A few steps to follow to help get your seedlings safely in the ground after they have been growing in pots:
Move back any mulch or covering you have in your beds. (note the wood mulch shown in this picture is NOT approved in the Citizen Gardener method)- Dig a hole about the size of your pot, remove and save soil.
- Add a small amount of organic fertilizer.
- Carefully remove seedling from pot. (don’t pull on stem– turn upside down and carefully persuade plant to come out without damaging it) (Peat pots wick moisture out of the soil, prevent roots from penetrating, and take a long time to break down— go ahead and peel the peat pot off the root ball)
- Fix girdling / circling roots. If the roots have grown to the wall of the pot, they were forced to change directions, usually circling the pot in an intertwined mess. If you leave the roots like this, they won’t ever grow ‘out’ in the soil and plant health will suffer. Gently untangle and free up the roots. (steps 4 and 5 can be skipped if your seeds were started in soil cubes)
Place plant in hole and adjust height so that new home is at same height as old home. Tomato plants may be buried deeper if desired, but growth delay will possibly occur while new roots in correct location are grown.- Add soil around seedling and press gently down on soil to enable good soil wicking ability.
- Mark plant with marker and record date and location in your garden diary.
- Add a small amount or organic fertilizer on top of soil above root zone.
- Replace the mulch. Don’t allow mulch to come in contact with stem of plant.
- Water plant well with compost tea.
Remove or push aside and mulch or covering. Note: wood mulch is shown here — planting with the Citizen Gardener method avoids wood mulch inside the bed. Any woody material in the soil will take up nitrogen, so it is good to avoid it.
Fill holes partially up with vermiculite or other 
Fill the hole, then press lightly on the area to slightly compress the soil so that it wicks water and removes any air pockets.