- 5 hours ago
Tomato harvests are decided underground, and this gardening guide shows how to build a bigger root system for stronger plants and more fruit. The lesson is simple: if you want healthier tomato plants, you have to work where you cannot see them first.
The advice focuses on five easy tricks used at planting time and early growth: bury the stem deeply so the hairy section turns into roots, transplant young seedlings into a larger pot before moving them outside, keep the soil loose and airy instead of packed down, place compost or worm castings in the planting hole, and water in a wide ring so roots spread outward instead of staying tight at the base. It also covers full sun, early staking, and waiting until frost has passed.
This is practical tomato growing advice for backyard gardens, raised beds, and container gardening, especially if you want a bigger tomato harvest and stronger root growth. The video explains why root depth, watering patterns, and soil structure matter more than most people realize.
Made for gardeners searching for tomato plant care, tomato growing tips, vegetable garden advice, root growth, transplanting tomatoes, watering tomato plants, and how to grow more tomatoes. It is useful for anyone looking for simple garden hacks, seasonal planting guidance, and proven methods for healthier tomato plants and better yields.
The advice focuses on five easy tricks used at planting time and early growth: bury the stem deeply so the hairy section turns into roots, transplant young seedlings into a larger pot before moving them outside, keep the soil loose and airy instead of packed down, place compost or worm castings in the planting hole, and water in a wide ring so roots spread outward instead of staying tight at the base. It also covers full sun, early staking, and waiting until frost has passed.
This is practical tomato growing advice for backyard gardens, raised beds, and container gardening, especially if you want a bigger tomato harvest and stronger root growth. The video explains why root depth, watering patterns, and soil structure matter more than most people realize.
Made for gardeners searching for tomato plant care, tomato growing tips, vegetable garden advice, root growth, transplanting tomatoes, watering tomato plants, and how to grow more tomatoes. It is useful for anyone looking for simple garden hacks, seasonal planting guidance, and proven methods for healthier tomato plants and better yields.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Here is a thing that will change how you grow tomatoes forever.
00:03The size of your tomato harvest, the great heavy crop or the poor thin one,
00:09is not decided up top where you can see it, in the leaves and the flowers and the fruit.
00:14It is decided down below, underground, in the roots, before you ever see a single flower.
00:21A tomato is only ever as big and heavy bearing as its root system is large,
00:26for the roots are what drink and what feed the whole plant.
00:30So a plant with a great wide deep root system pours out fruit,
00:35and a plant with a poor little root grows poor and gives little, no matter how you tend the top.
00:41And here is the good news, that whole hidden root system is built by you,
00:46by a few things you do at planting time, most of which folk never do.
00:50So today I am going to show you how to build a tomato, the biggest root system it can have,
00:56all the secrets of the underground, so keep up, for this is where the whole harvest is truly one.
01:02I am Elias, and once I understood that the whole tomato crop is decided down in the roots,
01:08everything about growing them made sense, and my harvests doubled.
01:12So let me hand you that underground knowing.
01:15Quick word before I go further.
01:17The old methods my family uses, there is more of it than fits in any one video.
01:22I gathered the whole of it into a book at EliasYoder.com.
01:26The book is the long version.
01:28If you want it, it is there.
01:30I will not mention it again.
01:32My father dug up a spent tomato plant at the end of one season to show me something,
01:38and I have never forgotten it.
01:39He shook the soil off the root, and it was a great dense mass the size of a bushel basket,
01:45roots running out four feet every way.
01:48That, Elias, is why this plant fed us all summer, he said,
01:52not the leaves you were watching, this that you never saw.
01:56The neighbor's plant beside ours had a root you could hold in one hand,
02:00and it gave a tenth the fruit.
02:02Same seed, same sun.
02:04The whole of it was in the root.
02:06So let me hand you how he grew that root.
02:09The first secret of the roots is the one great gift the tomato gives you above near every other plant,
02:15and it is this, that a tomato will grow roots all along its buried stem.
02:20Look at the stem of a tomato plant, and you will see it is covered in fine little hairs,
02:25and here is the wonder, every one of those little hairs will turn into a root if you bury it
02:30in the soil.
02:31No other common garden plant does this so freely.
02:35So this is your first and greatest tool for building a big root.
02:38You bury the stem deep.
02:40When you plant your tomato, you do not set it in at the depth that grew in its pot.
02:45You dig deeper, and bury it right up to its top leaves,
02:49stripping off the lower leaves and sinking most of that hairy stem down under the soil.
02:54And every inch of that buried stem sprouts roots,
02:57so in one stroke you have given the plant a huge, deep root system it would never have grown on
03:03its own,
03:04three and four times the root of a shallow set plant.
03:07If you do but one thing from all of this, plant your tomatoes deep.
03:12And if your plant has grown long and leggy, all the better,
03:15for you lay it down sideways in a shallow trench,
03:18bury the whole long stem along the trench,
03:21and just turn the leafy tip up,
03:23and that whole length roots,
03:25and your leggy plant becomes the strongest rooted of all.
03:28Bury the stem deep, and grow a mighty root.
03:32The second secret is to build that root even before the plant goes to the garden,
03:36with the first potting up.
03:38Here is the old way,
03:40that you do not grow your little seedling straight from its first tiny pot to the garden,
03:44but pot it up once in between, into a bigger pot,
03:48and here is the key.
03:49When you do that middle potting up,
03:51you bury it deeper again,
03:53right up near its little seed leaves,
03:55sinking that first stretch of stem so it roots.
03:58So the plant builds a good root in that bigger pot,
04:02deep planted once already,
04:03and then when it finally goes to the garden,
04:06and you deep plant it a second time,
04:08it goes in with a strong, established root,
04:12and grows away at once,
04:13weeks ahead of a seedling rushed straight to the ground.
04:17Pot it up once, and bury it deep,
04:20and it goes to the garden already strong rooted.
04:24The third secret is the soil the roots must grow through,
04:29and hear folk undo all their good work without knowing it,
04:33by packing the soil down hard.
04:36A root is a soft, tender thing pushing through the earth,
04:40and it can only grow easily through loose, open, airy soil,
04:45full of little spaces and crumbs for it to run through.
04:49But a hard-packed soil,
04:51it can barely push through at all,
04:54so its roots stay small and cramped,
04:57and the plant suffers.
04:59So when you plant,
05:01do not tamp and pack and press the soil down hard and firm about the plant,
05:06as folks so often do,
05:08thinking to settle it.
05:10Fill loose, and firm it only the gentlest bit,
05:15just enough to stand the plant up,
05:18leaving the soil all about it soft and open and airy,
05:22so the new roots can run free and wide through it.
05:27Loose, open soil, never packed hard,
05:30and the roots spread far and fast.
05:35Now there is a small balance in it,
05:37for while you want the soil loose,
05:40you do want the plant's roots and the little root ball it came with
05:44to sit in good contact with the soil,
05:47not hanging in a great air pocket or they dry out.
05:51So you firm it just enough to close the big gaps
05:55and settle the plant, and no more.
05:58A gentle press, not a hard stamp.
06:02Snug, but not packed, is the aim.
06:06And this is another reason to work your soil rich with compost and rotted matter,
06:12for that not only feeds it,
06:14but keeps it loose and crumbly and full of air,
06:18the very thing a root wants.
06:22The fourth secret is to feed the roots right at the roots, at planting,
06:28so the plant finds its food the moment it reaches for it.
06:33When you dig your planting hole,
06:35you put a good handful of the richest, gentlest food you have
06:40right down in the bottom of it,
06:42and the finest for this is worm castings,
06:45that dark, crumbly, worm-worked earth,
06:48or good, rotted compost, a handful in the hole.
06:53Then you set your plant in on top of it,
06:56so that as the roots grow down,
06:59they come straight into that rich food waiting there
07:02and feast on it and take off.
07:06It is like setting a good meal on the table
07:09right where the plant will sit down.
07:12Just mind the food be gentle and rotted,
07:15compost and castings and old manure,
07:19not a harsh raw feeding that could burn the tender new roots.
07:24A handful of compost in the hole,
07:27and the roots find their feast at once.
07:31Now here is the fifth secret,
07:33and it is the one hardly anyone knows,
07:36and it will surprise you,
07:38and it is about how you water.
07:40For how you water shapes the very shape of the root system.
07:46Here is the thing.
07:48A root grows toward water.
07:51It follows the water.
07:53So wherever you put the water,
07:55that is where the roots grow.
07:57And where you never put water,
08:00the roots never go.
08:02So think what happens when folk water a tomato
08:06always in the one same spot,
08:09right at the base of the stem,
08:11day after day.
08:13The roots grow only there,
08:15in that one little wet spot right under the plant,
08:19a small cramped huddle of root,
08:22and all the wide soil around,
08:25full of food and untouched,
08:27the roots never reach,
08:29for no water ever called them there.
08:32So that plant,
08:34watered always in the one spot,
08:37grows a poor, small, huddled root,
08:40and cannot feed itself well.
08:43But here is the trick,
08:45the secret.
08:46You water in a ring,
08:49all around the plant,
08:51out wide,
08:52not just at the stem.
08:54You water in a circle,
08:56a good way out from the plant,
08:58all around it,
09:00so that the water is out there in the wide soil,
09:04and the roots,
09:05following that water,
09:07grow out wide in every direction,
09:10out and out,
09:12spreading a great broad root system
09:15through all that wide, rich soil,
09:18drinking and feeding from a great circle of ground
09:22instead of one small spot.
09:24So do not always water right at the stem,
09:27water out wide in a ring around the plant,
09:30and pull the roots out wide to feed from all the ground about.
09:34That one change grows you a far greater root,
09:38and a far greater harvest.
09:40And you can even move where you water,
09:42a bit here this week,
09:44a bit there the next,
09:46leading the roots outward,
09:47as a man leads a horse with a bit of feed,
09:50ever wider.
09:51Water in a ring,
09:53not in a spot,
09:54and grow a wide reaching root.
09:57And the same wisdom works downward as well as outward,
10:01for a root also follows water down,
10:04so when you do water,
10:05water deep and thorough,
10:07a good long soak that sinks well down,
10:11and then leave it a few days to dry before the next,
10:14so the roots chase that water down deep as well as wide,
10:18rather than a little daily splash that keeps them huddled shallow at the top.
10:23Deep and wide both,
10:26the water leads the roots,
10:28so lead them out and down,
10:30and you build a root that reaches the whole barrel of soil.
10:34And a fine old helper for watering wide and deep at once,
10:39is the buried jug,
10:40a holed jug,
10:42sunk out away from the stem,
10:44and filled,
10:45seeping deep,
10:46and drawing the roots out to it.
10:49Now the top does matter too, of course,
10:52for the roots must be fed by the leaves,
10:54so let me give you the plain of that quick,
10:57so you have the whole.
10:58Your tomato wants full sun,
11:01all it can get,
11:02six hours and more,
11:04for the leaves make the plant's food and its fruiting strength from the sun,
11:08so give it your sunniest spot.
11:11And stake it early,
11:13right at planting while it is small,
11:15do not wait,
11:16for a young plant caught by the wind
11:18and rocked and tilted before it is staked,
11:21has its new roots torn and loosened in the ground,
11:25just as they are trying to take hold,
11:27setting it right back.
11:29So set your stake at planting,
11:32and tie the plant to it loose,
11:34not strangling,
11:35so the wind cannot rock it,
11:37and it can root firm and undisturbed.
11:40Full sun above,
11:42and a firm stake,
11:43so the top can do its work,
11:45while the roots do theirs.
11:48And a plain word on the when,
11:50for it matters.
11:51Plant your tomatoes out only when the frost is well past,
11:56and the soil has truly warmed.
11:58For the tomato is a warm plant,
12:01and a cold soil chills its roots and checks it,
12:04and a late frost will kill it outright.
12:07So do not rush it out too early in your eagerness.
12:11And if a late cold threatens your young plants,
12:15here is an old shelter.
12:16Slip a bottle with its bottom cut off,
12:19or a jar,
12:21down over the little plant like a tiny glass house,
12:24to hold the warmth and keep the frost off.
12:27Only take it off or open it in the warm of the day,
12:31so it does not cook inside,
12:33and off entirely once the cold is past.
12:37Plant after the frost,
12:39and shelter the young ones if a cold snap comes.
12:42Now let me say a small plain word,
12:46not a who-prophets sermon,
12:48for a tomato is no one's scheme.
12:50But notice,
12:52the whole great harvest was built underground,
12:55out of sight,
12:56by things that cost near nothing,
12:59burying the stem deep,
13:01keeping the soil loose,
13:03a handful of compost in the hole,
13:05and watering in a wide ring.
13:08Not a bought booster,
13:10not a special feed,
13:12not a gadget,
13:13just the old knowing of how to build a root.
13:17There is a whole trade in selling folk bloom boosters,
13:21and fruiting feeds,
13:22and miracle sprays,
13:24to grow a bigger tomato up top,
13:26when the real secret was always down below in the root,
13:30and free.
13:31So folk come to think,
13:34a great tomato is grown from a bottle poured on the leaves,
13:37when it is grown from the root up,
13:40by how you plant and water it.
13:42That old underground knowing,
13:45that the harvest is one in the roots,
13:48is worth more than every booster on the shelf.
13:52So there is the secret of a huge tomato harvest,
13:56hidden underground in the roots.
13:59Bury the stem deep,
14:01for every buried inch becomes root.
14:04Pot it up once,
14:06and deep plant it twice,
14:08to build that root before and after the garden.
14:12Keep the soil loose and open and never packed,
14:16so the roots run free.
14:17Put a handful of compost or castings in the hole,
14:22so the roots find their feast.
14:24And above all,
14:26water in a wide ring around the plant,
14:29not in one spot,
14:31to pull the roots out wide through all the ground.
14:35Give the top full sun and a firm early stake,
14:38and plant after the frost.
14:40Do these,
14:41and you will build your tomatoes a great hidden root system,
14:44and reap the great harvest that grows from it.
14:47Now I want to hear from you.
14:49Tell me down below,
14:50whether you had ever known it was all in the roots,
14:53and above all,
14:54whether you had ever heard of watering in a ring,
14:57to spread the roots wide,
14:58for that one catches near everyone by surprise.
15:02And tell me your county,
15:03and how your tomatoes have born for you,
15:05heavy or thin,
15:06for now you know where the difference truly lies.
15:10I read every one.
15:11Next time,
15:13I want to show you the pruning and the training of the tomato up top through the season,
15:17now that its roots are built strong,
15:19the tending of the suckers and the leaves,
15:21and the tying up that keeps a great rooted plant healthy,
15:25and pouring out fruit clear to the frost.
15:27The old people understood that a plant is built from the root up,
15:32that the whole of its life and its harvest rests on the hidden root below.
15:37And so they gave their care to the roots first of all,
15:40planting deep, keeping the soil loose,
15:43feeding at the root,
15:44and watering wide,
15:45and reaped great harvests that their neighbors,
15:48tending only the top,
15:50never understood.
15:51There is a quiet wisdom in that,
15:54in tending the hidden root that bears the whole,
15:56in knowing that what you cannot see is what holds up all you can.
16:01The people who built this country with their hands knew that,
16:04and we are only just starting to remember it.
16:07Heejjee!