suffer? Better to let them thrive in the real ground.<\/p>\n<p>If your greenhouse soil still feels a bit too cold deep down, you can do this: <strong>cut the bottom off the plastic cup.<\/strong> Place the seedling (still inside the cup) into a shallow planting hole, leaving the cup slightly elevated above the soil line, and don&#8217;t bury the top with dirt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"editor-note\" class=\"editor-note\" style=\"background: #eef7ff; padding: 20px; border-left: 5px solid #2196F3; margin-top: 25px; font-size: 1.1em; line-height: 1.6; border-radius: 0 4px 4px 0;\">\n<h4 style=\"margin-top: 0; color: #1565c0;\">\ud83d\udc68\u200d\ud83d\udd2c Editor&#8217;s Botanical Note: Why the Bottomless Cup Works!<\/h4>\n<p>When Marina asks about planting severely root-bound tomatoes into cold greenhouse soil, Ludmila suggests an amazing old-school Russian agronomy trick. By cutting the bottom off the nursery pot and planting it <em>slightly elevated<\/em> out of the ground, you are essentially creating a mini-raised bed for each individual plant.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Science:<\/strong> In early spring, the top 2 inches (5 cm) of greenhouse soil get warm from the ambient sun, but the soil 6 inches (15 cm) deep is still freezing cold. By leaving the rootball inside the elevated plastic cup, the main root mass stays in the warm surface layer, while the new taproots are free to grow down through the open bottom as the deeper soil slowly warms up over the next few weeks!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udccc Quick Summary: The &#8220;Bottomless Cup&#8221; Tomato Hack \ud83e\udd76 The Spring Dilemma: What do you do when your indoor tomatoes are completely root-bound, but the outdoor\/greenhouse soil is still too cold for deep planting? \u2702\ufe0f The Hack: Cut the bottom off the plastic nursery cup! Plant the cup directly into the soil, leaving it slightly &#8230; <a title=\"How to Transplant Overgrown Tomatoes if Greenhouse Soil Too Cold?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/transplant-overgrown-tomatoes-if-soil-cold\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How to Transplant Overgrown Tomatoes if Greenhouse Soil Too Cold?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[529],"tags":[912,913,911,910],"class_list":["post-3618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-tomatoes","tag-cold-soil-hacks","tag-early-greenhouse-planting","tag-root-bound-seedlings","tag-transplanting-tomatoes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3618"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3621,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618\/revisions\/3621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}