Transplanting Seedlings

I've been posting about our little seedling growing project lately and today it's time to show you where these little seedlings are.

We've planted a few type of seeds and as any type of plant has it's own growing rhythm and schedule, some are already quite big, others are just germinating. These things are determined by nature, you can't really rush it. What you can do is pay attention to each type and do the right thing, give them what they need.

Today I'm going to show you how we've transplanted the dahlia seedlings. These are growing like no other one, it's unbelievable. These dahlia seeds were planted 22 days ago. If you're interested to see the process, you can read my post here -> Growing Seedlings - DIY - Tricks And Tips.

Transplanting Seedlings

As I said above, seedlings can grow fast and there comes a time when you need to transplant them to give roots the necessary space to grow.

These are the dahlia seedlings after only 22 days. These are the biggest so far among all and the most healthy looking ones. As you can see, the leaves are already shaped, the edges are zigzagged. At this stage they need more space to grow and the photos that are coming will show you the proof.

Transplanting seedlings is a very difficult task if you want to do it right. Those very thin roots are very sensitive. You need to handle them with care, otherwise you can destroy everything.

This year we decided to use biodegradable pots for growing seedlings. Before we've been using plastic and have lots of trays but now due to some complications we needed to improvise and do everything in my apartment, where there was nothing. So we bought these biodegradable pots to make things much more easier.

These biodegradable paper trays have 6 little pots. At this point you just have to separate them using scissors.

Here's the proof that these need to be transplanted already. Do you see those thin roots? Those are escaping from the paper pot already. If left like that, these will most likely dry out and die, which can affect the whole plant.

When you're transplanting seedlings from a plastic pot, you take out the plant and place it in a bigger one. The process is risky as the roots can brake, or can get hurt. Many people are pressing the soil around the plant to fix the plant. That pressure can break the roots.

With these biodegradable pots this process becomes much more easier and without any risk. What you see on the photo is a bigger pot, exactly the size that is needed for the seedlings till they can be planted outside.

You just have to fill half of the pot, place the little pot in it and fill it with soil.

This way the roots are remaining as they were, not coming in contact with soil and there's no stress for them.

Now they can grow, there's plenty of space and soil full of nutrients.

Nutrients

One thing you need to pay attention when growing seedlings is the soil. If you want what's best for them, buy the best you can. This soil what you see on the photo is specially for growing seedlings. It's rooting stimulant activator and you can see it's working. It's not so expensive as you don't need a lot. I'd say it's affordable and totally worth it.

Happy Seedlings

And here they are, in their new pots full of good nutrients. All they have to do now is grow. If everything goes well, we're going to have some nice flowers in two months I think. When the time will come, we don't have to take them out of the paper pot, it can all go into the soil.

Old Method

This is the old, plastic tray for growing seedlings. When they outgrow the size of the tray, you need to transplant them, the problem is the tray may not be filled with roots, enough to keep the soil around the roots. When you take the seedlings out, you may end up with all the soil falling out and you hold only the plant with those hairline roots. From there you have like 50/50 chance to kill the seedlings.

These are already the bigger pots and these seedlings are through the hard part.

This is from last year, when we were planting tomato seedlings outside. These needed to be taken out of the plastic pot and planted outside. This year some of the seedlings, the pepper for sure, will be planted with the paper pot altogether and the roots will be safe.