Transplanting Tips
Spring is in the air!! I always joke with my friends that my hibernating season begins around December, and March is the time I start waking from my winter hibernation. March always makes me feel like an emerging flower. I’ve had my rest, now it’s time to show the world my glory. 😝
Soon your plant babies will be ready to get into the ground and show you what they can do! Now the trick is taking them from indoors to the great outdoors and then getting them into the ground! This is called transplanting. It seems simple, just take your plants straight out to the garden and put them in the ground, right? Not quite. Let’s go over a few tips to help ensure better transplanting.
Tip # 1 - Frost. This one is absolutely KEY! If you plant your tender crops too early, it is quite likely that you could lose all of them. Trust me, I’ve done it. I’ve also been out there covering crops and plants with whatever I could get my hands on and crossing all my fingers and toes that what I covered, pulls through! Frost typically kills the plant from the inside out. The water inside the cells of the plant are frozen, thus killing your new baby seedling.
Tip # 2 - Hardening off. I talked a little about this in February. (If you missed February’s blog, take a peak real quick here.) Hardening off means acclimating your plants to the great outdoors. They’ve been coddled inside with warmth, grow lights, and watered from below. They have yet to face the intensity of the sun or be pelted by a hard rain. This is why hardening off is important. By hardening off, you help ensure better success in your garden. There are just a few key things to take into account. First is placing your plants in a semi-protected area. You want to protect your plants from too much direct sun, hard rain, and strong winds. I typically place mine outside to get about 4 hours of direct morning to early-afternoon sun. I place them under a cover that provides that shade, as well as providing protection if it’s raining. Depending on the temperatures at night, I will bring them in at night and back out in the morning. I choose not to set mine out when winds are high. Strong winds can snap your baby right over. I do place them out when there is a breeze though. By doing this, it helps the plants to create stronger roots. Some people say a week of hardening off is enough; I typically do about a 2-week time frame.
Tip # 3 - Water. This is another important one! Now that your plants are outside, they will likely need more water to start with, especially during the hardening off phase. Again, I use my fingertips in order to help me decide whether I need to water or not. I have yet to find any better method than sticking my finger in the soil…soil has beneficial properties too, so all around probably the best method. When my plants have been transplanted to the garden, I water them immediately after transplanting and then I check them in the evening. If they have droopy leaves, I would recommend water first and then check for other issues. For the first couple weeks, I water in the morning and check them in the afternoon/evening to see how they’re responding.
Tip # 4 - Transplanting. This is what you really came here for, right? :-P After your plants have been hardened off, it’s time to plant them in your garden. I try to choose a week that has consistent temperatures, not too much variation in the day and night temps, as well as no hard rains or winds. By doing this it helps lessen the stress of transplanting. Yes, your plants become stressed during transplanting. Just think, they’ve been in this nice comfy pot and given ample attention, and now they're being kicked out into the wilderness of your garden! Their roots are going to be disturbed, they’re going to face ALL the elements, and they might even be facing pests…OH MY! I try my best to provide an easy transition just by checking the weather. Once I’ve chosen my week, I plant in the morning before it warms up too much or in the evening when it’s starting to cool down. You will want to look up your plants to decide whether to plant them deeper or same depth as their current pot. For example, tomatoes can be planted up to their first set of leaves in the soil…those little hairs on your tomato plant will become roots!! Peppers, however, need to be planted at the same level as their pot. To help give my plants a boost, I add in a bit of mycorrhizal fungi to my planting hole, as well as worm castings, either in the soil or around the base of the plant after planting. (I’ll tell you more about both of these next month.) You can find mycorrhizal fungi and worm castings in my store. After everything has been planted, I water deeply and at the base of the plants, trying to avoid splash up from the soil.
Tip # 5 - Fertilize and Mulch. Fertilize about a week after transplanting. I fertilize with a fish emulsion/seaweed mix. You can find those here. I also mulch my garden with straw, either before planting or right after. I started using straw a few years ago and have loved every moment of it. Not only does it help keep moisture in but also prevents the soil from drying and cracking. Mulching also helps reduce weeds, which reduces your work in the garden as well as inhibit the ability for weeds to choke out your plants.
I’ll go over more of the ins and outs of fertilizing, so make sure to check back next month for those tips!
If you’re wondering how you will even have time to do all this, give me a call! My goal is to help you set up systems in order for you and your garden to thrive throughout the gardening season. Whether you’re a newbie, intermediate, or expert level gardener, I offer on-going coaching to help guide you through some of the main challenges we all face as gardeners and lead you to success!
