How to Offset Tomatoes

Remove any weeds, rocks and debris from the planting site. The planting site should receive full sunlight for at least 8 hours per day and contain fertile, fast-draining soil with a pH level of 6.0 to 6.8, which is slightly acidic. Draw a straight line in the soil with a hoe, marking the row for the tomato plants. Position the line so that it runs from north to south. Insert the bottom one-third of a stake into each end of the row to mark its position.

Draw a second line in the soil with the hoe, making it parallel to the first. Space the second line 12 inches from the first line if you intend to plant a dwarf tomato variety, 12 to 24 inches away if planting a determinate variety, 14 to 20 inches away for an indeterminate variety that you intend to cage or stake and 24 to 48 inches apart for an indeterminate variety you wish to grow without support. Insert one stake at each end of the second line to mark its position.

Set out the tomato starts along the first soil line. Space the centers of the individual plants according to the spacing guideline for their specific variety, making the spacing equal to that of the two rows. For example, if you wish to plant a determinate tomato variety, and the two rows sit 18 inches apart, then position the center of each start 18 inches away from the center of the next start in the row.

Lay out the tomato starts along the second soil line, following the same spacing as before. Stagger the tomato plants sitting along the second line with the plants sitting in the first line, to create a zigzagging pattern between the two rows.

Select one of the tomato starts, noting its spot on the ground. Remove the start, setting it aside. Dig a hole in the spot the start occupied using a shovel or trowel. Make the hole twice as wide as the start's root ball and equal in depth to the distance from the bottom of the start's root ball to 1/2-inch below its bottommost leaf. Repeat this process to dig a hole for each tomato start.

Tip the tomato start on its side, and slide its root ball from the pot. Massage the root ball's bottom gently, spreading its roots outward. Place the start in the center of the hole. Add or remove soil from the hole, if needed, positioning the start's bottommost leaf 1/2-inch above ground level.

Fill the hole with soil, tamping it down around the tomato's root ball and buried portion of stem. Tamp the soil firmly enough to support the plant, but soft enough to avoid bruising the portion of buried stem. Do not overfill the hole with soil or mound soil up around the tomato's leaves. Repeat the planting process with each tomato start.

Apply 1 inch of water from a garden hose to the ground surrounding the tomatoes, moistening the soil to a depth of 10 to 12 inches. Apply the water slowly so as not to wash away any soil from the planting hole.