Seedlings And Their Picking

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

It is not enough just to sow seeds and provide them with conditions for germination; more often than not, picking cannot be done without. What you need to know in order for plant transplantation to be carried out efficiently and without losses

What is picking?

Word"

pick ”Comes from the name of the pointed peg used to transplant the plant, in French - pique.

This word refers to any transplantation of seedlings (seedlings) from a smaller container into a large or separate containers.

The purpose of the pick is to provide the plants with a living space appropriate for their age.

Do you need a pick?

The picking process itself is not needed. The transplanting process does not strengthen the plant, but, on the contrary, delays its development.

If it is possible, initially, to provide the seedlings with the necessary nutritional area, decent lighting and temperature conditions, you do not need to dive. But the choice to dive or not to dive is determined by real conditions.

The need to grow seedlings on window sills, as well as its technical feasibility for each gardener, is individual.

For me personally, sowing seeds at an earlier date is due to the onset of heat during the flowering period of vegetables. Therefore, I resort to this "trick", namely, I grow early seedlings so that the mass flowering of vegetables has time to pass before the onset of June (the peak of the heat is just from mid-June to July).

Growing good seedlings on a windowsill is a rather time-consuming task. But if all the equipment is ready (place, container, earth, lighting) and the cycle of actions is debugged, growing seedlings is a real pleasure.

Picking is a traumatic procedure for plants. The process is time consuming, requiring patience and accuracy. A carelessly carried out transplanting leads to a delay in the development of seedlings, which means in the future, a lost crop.

When a pick is needed

- The seeds were sown in a general container.

- High seedling density.

- Problems with the soil have been identified.

- The planting material is strongly stretched.

- Culling of low-quality seedlings.

What to consider when transplanting seedlings

- Bury the plants only up to the cotyledonous leaves. If the cotyledon leaves are covered with earth, the growing point between them will die. If you transplant a seedling to the height at which it grew in the total capacity, then the roots of the plant will be at the surface, which is fraught with their death when the soil dries out.

- Transplant seedlings at an early age. I transplant at 3-5 days after germination, with only two cotyledonous leaves. The advantages of such an early pick: the younger the seedling and the smaller its root system, the better the survival rate due to the minimum of injuries. When transplanting at a later date, the problem of interlacing the roots of neighboring plants and their separation arises.

- The picking will be painless if the seedling has an earthen lump.

- Water only after planting to eliminate voids in the soil.

- I do not pinch the roots of the transplanted sprouts (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, flowers). The plant is already in a stressful state and during transplantation they lose particles of root processes.

To avoid damaging the roots or to minimize their damage, I dive the seedlings with a fork. I don't touch the plants with my hands.

I do not additionally water the seedlings before transplanting. I plant them with soil in a loose state.

I dive plants at 300 gr. plastic cups with drainage holes. This volume of land is enough for growing seedlings up to the age of 1, 5 months without additional feeding.

I do not feed seedlings in the process of growth, since the prepared soil contains all the trace elements necessary for plants.

When installing glasses on a pallet, allow for free drainage of water. A flat glass bottom and a flat base can create a stagnant zone. An excess of moisture will lead to acidification of the soil, to oxygen starvation of the roots and their death.

Immediately after transplanting, I put the plants in a cool room under strong lighting. The temperature of the seedlings is 15-18 degrees. heat.

… or take it to the greenhouse in the garden.