Quick question on potting up...

[huntsman]

Is it fine to pot up as soon as true leaves appear on seedlings?

[dice]

Is it fine to pot up as soon as true leaves appear on seedlings?

Yes.

I started seeds in one of these this year:
http://www.groworganic.com/plantel-tray-192-cell.html

With cells 1 inch square by 2.5 inches deep, there is not enough
root space to keep seedlings in there any longer than that. They
need to be potted up as soon as true leaves appear, because
there is not enough root space to keep a larger plant hydrated.

I expect that is pretty much true of "plug trays" in general. I suppose
one could grow them a little larger than that with some kind of
automated watering system that was tuned to the kind of media in
the seed-starting mix and the kind of plant, but it is too easy to get
busy with something else, miss a day or two when watering manually,
and let them get too dry. It seems safer to me to give them enough
room to grow as soon as true leaves appear.

[huntsman]

Hi dice

Good to know....

I started in something very similar, and I think I have left the transplant too long already.

Well, looks like a gardening day tomorrow....

Thanks!

[dice]

Yes, small seedlings that dry out may not recover at all, those that do
get a late start to the season, etc. They have so little roots that they
can go from just slightly wilted looking to dead as a doornail in one warm
day.

Potting up gives them space to greatly multiply their roots. A root
stimulant like a mild dose of liquified kelp or kelp extract will help
them take advantage of that as rapidly as possible. Even mixing
some kelp meal into the potting up seedling mix will help, because
every time you water they effectively get a light dose of kelp tea.

[huntsman]

That's great to read, because I do have liquified kelp on hand.

I guess this will not be effective if watered from below, however? Or would the kelp be drawn up with the water?

Right now, I have watered all seedlings from below, and will wait until the soil dries off before potting...possibly late afternoon.

[dice]

If you mix some kelp into the water that is drawn up by bottom watering,
the plants still get the benefit of it.

edit:
Note that you do not need to do that every time that you
water the seedlings, 2 week intervals would be plenty.
The seedlings will still grow if kept moist even without that.
It is only an enhancement to emphasize root growth after
potting up from seed-starting cells.

[huntsman]

Great - thanks, dice!

[raindrops27]

Dice,

What is your labeling method for starting seedlings in those cells, and when potting up. Also, what source do you buy your kelp, and other seedling amendments. Online? For some reason the first set of seedlings I started last year all turned yellow, so I tossed them. After a weak solution spray of epsom salt and sterile water did nothing to green them up. I never understood the problem.

Thanks
Melissa

[dice]

My labelling method for seeds in seed-starting cells is a map on paper.
Graph paper works well.

When potting up into 3" pots, I put a label in each 3" pot. Last winter
I collected some election signs I found in vacant lots, along streets, etc
after the last election, and last spring I cut them up into label-sized strips
and used them to label the 3" pots. I use a Sharpie Industrial marker, and
it will write right over the top of any screen printer's ink printed on the
corex (plastic cardboard) or styrene (thin polystyrene) election signs and
still be readable, as long as the screen printer's ink is not black (has to
be a different color than the marker).

Something like these would work well, too:
http://www.earthstarproducts.shoppin...43/4405706.htm
(They have larger quantities, too.)
Another vendor:
http://www.novoselenterprises.com/pr...ant-labels.asp

You can probably get those at any store selling garden supplies, but
I do not know if that would be cheaper (including shipping).

The political signs were free, so ....

[huntsman]

Free's good...

[dice]

[Kelp]
At the moment I have this stuff:
http://www.groworganic.com/maxicrop-...xtract-lb.html
(You mix it at 2/3lb (10.7 oz) to 1 gallon of water to make a liquid
concentrate, then dilute that at 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon per
gallon to use it, depending on how big the plants are, whether you
are foliar feeding or soil drenching, what kind of crop, etc. The
instructions that come with it are sized for farmers, like "gallons
per acre" and "dilute to 1:100" or "quart to 50 gallons" for transplanting,
and so on.)

I have also used this:
http://www.groworganic.com/pvfs-liquid-kelp-gallon.html
(1-2 tablespoons per gallon; easy to use, but I did not see
why I should pay the shipping on a gallon of mostly water.)

And this:
http://www.hydroponics.net/i/133676
(Used to be "Algamin Kelp Meal", bought out by Maxicrop. Some growers
probably recognize the box, even though the name of the product is
changed.)

This brand has been recommended for particularly good results:
https://www.saltwaterseaweed.com/sto...&product_id=53

[raindrops27]

Thank you Dice for the information.