#TOOLS USED FOR TRANSPLANTING SEEDLINGS HOW TO#

It provides weed barrier and helps keep moisture in around the plant.” “I oftentimes like using newspaper or other kinds of paper mulch. “Depending on the type of seedlings you have, you can use a lot of different mulching strategies,” Garland said.

It is also much easier to mulch, which will help the soil retain moisture in the soil and suppress weeds, while the seedlings are young. “An inch a week is what most young seedlings need, and Mother Nature rarely gives us that throughout the growing season,” she explained.

Once your seedlings are in the ground, Garland said to keep an eye on the watering. Helping your transplanted seedlings thrive Leek seedlings look similar to onions and should also be gently placed into dibbled holes, but they the holes should also be bored in trenches several inches deep so that you can slowly back fill in and around the plant as it develops. I water it in and the soil packs in naturally.” “I don’t even pack the soil in around it. “You want the roots to fall gently into the hole,” Garland said. Use your fist to properly space between seedlings or bunches of seedlings. Onions can be planted in groups of three. Make sure the hole is deep enough for roots to go as straight as possible so that you are not cramming roots and preventing them from growing properly. “It’s just something that makes a hole in the soil,” Garland said. You can use a dowel or purchase a special dibble tool, but Garland admitted she usually uses a thick marker. “Onions as a good example where you buy them in like a nine pack nine cells per package and you pop them out of a cell, usually two to three plants per cell, tease apart roots in order to transplant them and get them separated for transplanting.”Īfter you remove the seedlings from the package and tease the roots apart, use a dibble, a pointed tool used to make small holes for seedlings, to create a skinny, deep hole. These seedlings tend to come with multiple plants in the package’s cells, so they need to be separated before they are planted. Transplanting onions and leeks is similar to transplanting other vegetables with a few key differences. “Watering it in will help the roots make good contact with the soil.” “The more compaction you have the harder it is for the roots to get established,” Garland said. Gently back soil around the seedling and water it thoroughly. She added that if you do not have enough depth in your bed, you can also lay the tomatoes on their side. “You want to have at least two to three sets of true leaves above the ground, but other than that, the rest can be below ground for young seedlings,” Garland said. If you are planting tomatoes, dig an inch or two deeper to bury the base of the stem. “Use your fingers to tease the roots apart to give the plant a signal that it is out of the pot and it is time to start branching out and growing into its new home.”ĭig a hole about the depth of your pot. “Plants have developed a pretty good root system, but sometimes that root system has gotten to a point where it is a little bit dense,” Garland said. Once you have successfully extracted your seedling, tease and loosen the roots with your fingers. “Squeezing the bottom of the pot before it comes out will help it pop out more easily so that you’re not yanking up.” “I squeeze the pot a little bit and tip the pot upside down with my hand over pot,” Garland said. Garland suggested pinching the bottom of the pot in order to loosen the roots. Plant strategy to enhance its capability to absorb water and nutrient resources.” If they stay above ground they won’t develop into any roots. If that stem, those hairs, come in contact with the right environmental conditions, soil, right moisture conditions, they will develop into roots.

Those hairs are the beginnings of potential roots. “When we look at the tomato seedlings you’ll notice that the stems look hairy. Most plants will be transplanted at the same depth as they grew in the pots, but others, like tomatoes, should be buried a little deeper so that the adventitious roots, the proto-roots sprouting out of the stem that look like hairs, can grow in the soil.

#TOOLS USED FOR TRANSPLANTING SEEDLINGS HOW TO#

Here’s how to transplant seedlings.Īccording to Kate Garland, horticultural specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, best practice techniques depend on the plant that you are transplanting. Whether you started your seeds indoors or purchase them from a nursery, it’s nearing time to plant them in the ground.

Tools used for transplanting seedlings