OK, here it is, Weez's handy dandy transplanting method. Many of you will find this old news, and some of you may think I'm doing it all wrong, but it works for me.
1) Here are the containers I am working with. I've broadcast the seed into a small tray. When they've grown their first set of real leaves, I begin transplanting. A tray like this can make at least 2 11x22 flats of plants in 6-celled containers. Twelve of these containers fit in a flat. That means 144 plants!
I prepare my cellpacks ahead of time to make the operation as expeditious as possible. These little seedlings have been growing under fluorescent lights in flats covered with plastic domes, so the real world can wilt them pretty fast.
2) Pricking out. My favorite tool is a pair of pointed tweezers. I use the flat end to slide under a patch of seedlings and loosen them from the container. This works best when the planting medium is on the dry side.
3) Lifting the seedlings. I say 'lift' rather than 'pull' since you never want to rip these little fellows out of their trays and damage the roots or snap off the plant. If they don't want to leave the tray willingly, go back to step 2 and loosen them a bit more. In this picture, I am lifting a seedling by the leaf.
4) In this picture I am lifting the seedling with my tweezers. This is much trickier, since you don't want to squeeze the the tweezers while lifting. This is my favorite technique, since it prevents me from touching the stems. Whether you lift the seedlings by tools or by hands, never touch the stems. Grasping a seedling by the stem can kill it by damaging the delicate veins inside the stem that connect the plant to the root system.
5) Dropping the plant into the cell. First, I make a hole in one of the cells with the flat end of my tweezers, then I gently lower the root system of the plant into the hole. Attempting to push the seedling in can result in a broken stem, and that means a dead plant. If the plant doesn't want to 'drop in', gently hold on to a leaf with one hand and guide it in with your pricking tool.
6)Tamping around the plant. Using the tool or your index fingers, gently ease the soil surrounding the plant to hold it upright. I often use the flat end of my tweezers because they allow me to get under the leaves of the plant without inadvertently jerking the poor little fellow back out of the soil.
7) Mission accomplished. Here is a closeup of the finished product. Violas are a great plant to practice with. They are hardy little seedlings and easy to lift out. So there you have it... my method. I hope it helps someone, and if anyone else has suggestions, post them.
Weezingreens, Your pictures very good and graphic, should be a help to those who haaven't transplanted very often. Your method and mine are very similiar, except that you plant many more than I do. Mine are just for my own garden. thanks for the pictures. Donna
Hi. Great pic's and instructions. I do it pretty much the same,except I start the seeds in vermiculite to facilitate removal.
Do you have any problems with dampening off when you use straight vermiculite, skyblu?
WG
Thanks for the tips.
You sure never stop learning new methods.
Paul
Great pictures. A really good way to show a beginner.
Thanks WG. I used those trays with squares about 3/4" and have been transplanting from those. The method is similar. I will try your way as it will take up less space. My seedlings are developing very slowly. How important is temperature? They are in my basement under grow lights but the temperature is about 58 degrees.
Some seeds do best at lower temps, but most like it warmer. If you have a light rack, the bulbs seem to heat the shelf above them, and if you are using the dome lids on your flats, the temps goes up a bit from the lights and the lids. Your seedlings may be warmer than 58 degrees.
Some seeds take longer than others to germinate, and once germinated, take longer to grow. I've found it useful to determine how long it takes each type of plant to get big enough to set out, then count back that many weeks from your target set-out date. I keep the seeds in ziplock bags separated according to the week they should be planted. I'm working on my 9 week bag now, since I'm expecting to be able to set out plants on June 1st.
I grow so many plants that I broadcast my seeds. On some of the larger seeds, I may plant to cellpacks, but usually I start with the trays. If I were just growing seedlings for my own garden, I wouldn't be doing it this way. Each little tray of seedlings can produce several flats of seedlings.. far too many for the average garden. Yesterday, I transplanted about 150 Greek oregano plants from one of these trays!
Thanks so much for all this great information!!!!! A number of years ago - a friend taught me to sprout some seedlings in wet paper towel/ziploc bag assembly and for the transfer to soil, he recommended using the flat end of the toothpick under the leaf, and a gentle touch of the thumb on top.
It doesn't work for everything - but if you are working w/ small numbers of plants, this might be helpful. It will be important to not let them go too far before transferring as you can get a real snarl of roots which can quickly embed themselves into the paper towel.
HTH
Vicki in Olympia
Vicki, I germinate my geraniums in paper toweling in a ziplock, but I lay them out and roll up the toweling, so there is no snarling. However, they do seem to like to attach themselves to the toweling, and that can be a problem. I usually transfer these germinated seeds to cell packs before any leaves appear... just the sprouts.
Wheezing - I remember one time when I used the scissors to cut around the plant - and planted the seedling - paper and all!!!!!! It works better than trying to loosen it from the paper. Thanks for idea about distributing them far enough away from each other so as to not have snarls.
Yes, cutting the paper might work fine, especially if I don't use 'Brawny'! LOL. Proving seeds is somethng I just don't do often enough. It certainly works for the larger seeds, and it would save time and space.
Weez why not grow them in the cells in the first place?
I'm not Weezin, but the reason I start mine in seed-starting trays is because I can put 40 different seeds in the space of two regular-sized flats, on heat mats, and under grow lights once they sprout.
Each of those 40 different seeds can then be potted up into 36-144 cells (or 1-4 flats.) I don't have space on my heat mats or under the lights to start and pamper 40 (let alone 160) flats. But I do have space for two flats that I can monitor carefully several times a day.
Thanks, Weez; very informative indeed.
Sorry not to have replied sooner, Mark. I've been preparing my taxes (a very 'taxing' experience) while suffering a particularly nasty case of the flu... what a battle that was!
As Terry said, broadcasting the seed to small trays within a flat allows me the opportunity to put many seeds in a smaller area. And, in the case of minute little seeds, broadcasting them with coarse sand allows me to space the seeds adequately.
Planting, let's say Petunia seed, would require purchasing the pelleted seed in order to plant directly to the cell packs. I've actually found the pelleted seed to be not only more expensive, but slower to germinate and less viable... so, I transplant.
Of course, with larger seeds that resent transplant, I do as you suggest. They don't get transplanted until they get too large for the cell packs. I just planted lupines in cell packs this morning, as a matter of fact.
oh my i just learned ever so much. thank you weezingreens., well there is my new lesson and learning for the day and it is only 10 am. perhaps i'll be learning even more new things today. :-]
debi z
Wish you were closer Debi_z. I'd put you to work transplanting! I've been filling about 10 flats a day, and that's 720 little tiny plants that have to be handled with care. Transplanting requires patience, but the results are rewarding.
