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Helpful Hints for Transplant Time
It's the time of year that gardeners everywhere are thinking about transplanting many things from flowers that have overgrown their designated boundaries to the huge variety of fruits and vegetables that they want in their "vegetable" gardens. The team at Vegetarian-Fun thought a few helpful hints about transplanting in general just might be in order, especially for those of you who might be attempting this for the first time.
Perhaps the most important tidbit of information we could give you would be to prepare the area you intend to plant in before you purchase, or begin to dig up, any of the plants to be placed there. Why? Potted plants can dry out quite quickly and, being small, just a slight breeze can knock them over and cause potential damage. Even transplants we've moved from one garden area to another take some exception to being disturbed no matter how hardy they may be. The longer these plants are standing around, the more they hesitate to re-root themselves. Beyond that, many of us set out to do an hour's worth of work, only to find out that what we thought would take an hour takes two and it's usually the yet-to-be planted transplants that fall prey to the resulting time crunch.
The preparation's over and you are ready to purchase plants or remove them from their current locations. It's time to consider the plants you are choosing individually. Ensure their continued good health through the "shock" of transplanting by selecting those with a well developed root system.
Gardeners who are moving them from one location to another within their current scheme are best encouraged to water the plants in question liberally the day before, or at least a few hours before, the intended move. When you dig them up, remove the root system under the plant with as large a clump of soil as the root system is, or should be, leaving the root ball as undisturbed and intact as possible.
If you are purchasing from a garden nursery, choose plants that haven't been too recently potted and that they are not too dry, not too wet, and have a root or two popping out of the bottom of the container. Make sure that there are not so many roots "popping out" that the removal of the pot will cause significant stress to the plant or damage to the root system itself.
As you put these transplants into their designated areas, the next best piece of advice we can offer is to caution you to actually measure the distance between your plants to be sure you have allotted them the required spacing. If you fail to do so, the results can be such things as wilt, molds, leaf loss, etc., especially as the plants grow larger, because they will not have the required amounts of sunlight or air circulation that they need. Planting too closely also enables invasive pests to move more easily from one plant to another. A poor harvest, or none at all, can be the result of failing to space plants properly.
Now it's time to dig! Be sure to check the soil you have turned has been worked to a depth twice or three times as deeply as your transplants will need. They may not need that space today, but they will need it as they grow. This will encourage good drainage as well as deep root growth, both of which will help to ensure your plants maintain the best health possible during times of too little or too much moisture. Once each hole has been well prepared, fill it with water then let the water drain out fully prior to placing a transplant into it.
As the transplants go into the soil that you have previously prepared, "open up" the root ball. This involves simply holding the plant in your hands with the root ball down and splitting the bottommost roots apart in the middle. Don't be vicious! Only about 1/3 of the lower part of the root system should be affected by this action and it will vary according to the transplant itself, and the size of the pot it has come in, if it was one you have purchased. This action should just loosen the soil around the plant roots enough to encourage them to co-mingle with the new soil they are being placed in. Once the planting is finished, water again moderately.
Check them daily for moisture. They should be kept moist, but not soaking wet, for about three days.
One additional hint for those of you who might purchase plants that have come in peat pot containers: Peat pots can and will "wick" water away from your plants roots if not properly used. This is a process by which water evaporates from an exposed area of the peat pot, robbing water from the plant itself if any of the pot remains exposed above the surface of the soil. To avoid wicking, break the top of the peat pot down enough so that when the plant goes into the ground, the top of the peat pot will be buried at least one inch below the soil level. Break additional pieces off, about an inch wide, all the way down two sides to encourage root growth outside the peat pot, then drop the pieces of the peat pot you've broken off into the hole the plant will go into.
Perhaps the most important tidbit of information we could give you would be to prepare the area you intend to plant in before you purchase, or begin to dig up, any of the plants to be placed there. Why? Potted plants can dry out quite quickly and, being small, just a slight breeze can knock them over and cause potential damage. Even transplants we've moved from one garden area to another take some exception to being disturbed no matter how hardy they may be. The longer these plants are standing around, the more they hesitate to re-root themselves. Beyond that, many of us set out to do an hour's worth of work, only to find out that what we thought would take an hour takes two and it's usually the yet-to-be planted transplants that fall prey to the resulting time crunch.
The preparation's over and you are ready to purchase plants or remove them from their current locations. It's time to consider the plants you are choosing individually. Ensure their continued good health through the "shock" of transplanting by selecting those with a well developed root system.
Gardeners who are moving them from one location to another within their current scheme are best encouraged to water the plants in question liberally the day before, or at least a few hours before, the intended move. When you dig them up, remove the root system under the plant with as large a clump of soil as the root system is, or should be, leaving the root ball as undisturbed and intact as possible.
If you are purchasing from a garden nursery, choose plants that haven't been too recently potted and that they are not too dry, not too wet, and have a root or two popping out of the bottom of the container. Make sure that there are not so many roots "popping out" that the removal of the pot will cause significant stress to the plant or damage to the root system itself.
As you put these transplants into their designated areas, the next best piece of advice we can offer is to caution you to actually measure the distance between your plants to be sure you have allotted them the required spacing. If you fail to do so, the results can be such things as wilt, molds, leaf loss, etc., especially as the plants grow larger, because they will not have the required amounts of sunlight or air circulation that they need. Planting too closely also enables invasive pests to move more easily from one plant to another. A poor harvest, or none at all, can be the result of failing to space plants properly.
Now it's time to dig! Be sure to check the soil you have turned has been worked to a depth twice or three times as deeply as your transplants will need. They may not need that space today, but they will need it as they grow. This will encourage good drainage as well as deep root growth, both of which will help to ensure your plants maintain the best health possible during times of too little or too much moisture. Once each hole has been well prepared, fill it with water then let the water drain out fully prior to placing a transplant into it.
As the transplants go into the soil that you have previously prepared, "open up" the root ball. This involves simply holding the plant in your hands with the root ball down and splitting the bottommost roots apart in the middle. Don't be vicious! Only about 1/3 of the lower part of the root system should be affected by this action and it will vary according to the transplant itself, and the size of the pot it has come in, if it was one you have purchased. This action should just loosen the soil around the plant roots enough to encourage them to co-mingle with the new soil they are being placed in. Once the planting is finished, water again moderately.
Check them daily for moisture. They should be kept moist, but not soaking wet, for about three days.
One additional hint for those of you who might purchase plants that have come in peat pot containers: Peat pots can and will "wick" water away from your plants roots if not properly used. This is a process by which water evaporates from an exposed area of the peat pot, robbing water from the plant itself if any of the pot remains exposed above the surface of the soil. To avoid wicking, break the top of the peat pot down enough so that when the plant goes into the ground, the top of the peat pot will be buried at least one inch below the soil level. Break additional pieces off, about an inch wide, all the way down two sides to encourage root growth outside the peat pot, then drop the pieces of the peat pot you've broken off into the hole the plant will go into.
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1. Vegetarian recipes
2. Smoothie recipes
How? It's easy!
Privacy policy:
Your email address is safe;
we NEVER share our list.
