Transplant shock

**Patrina_Pepperina** · October 24, 2006

Every year I have a tray or two of seedlings that just don't do well (compared to other trays) and stay runts for absolutely ages!. I figured it must be something to do with the conditions on the days of potting up, all other things being equal. Here's what they look like:

http://au.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fou...479scd.jpg&amp

On Sunday I happened to catch a bit of Gardening Australia on ABC TV, and the funny ol' guy showed how to keep tomatoes warm after transplanting to guard against transplant shock. He used clear plastic tubing to protect against cold winds, and he used clear plastic on the soil around the plant to warm it up.... Bingo! I had an answer as to why I always have trays full of runts, not individual runt seedlings amongst good ones!

I remembered that some of the days that I potted up seedlings weren't very warm. A couple days were when my dog dug into seedling trays, so I had no choice but to pot them up, but they were rather cold windy days/nights.

The difference between the largest seedlings and the smallest seedlings in the pic below are less than 2 weeks, but the largest ones are ready for transplant and the smallest ones are still weeks away!

http://au.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fou...cd.jpg&.src=ph

Lessons for me are to make sure that I choose nice days for potting up next season, water with warm water, then put straight into the mini greenhouse that I didn't get around to putting up this season, due to a late start!!~*&#

I could really kick myself for the disappointing start to my tomato season!!! I think I'll be dumping a couple hundred seedlings this year

PP

October 24, 2006	#1
Patrina_Pepperina Cross Hemisphere Dwarf Project™ Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New South Wales, Australia Posts: 3,094	Transplant shock Every year I have a tray or two of seedlings that just don't do well (compared to other trays) and stay runts for absolutely ages!. I figured it must be something to do with the conditions on the days of potting up, all other things being equal. Here's what they look like: http://au.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fou...479scd.jpg&amp On Sunday I happened to catch a bit of Gardening Australia on ABC TV, and the funny ol' guy showed how to keep tomatoes warm after transplanting to guard against transplant shock. He used clear plastic tubing to protect against cold winds, and he used clear plastic on the soil around the plant to warm it up.... Bingo! I had an answer as to why I always have trays full of runts, not individual runt seedlings amongst good ones! I remembered that some of the days that I potted up seedlings weren't very warm. A couple days were when my dog dug into seedling trays, so I had no choice but to pot them up, but they were rather cold windy days/nights. The difference between the largest seedlings and the smallest seedlings in the pic below are less than 2 weeks, but the largest ones are ready for transplant and the smallest ones are still weeks away! http://au.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fou...cd.jpg&.src=ph Lessons for me are to make sure that I choose nice days for potting up next season, water with warm water, then put straight into the mini greenhouse that I didn't get around to putting up this season, due to a late start!!~&# I could really kick myself for the disappointing start to my tomato season!!! I think I'll be dumping a couple hundred seedlings this year PP __________________ Truth is colourful, not just black and white. PP: 2005*