Tomato roots trimming

[Barmaley]

I am not sure if it is a good idea, but I would like to ask your opinion. I am thinking about improving the way to grow tomatoes in pots and as I learned tomatoes roots can really big. I remember when re-potting plants from 5 gallon bucket to larger pots the surface of the soil taken out of the bucket was white because of the roots. On the other hand I assume that in nature soil is mostly poor and plants need grow long roots to reach for new territory with nutrients. In our case we are ready to provide sufficient supply of nutrients to a small volume it a pot provided that the root mass is sufficient to observe the nutrients in needed amount. But the plant still programmed to grow large amount of roots. Is it possible periodically trim some of the roots providing with additional soil to keep plants healthy? I could not find anything on google and probably the idea is not popular. At the same time majority of people would not go through the trouble to trim the roots. I am ready to try for only one reason - I may need to move in the middle of summer and I need the pot sizes to be manageable.

[pepperhead212]

I was trying to imagine why someone would want or need to do this, unless overwintering the tomatoes, until I got to the end of your post! When I root-prune plants, they are much older, and I have to re-pot, but I also have to prune the top - the small root ball takes a while to take hold, to supply the top, and with tomatoes this may be more of a problem, since the leaves would wilt much faster than the ones I prune (citrus and bay). Not sure I would want to move them, but you'll have no choice, I'm sure!

[Rockoe10]

Physical trimming is the most affective. However, it's not the most doable. Using pots that can "Air Trim" would be your best option. Then, when you have to move, you can do a complete trim by hand.

I see that as a more manageable solution.