Transplanting Seedlings
Did I mention that I am a frugal gardener? I don’t believe in spending money to buy larger pots to transplant my seedlings. All year long, I save two sizes of plastic containers.
I save six ounce yogurt containers for transplanting the first time and large deli size containers for transplanting the second time. Some vegetables don’t need to be transplanted at all, some need to be transplanted once and some need to be transplanted twice. It all depends on the vegetable. But I am getting ahead of myself.
If you don’t eat yogurt or deli salads, that is OK, just save containers that are about that size – sometimes I even save fast food cups. I ask everyone I know to save them for me. Sometimes my family and friends roll their eyes, but when I remind them how much they enjoy eating my vegetables, I think they get the hint. Before using them, I put three holes in the bottom for drainage. If you don’t want to save containers, that is OK. I won’t think less of you.
If you do though, you can look at them all winter and smile knowing that spring and summer WILL return. Heck, St. Patrick’s Day, seed starting day, is right around the corner!
As your seedlings continue to grow, remember to keep your grow light about six inches from the top of the leaves. If the leaves become a little yellow, you should raise the light. If they get more yellow, you should water them less. As the plants grow, they will require more water. You don’t want to let the soil dry out; just keep it moist. After two or three weeks you will inevitably get tired of all this watering and the plants should be about four or six inches tall. At this time, their true leaves will be growing between the seed leaves. The stems should be pretty sturdy and you can put your fingers comfortably underneath the true leaves without fear of breaking them. It is time to transplant your babies into other containers when the true leaves are about three times larger than the seed leaves.
I use moisture control potting soil for transplanting. If you can’t find that, regular potting soil is OK; you just may have to water your plants more often. The potting soil is usually moist in the bag but I add some water to the mix so that the soil will cling to the roots and protect them from drying out. Just eyeball the amount of water. The soil mixture is perfect when it feels like wet sand - the same consistency as when you planted the seeds. The transplanting process is simple dimple. The day you transplant, make sure the soil in the original cell isn’t too wet or too dry. Fill your container with soil, leaving about 1/4 inch from the top. Make an indentation in the middle of the soil where you will place your seedling. GENTLY remove the seedling from the cell. I wiggle it out of the cell using the handle of a spoon. Once it is out of the cell, hold it by the leaves rather than the stem so that you don’t break the stem. If you break a leaf, don’t worry about it. These seed leaves will eventually die and drop off the plant. If they drop before you transplant, that is OK. You want to plant up until a little beneath the true leaves. Additional roots will grow from the stem in the soil creating a healthy plant. Put soil around the seedling and press the soil so that it is firm. After I transplant, I don’t water for two days. I want the roots to mingle with the soil and get happy in their new home. If the soil completely dries out before then though, then yes, give them a little drink of water.
As the vegetables grow, you may have to transplant a second time (depending upon the vegetable). I transplant tomatoes, eggplants and peppers two times. You need to do this so that the roots do not overcrowd the container and become root bound. Generally speaking, you should transplant vegetables a second time in a larger container when the height of your plant is about three times the diameter of the pot. Transplant just like you did the first time, but plant them almost to the bottom of their leaves. I transplant beets, kale, swiss chard, kohlrabi and bok choi only once. Just keep watering the plants, adjusting the height of the grow light, and continue to give them about ten hours of light per day. If your plants get too tall and spindly, it might be too warm in the room or the grow light is too close to the plant.
I turn the grow light off in mid-May and this always makes me super excited because that means that planting day is soon!