Going potty
It's the time of the year when you have to make that tricky decision - to repot or not to repot? Sara's mentioned her worries about overcrowded squash and weedy tomatoes in her blog post, and I've spent a lot of time lately staring at seedlings trying to decide if they'll do another week, or if they really do need to stretch their roots.Â
As a rule of thumb, tomato plants with two "true" leaves (not the two long thin ones that turn up first), or over 12cm need their own pot. Squashes can be left until they've got three or four true leaves.
It's a fiddly process, but a week after you've done it you really see the difference a bit of space makes, as your little plants shoot up. With lots of help and advice I've developed a technique that most of my seedlings manage to survive!
1 - First, and very importantly, give the repottees a really good watering before you move them. It'll be a while before they get settled enough to suck up any water in their new home. Wet earth will also stay stuck to the roots, so they don't get damaged as much.
2 - Next, get all your new pots close to hand and about half-full of moist compost. I use loads of newspaper pots, because I have lots of seedlings and I'm not made of money.Â
3 - Now hold your pot of seedlings with your hand over the top, turn it upside down and give the bottom a few sharp taps with your other hand. The whole lump of compost and seedlings should come out in one go.
4 - Gently pull the seedlings apart, leaving a bit of compost around their roots if you can. Put each one in its new pot and fill in around it with more compost. Then press down to firm the compost around the seedling so it doesn't fall over.
5 - Finally, give it another good watering, then pop back on the windowsill or in the greenhouse.
Anyone else got any tips or techniques? Share them in a comment!
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