A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening Question on transplanting

Quick Q guys & gals. . .

I beleive i remembered it right but I"m 2nd guessing my self. . . Do i transplant when the first set of true leaves are out? or do i let it get longer?

Danno, which type plant are you talking about?
With tomatoes, a lot of people insist it's best to wait for the second set of true leaves to emerge. I normally don't "pot up," my plants usually go straight from six-packs to the garden.

Yeah, it does help to know what kind of plant...

But I would wait..

You definately want to let that plant develope
a good root system, before transplanting..
It helps the plant to feed it's self better too,
to recover the shock of transplanting...

Also remember, to handle the seedling by it's leaves..
NEVER the stem..
If you accidently rip a leave off, no big deal..
but if when holding the stem and you squeeze too hard,
you crush it, and the seedling can't feed it's self,
and dies...

yah i shoulda been more specific. These ones i'm questioning are tomato plants started from pete pellets. Theyre already up to the 2nd (true set) of leaves that are out & getting larger. From dirt to leaves is about a good 1.5-2.5" Thats why i'm questioning if i should put these tomato plants into some bigger pete pots & deeper (nearly up to the cotalyn leaves right?)

Thanks!

Yep, I would..
Just pop that peat pellet right
into a bigger pot/container,
and get those roots going..

Maybe a finger width (or a finger width and a half)
away from the top...

Danno all the advice you've recieved has been good. I used 288 cell trays for some this year and transplanted into 72 cell trays at one and two days after emerging. Haven't lost a one yet. Like Weezie said just make sure you handle by the leaves if you have to handle them at all. I did have to separate a few and it is easier then than later as the roots aren't grown together as bad. And they are now probable 3-4" and I'm starting to pot them up again. I'm still several weeks from planting out. I waited on some and wished I hadn't. The cells are so small they quit growing and also harder to separate. But with peat pellets you shouldn't really notice any difference they should just take off. JMO. Jay

I'd say wait a bit yet, for the tiny plants are so hard to handle and easier to damage.

It's a bit hard to make a complete accurate judgment on when to transplant. Some of the seedlings may not be as tall as others, so just be careful when handling them.

I used yogurt cups this year so I "thinned/transplanted" at the first set of true leaves. And now I don't have to worry about transplanting them outside until they are big and they are over 2 feet tall already. I started too early again this year lol.

Good idea, I'm going to do this with my sunflowers next year. It's too cold in my greenhouse yet and they are too tall for the small area I started them in, I started them too early.

speaking of sunflowers when do u usually plant these? (sorry to get offtopic here)

I started these March 16, and I could easily have waited till this week. They need to be transplanted and I don't have too much room here in my house, but I must get them done for they are too leggy already.

I stuck some seeds outside already..
It'll take a wee bit to get them going,
but should be just about the right timing Danno..

Those seeds/plants are reasonably hardy..
The seeds can over winter here from falling
of the flower head in the fall and survive thru the winter and sprout in the spring time... as volunteers!

I started mine last year during the summer. They are very fast growers. I had the Black Oil Sunflower seeds. The birds loved them.