Your seedlings have been hardened and now they are ready to go in the ground! If you don’t know what hardening entails no worries, check out our hardening blog now, and then meet us back here!
First things first, your last frost should have passed, and your seedlings should be 4-6 weeks old before putting them in the ground. Ideally, you will have 2-4 sets of their true leaves and the roots coming out at the bottom of small seedling starter trays. (This does not apply to our deep herb biodegradable seedling starter pots)
* If you are putting your seedlings into a pot before the final transplant make sure the pot is 2-3 times the size of your seedling with good drainage holes (avoid root rot).
Mark where your plants will go first, make sure they are adequately spaced. You can add in a little fertilizer to the holes or dip your seedling and soil trays into a little fish emulsion before putting it in the soil.
Make sure the soil is moist but is in a well-drained area.
If working with seedling trays gently pop out the soil and seedling block. If popping out is too difficult cut your seedling tray open and gently remove the soil and seedling cells.
If you are working with our biodegradable containers simply dig a hole deep enough and plop the seedling starter in the ground and cover with a new layer of soil around the stem.
Best to transplant in the morning or evening.
You will want to cover the soil the seedling was growing in with a little top layer of soil and make sure it is covering a little part of the stem. With tomatoes, you will want to dig a little deeper into the hole and cover a good amount of the tomato stem.
Give a good but gentle watering.
Do try to avoid root-bound seedlings, that’s when the seedlings have been in their seedling tray for a little too long. You will want to gently spread the roots at the bottom before transplanting.
If temperatures should quickly shoot up, use a shade cloth for the seedlings while they adjust to the warmer tempatures.
With tomatoes be sure to plant them deep and cover a good amount of their stem with soil.
Happy Transplanting!
