Best Techniques for Transplanting Seedlings in Spring

In most parts of the country, it is time to start seedlings for tomatoes and peppers. Seeds are usually starting in trays with seed starting mix in them. As they get larger, the seedlings are transplanted into individual pots.

When it is time to transplant the seedlings outside, you have to gradually prepare the seedlings to withstand wind, sun, and the outside temperatures. Otherwise, all your hard work will be wasted when the transplants die from transplant shock after you plant them.

What is Hardening Off?

Hardening off is the process of getting seedlings that have been raised indoors or in a greenhouse used to the conditions outdoors. While the seedlings are inside, they do not feel wind, direct sunlight, or rain. They also do not have to worry about pests or diseases. In other words, indoors you have ideal conditions. Outdoors, you have the real world. The plant has to get used to the real world in small doses at first.

How To Harden Off Seedlings

The key to hardening off seedlings is to gradually expose them to the outside world. I take a week to harden off my plants. Be sure to keep them watered, especially the first few days, or they will wilt. This process is easier if you put the pots on a rolling cart or a tray so you can carry more than one at a time.

• Day 1: Place the pots the seedlings are in the shade outside for about two hours, then bring them back in and set them where you usually keep it. Make sure the pots are out of the wind when they are outside.

• Day 2: Leave the pots out in the shade for four hours, then bring them back indoors.

• Day 3: Put the pots in sunlight for about two hours. Return the pots to the shade and leave them there. Don't bring them back inside.

• Day 4: Put the pots in the sunlight for four hours, then return them to the shade.

• Day 5: Leave the pots in the sunlight for six hours.

• Day 6: Plant your seedlings where they go in the garden. Plant in batches, keeping the plants well watered and in the shade until you plant them. I usually have several pots to plant and don't want the seedlings to wilt before I reach them. I get out only as many pots as I can plant at a time and leave the other pots in the shade until I get ready to plant them.

Store Bought Seedlings

Store bought seedlings have already been hardened off and are ready to plant. You can bring them inside overnight, but if they spend several days inside, they will start to lose their hardiness. You will have to do a mini hardening off in that case. It is better to buy the seedlings the day of planting or at most the day before planting.

Transplanting Seedlings

Here are the steps to follow to give your seedlings the best chance of survival.

1. Before planting your seedlings, water the ground you will be planting. I usually do this the night before. Water the seedlings in their pots at the same time, so the soil is pretty wet.

2. Dig a hole for each seedling it should be a little bit deeper than the root ball.

3. Do not put fertilizer in the hole unless it is covered with an inch of dirt. Direct contact with fertilizer burns the tiny root hairs and can kill the plant.

4. Gently put your open hand on the pot, palm down, with the seedling between your fingers.

5. Turn your hand and the pot over.

6. Squeeze the pot from the bottom down to push the root ball into your hand. Move slowly and let gravity help you. Don't be rough or you will damage your plant.

7. Hover your hand over the hole you have dug.

8. Turn your hand over, dumping the seedling root ball first in the hole. Be gentle, because if the stem snaps, the seedling will die.

9. Take your hand and slide it below the seedling's first set of leaves, with the seedling stem between your fingers.

10. Hold the seedling at the proper depth and backfill the hole with what came out of it.

11. Gently firm the dirt around the transplant. Don't compact the dirt, firm it just enough to hold the seedling straight.

12. Water the seedling and the surrounding area.

13. Congratulate yourself on a job well done and move to the next seedling.

Note: If your seedlings are in those peat pots that are supposed to decompose, make sure the pot is buried completely. If the rim of the pot is above ground, it will serve as a wick and draw moisture from the soil and plant to the air. If necessary, clip the rim off the pot before planting so it won't stick up.

After Care of Seedlings

After all that work, your vegetable garden is planted. Water the seedlings every day for two weeks so their roots can get established. Gradually extend the time between watering until you water once a week when it is cool. You will have to water twice a week when it is very hot. Most vegetable plants need an inch of water a week if it is cool or an inch of water twice a week if it is hot. Strive for consistently moist soil, not soggy or dry soil. Variations in soil moisture can make tomatoes get blossom end rot, cucumbers get bitter, and your other vegetable plants not produce as much.

Perennials, Trees, and Shrubs

While TN Nursery does not sell vegetable plants, we do sell bare root perennials, trees, and shrubs. We sell a wide variety of trees, with everything from white oaks to dogwoods, shrubs, and perennials like purple coneflower and blanket flower. Reference this article on planting bare root plants for best practices when planting them. To order plants for your landscape, call us at 931.692.7325 today.