When to transplant seedlings1/10/2023 The Old Farmers Almanac has a nifty frost date calculator. This gives your seedlings a chance to get used to their new home and not wilt in the intense sun - a stressor your plants don’t need when they’re getting established.įind out when the average first and last frost dates are for your location. The best day for setting out, or transplanting your seedlings is going to be gloomy and overcast. The tiny root hairs are susceptible to damage at this stage and watering each pot with a water/soil amendment mix gives them a leg up. Make sure it’s damp so it will stick to the roots of your young plants. 3 - Make Sure Everything’s Ready To Transplant Your SeedlingsĬheck the soil in the pots. Our new product, Kaytonik™, is an organic soil amendment that will help your seedlings withstand adverse weather, increase the fertility of the soil, and strengthen your plants' roots. That allows the soil amendment time to soak into the soil and start strengthening the microbial community your plant will need during those first few days in the great outdoors. Be sure to water the garden space you’ve prepared with a mix of water and a soil amendment containing humic acid a few days before transplant day. It will look like there is way too much space between markers, but you’ve been giving your plants the best care, and they will grow into that space in a very short time. Use a measuring tape so you plant far enough apart, mark the spot with a stick or something readily available so you’ll be organized when it’s time to transplant your seedlings. You’ll want to be sure you’ve mapped out where every plant is going. Make a mental note, or better, keep a garden journal, for each hole you’ll dig for your plants. Take into account everything you’ve observed. The condition of the soil is crucial to successful seedling transplanting. You spent all that time getting your seedlings ready for this part of their journey, you want to give them just as much care in the garden. You want to disturb the soil as little as possible because there’s a whole community of microorganisms underground waiting to help your plant through the stress of transplanting all the way through to fruit and flower production.ĭig a trowel of soil where you plan on planting and look at the soil: is it dry, is it sandy, is it clay, does it have some earthworms, is it dark brown or light brown color? You will have the best transplanting success if you make these observations first. The only tools you’ll need are a hand trowel and a watering can. If you have a vegetable garden or planting some annual flowers in with your perennials, you will need to make that spot ready for your babies. 2 - Garden Preparation While Hardening Off Seedlings A shade-loving plant will have to get its stem toughened up, just don’t set it in the sun during hardening off. Find a protected corner where your plants won’t get any direct sunlight and let them experience the great outdoors for a few hours.īe sure and bring your plants in every night because the nighttime low temperature is going to play a critical role in the productivity of your plants.Įvery day increase exposure and start moving them into direct sun, if they’re a vegetable or sun-loving flower or herb. To the stem of your plant a windy day is like a tornado, it can’t handle that. Start on a cloudy day when it’s warm with almost no wind, maybe a gentle breeze. You’ll be moving your plants in and out, always dependent on your weather. Your seedlings haven’t experienced wind, rain, or full sun, so they have to experience them in short bursts of time. Hardening off process is critical if you started your own seeds. Nurseries assume you are going to buy and plant the same day, so they do this step for you. Seedlings are fragile and need to get accustomed to the outdoors in short periods. Whether you started your own seeds indoors or you’re buying plants from a local nursery, they’ve spent most of their time indoors under artificial lighting. 1 - Hardening Off Before Transplanting Seedlings The process of transplanting seedlings from seed starting tray or pot to garden – with less stress on you and the plant, has 5 steps. Now it’s time to let them experience the big world of your garden. You’ve been tending them, turning them, so they don’t lean one way, watered just enough, and – well – they’ve become your babies, and getting too big for their indoor pots. It was cold, maybe snowing, when you planted those seeds, but you had faith spring would come again. You’re getting ready to plant out those seedlings you started from tiny seeds.
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