Planting from Seedlings

Seedlings are a great and easy way to save time. You can start your own indoors or purchase some from a local greenhouse or nursery. We use Corliss Brothers, Garden Center and Nursery. Now planting seedlings is easy. But you need to remember a couple things to keep your plants healthy.

Harding off your Plants

Plants are affected by sudden shifts in enviroments. If the temperture rises or falls to quickly. Plants will get stressed and stop producing or die. Plants started indoors have a controlled enviroment. Light, temperture, CO2, and water. So when it is time to transplant outside you need to harded off the plants. Set your plants outside for an hour or two for the first couple days. Then two to four hours for the next couple days. Depending on how the plants adjust, they can be ready to plant in a week. Keep them in the shade and away from the wind. This allows the stem to strengthen and the leaves to adjust to outside conditions. Indoor plant leaves are sensitive to sunlight and will burn.

Transplanting

After the plants have hardened off. It will be time to put them in the ground. Transplanting on cooler days is recommended. Otherwise aim for early morning or early evening. Try not to plant in the heat of the day. This will cause the plants to wilt. For each plant you will need to make a hole slightly bigger then what your plant is in now. Take your plant and gently remove it from the cell. Gently break apart some of the soil around the roots. This will tell the roots that they can stretch out and grow. Place it in the hole and fill it in. Gently push down the soil. Do not compress the soil to hard or the roots will have a hard time spreading out. Add a little water for the first couple days. Then water regularly.