Transplanting plugs into larger containers

If you're like me sometimes those starter trays just are not deep enough to start seeds in.  Plants often get leggy or just die off, then when you dump it out you find a mass of roots in the cell.

Here is what we do before we loose plants or before they become a leggy tangled mess.

In this photo we see how uneven the growth is.  Actually the tallest plants were Rutgers Heirloom Tomatoes, then the Bush Big Boy, all which won't be in the ground for another month.  The far left  are standard Roma's that were still in their seed leaf stage (Cotyledon).  Herbs, cabbage, celery and habaneros on the far right.  Other than the habaneros and celery all have gotten leggy but are on their mature leaves.  But it is not to late to save them.

• First thing you need to do is make sure the cells are relatively dry, wet ones break apart easily and are difficult remove without damaging the root systems.

• Locate a thin piece of wood, a popsicle stick, or a 1/2 pvc pipe cut at an angle at one end to make a spade.  I prefer the piece of wood as shown below.

• Solo cups, yogurt containers or even tin/aluminum sauce or vegetable cans.  Collect them, reuse them.  They work great, just poke a few holes in the bottom for drainage.  For this case I am using solo cups.

• Good potting soil, make sure it is not starter soil.  I make sure it has vermiculite in it.  What I normally do is save it from year to year, but I normally cut it in half and add compost from my worm bin, finely sifted.  Make sure before you use it in the container your are transplanting to that the mix is moist, it is easier to work with and will keep it from floating out and over the sides of your container.

Take the stick and slip it into one of the cells that you want to transplant.  Press against one of the sides and slide down till it hits the bottom.

Gently pry the soil plug out of the cell.  Remember not pull the seedlings by the stalk base.  They can easily be crushed and then they will die.  Grab by the plug or gently by the Cotyledon as long as there are primary leaves present.

With the plug remove just set it aside.  Take one of the solo cups and fill with enough soil mixture so that the plant will be buried at least 1/2 the way

Take the plug and place in the cup and fill the remaining cup gently packing the dirt around the stems so as not to crush them.

Be sure to label the cup so you know what is planted in it.  Add a small amount of water.  Just make sure not to over saturate. Once done go ahead and move the cups to their new location in a greenhouse or under grow lights till ready to plant.

Take the seed tray with the seedlings that aren't ready and put back were it can get some more grow time.  Be sure to adjust lighting to maximize leaf growth, typically 1/2 inch above the plant if using fluorescent or 3 inches if using daylight CFL's.