when do I plant my tomato seedlings in their final container home?

Question

they are about 6 inches tall and have been harden off outside. I want to put them in 5 gallon container and take care of them that way. Any suggestion?

Answer 1

Usually around Mother's Day (second Sunday in May) in zone 7 Seattle is fine for planting or transplanting, but tomatoes just sit there until the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees. Get a thermometer and take the soils temperature. Cover them or place red plastic mulch around them to keep the soil warmer. If you cover them at night place a jug of hot water in there with them to keep the temerature up. If you have a tomato cage wrap cage with perforated plastic (Vispore) or spun-bonded polypropylene (Grow-Web) and clamp the material to the wire with clothes pins to keep it in place. This provides shelter from wind, Hail, and insects while the plants get warmth. When leaves touch the wrap, unwrap the cage.
Plant potted tomato plants one to two inches deeper than the surface in the pot. Covering stem up to just above the point of attachment of the two cotyledon leaves (seed leaves) is a good guide.
The optimum root zone temperature for tomato is 75 degrees F. Remove rad plastic then apply three to four inches of mulch, starting as soon as the soil temperature has reached 70 degrees F. Mulch can be straw, wood chips, dry grass clippings, or fertile mulch (saw dust composted with manure).

Answer 2

If there is no danger of frost I would go ahead and plant them you can bury the plant up to the first leaves. Roots will form up and down the stem Keep the plant evenly watered and feed often .With a container grown tomato I would use a liquid food in stead of a granular.

Answer 3

If you live in an area that it gets cold, wait until after the last frost date. If you live in an area where you dont have toworry about cold weather, you can do this now