When and How to Pot Up Transplants - Ep. 238

[00:00:00] Whether you're growing cold season crops like brassicas or warm season favorites like tomatoes and peppers, knowing when and how to pot up your seedlings can make all the difference in their health and success when they finally reach the garden. This is usually something we only have to worry about when starting our own seedlings ahead of the gardening season.

[00:00:18] But you might find if you buy warm weather plants from the nursery or the garden center too early, before your weather has settled, that they quickly outgrow their containers and they'll need to be potted up or risk being stunted when they finally go into the garden. Today on Just Grow Something we're going to cover why and when potting up is necessary and when you might not need to pot up at all, which plants typically need potting up and which ones don't, and the best technique for potting up our transplants.

[00:00:46] We're also going to answer the question of the month. What do you have the most difficulty with in starting seeds indoors? Let's dig in. Hey, I'm Karen and what started as a small backyard garden 20 years ago turned into a lifelong passion for growing food. Now as a market farmer and horticulturist, I want to help you do the same. On this podcast, I am your friend in the garden, teaching evidence-based techniques to help you grow your favorites and build confidence in your own garden space.

[00:01:14] So grab your garden journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to just grow something. Some of the responses to the question of the month focused around struggles with poor germination, leggy seedlings, seedlings dying shortly after germination, and plants that just don't thrive after transplanting. I have been working on something just for you all.

[00:01:39] I am excited to announce my brand new mini course seed to sprout. It is a complete guide to indoor seed starting. So this course walks you through every step from choosing the right soil and containers to using grow lights and heat mats effectively, proper soil moisture, airflow, preventing damping off disease. And it's got a troubleshooting guide and a bonus section on hardening off your seedlings for transplant.

[00:02:07] It's got 45 minutes of video lessons with downloadable resources and cheat sheets so that you can gain the knowledge and the confidence to grow strong, healthy seedlings ready for your garden. I've had multiple students who took plan like a pro come back and tell me that they loved the course, but they wanted a next step. So, okay, like I know how to plan the garden. Where's the next class? So this is the next class and I'm super excited for it.

[00:02:36] Enrollment is open now. It is just $20. Starting your seeds on time is one of the keys to a productive garden. And this course will walk you through from start to finish. And of course, now is the time. So head to the courses page on my website, justgrowsomething.com to sign up. I will leave the link in the show description and it's also in today's email. All right.

[00:03:03] So the question of the month for February was, what do you have the most difficulty with in starting seeds indoors? The very first response came from Spotify. This was from Jim Bob 2X who said, jalapenos are my trouble seed for germination. Soil temp not high enough. And yes, this is actually the cause most instances of either a low germination rate or inconsistent germination,

[00:03:31] meaning they germinate sort of sporadically instead of all around the same time or just no germination at all. Peppers, especially hot peppers, really like the soil to be nice and warm to sprout. Their preferred soil temperature is between 65 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. So the optimum temperature is like 85 Fahrenheit. The lower the soil temperature, that's where these problems with germination really start to kick in.

[00:03:57] If that soil is below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, there's usually little to no germination of pepper seeds. The other thing is the hotter the pepper is, the slower they are to germinate. I have no idea why this is. I really do need to research that a little bit because I'm curious.

[00:04:15] So you may have a bell pepper that takes only eight days to sprout at 85 Fahrenheit, but the super, super hot ones, they can take four weeks or longer at the same temperature. So, yes, I would guess that the soil temperature is likely too low. This doesn't mean that, you know, hotter is better, by the way, because temps over 95 Fahrenheit can be just as detrimental and also result in zero germination.

[00:04:43] This is why a seedling heat mat can be so important for germination, especially of some plant families.

[00:04:52] And I think now's a really good time to address a comment that I got on one of my videos about this subject on TikTok, where someone suggested just going out and getting a heating pad, one that you use for people as like a cheap alternative to a seedling heat mat, even suggesting that maybe you just pick one up cheaply at the thrift store.

[00:05:14] When I was a broke beginning homesteader, this is probably something I might've done if I already had a heating pad in my house because I wasn't looking to spend any more money than I needed to. But let me tell you why this is a really bad idea. Number one, most of those heating pads meant for people have an auto shutoff. This is a safety thing.

[00:05:39] We don't want somebody who is elderly, who maybe doesn't have as much sensitivity in their skin to be laying on these heating pads for an extended period of time and them not turn off. It also prevents them from being sort of a fire hazard if they're on high and they just get left on. So most of them shut off automatically after a certain amount of time. This is going to provide very inconsistent heat if you are using this for your seed starting. That's not really what we want. We want a consistent heat source.

[00:06:09] We want that soil temperature to remain at the ideal temperature for an extended period of time to promote those seeds to sprout. The second thing is heating pads may or may not be water resistant and they're certainly not waterproof versus a seedling heat mat that is intended to be used with water because there is inherently water being used when we are starting our seeds. So if you're using like a regular heating pad, this is a fire hazard hands down.

[00:06:39] Number three, you're not going to be very sure of how warm that heating pad is. Even if you have ones that have like a high, medium and low setting, you don't know what the temperature range is, especially not on a really cheap one. So it might be too hot for seed starting. It might be too cool for seed starting. You don't know if that temperature is being distributed evenly across that whole heating pad.

[00:07:07] So that's just not something that would be good for starting seeds. And these things wear out. I don't know how many heating pads you've ever purchased, but as far as ones that I've ever used, they seem to work well for a little while. But then eventually they either aren't heating up properly or they're just not turning on at all versus the actual seedling heat mats. My oldest seedling heat mat is 18 years old.

[00:07:33] It's the same one that I bought way back when it was my very first one. It is still being used. It's still the first one that I turn on in my seed starting room, even though I have, I think, four or five additional ones in there right now. So it has not worn out in the same amount of time where, you know, a number of heating pads have absolutely, you know, worn out. Same thing goes for those heating blankets too. Like they all seem to burn out. So, and I haven't had that problem with my heat mat.

[00:08:01] So it's definitely an investment that is going to work better in terms of seed starting and also probably last a lot longer than like a just regular heating pad would be. And as far as cost is concerned, these actually are very inexpensive now. I mean, the one that I bought way back when was, you know, kind of pricey at the time. At least I felt like it was. And it was an extra large one. It fits four seed trays.

[00:08:25] But you can get a heat mat now that fits an entire 10 by 20 tray for as cheap as $11 when it's on sale. I will put a link in the show notes to my Amazon shop that has all my seed starting supplies in there. And you can see there is one brand in there. It's a Vivo Sun brand that I use all the time. And when it's on sale, it's like $11. Okay. So, you know, that is as cheap, if not cheaper than being able to go and pick up a, especially a brand new heating pad.

[00:08:54] But it's certainly, you know, one that's been used and you have no idea what the condition is if you're buying it in a thrift store. So, seedling heat mats are designed specifically for seed starting. And that's for both safety and effectiveness. And they are relatively inexpensive. And again, if not less expensive than buying a used heating pad from the thrift store. So, okay, I'll get off my soapbox on that one. But I just, I really wanted to point that out because it was kind of a concerning comment that was made. And I had to answer that.

[00:09:21] So, the next few answers came from the Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook page. So, if you're not a member of that page, I will leave a link in the show description so you can answer a couple of questions. And then join 425 of your gardening besties in asking questions and posting memes and bragging about our gardens. The first response came from Paige Nicole Branting. And she said her biggest problem with seed starting is keeping them alive once they've sprouted.

[00:09:49] I seem to either overwater or underwater them. And I totally get this. I've had that problem. And my best solution to this is absolutely watering from the bottom. If you can have a tray that you can place your seedling starting containers into. And then add about an inch of water in that tray.

[00:10:14] And allow those seedlings to pull that water up as they need it. And then, here's the key. Let that dry out in between times that you add that water. So, don't continually add water into that bottom tray and maintain it at a one inch level. Because that means that's probably going to be too much water.

[00:10:35] If the surface of your soil and those little seeds or the seedlings is continuing to stay wet all the time. That is a good indication that you are overwatering them if you are watering from the bottom. So, allow them to soak up all that water. Allow them to dry out a little bit in between. We don't want our plants to get to the wilting stage. But we do want that soil to dry out just a little bit. Bottom watering is also going to help encourage those roots to go down for water. Instead of staying up at the surface level.

[00:11:05] And that's just going to make our plants stronger in the long run. So, that has been absolutely the biggest revelation for me in seed starting. Is making sure that I water them from the bottom. Now, if you can't manage this, that's fine. If you're going to water from the top. Then, the same principle that we use outside in the garden. Applies in here, in seed starting indoors as well. You want to water less frequently but more thoroughly.

[00:11:34] So, go ahead and soak your seedlings. And then, allow them to dry out between waterings. And then, do it again. Now, how often you're doing this is definitely going to depend on, you know, how many plants you have bunched together. What your lighting situation is. If you're using fluorescents that are giving off some heat. And are drying them out faster. Versus LEDs that maybe aren't as hot. If you've got a fan going or not. So, all of these different circumstances are going to change how frequently you're watering. So, let the plant tell you.

[00:12:04] And I know that, you know, that's not necessarily intuitive. Which is why we tend to overwater or underwater. But just look for things like letting them dry out in between waterings. And making sure that surface isn't constantly wet once they have finally sprouted. So, the next answer came from Suzanne Bennett. And she said, fungus gnats. I bought some clamp-on oscillating fans and mosquito bits for this season. Hoping it will help. Zone 7, Northern Middle Tennessee.

[00:12:32] This, again, goes back to the bottom watering. So, this will help. Because those fungus gnats like to have a very nice moist area at the top. But they also like to have a soil component. So, if you're using a regular potting soil to start your seedlings in, it has a soil component of some sort. Whether it's a garden soil mix or it's compost or something like that.

[00:12:59] And those fungus gnats are attracted to that soil component. That's where they like to lay their eggs. So, if you can use a soilless seed starting mix until your plants have sprouted. And not use an actual potting soil until it is time to pot those up. And, of course, today's episode is all about when to know how to do that. But then, don't use a potting soil until later on. That is going to reduce the possibility of those fungus.

[00:13:27] You also, once again, want to let that soil surface dry out. So, the fans absolutely should help with that. You can also water your seedlings with a hydrogen peroxide and water mix. If you really are having a bad problem with these fungus gnats, that actually helps to kill off the eggs that are in there. And so, if you can use like the little yellow sticky traps that you can put in and around the seeds and catch the adults.

[00:13:55] And then, eliminate the eggs by watering with a hydro peroxide mix. Then, that's also going to kill off the eggs. And that should hopefully solve your problem. But, you know, that would be like my last resort. And I have done that. And I've done it successfully. But, bottom watering again. Keeping that soil component out of the seed starting mix. And, you know, using fans and letting that soil surface dry out are my biggest ways to combat fungus gnats.

[00:14:22] And, my gardening homie Cody also had problems with fungus gnats. In addition to saying, damping off due to seeds sprouting at different times. Starting them early enough. Getting them close enough to the lights. And, you know, just transplanting them. Why do we do this again? Oh, yeah. The joy when those little guys pop up and grow. And you have something they don't sell at the garden center. So, yes. We already talked about the fungus gnats.

[00:14:51] Damping off is a huge problem. And a lot of the time, again, it is to do with that soil surface being wet all the time. And it is a bit of a balance when you have seeds that are sprouting at different rates in the same, like, tray. So, if you have all your seedlings in one container and they're sprouting at different rates, it's hard to know when to stop watering that surface.

[00:15:19] And stop keeping that surface moist. Because you're worried about the seedlings that need that moisture. Or the seeds. Versus the seedlings that have already sprouted. And now you don't want that soil surface to be wet anymore. Because that is where damping off disease loves to hang out. And that ends up killing off your little seedlings. That is a balance. I generally wait until my seeds are at about a 50% germination rate before I change anything.

[00:15:47] Whether that's removing a humidity dome or taking them off of a heat mat. Always making sure that there is light right away, for sure. But if this is a problem due to, you know, inconsistent germination of the same variety, then you might very well need to be using a heat mat in order to help get those seedlings to sprout all at the same time. Or more closely together within a day or two of each other.

[00:16:15] If this is an issue because you have different seeds that you're sprouting in the same container of different varieties, then you might need to start using maybe smaller containers and only be sprouting one type of seed in each one of those containers. Because, you know, there are groups of seeds that readily sprout between, you know, four and seven days. But then there are some that take between seven and ten days. And then there are some that take between, you know, 12 and 16 days.

[00:16:45] And you don't want them all to be in that same container because they are going to be sprouting at different times. And so some are going to get more water than they need. Some are going to get enough. All that kinds of fun stuff. So, you know, if you can kind of compartmentalize your seed starting a little bit and put the ones together that tend to have about the same germination period, then that might help. And the other thing, again, is using those heat mats. Airflow. That's the other thing, too. Using a fan of some sort as soon as they start to sprout to help keep that soil surface dry.

[00:17:16] And that will prevent, help prevent some of that damping off. And if you need to, you can actually keep them on the heat mat for just a little bit longer until they really start to develop their roots. It's not going to damage the roots right away. So if you leave them on for a little bit longer, that also is going to help with the damping off because damping off tends to like cool, wet conditions.

[00:17:37] So if you can leave it on the heat mat and let that soil stay warmer for a little bit longer and also allow that top to dry out a little bit, then that might also help with the damping off disease. In terms of starting them early enough, this is where, you know, having everything on a calendar and counting backwards from, you know, your anticipated planting date, which may or may not have some sort of relation to your last frost date.

[00:18:04] We'll refer back to that episode in the show notes, right? But, you know, this comment or this question came from Cody, and Cody was actually the one who also posted in the Facebook group asking if I would share my seed starting calendar. And my transplanting calendar, because she listens to another podcaster who happens to be in zone eight, who did the same thing, who basically shared her entire calendar. And I'm in zone six while Cody happens to be in zone seven.

[00:18:34] And so she figures if she gets my calendar and this other podcaster's calendar and then kind of figure out where the happy medium is, then it might make it easier for her to figure out what her calendar should look like. Because Cody has admitted that she is not a planner. She doesn't enjoy the process of getting in there and figuring things out like I do. So if she can sort of, you know, have a cheat sheet that she can use to get her jumpstart, then great.

[00:18:59] So after I got over the shop that Cody listens to other gardening podcasts, not just mine, I'm kidding. So I said, yeah, sure, I will. I will absolutely go ahead and share that. So I am going to be posting a blog post. And if you are on the email list, you will get a notification when that goes live. And I'm going to have my seed starting schedule out there to sort of help.

[00:19:26] So if this is something that you think would be helpful to you, then keep an eye out for that. It'll be probably a week or two because I'm traveling right now, but I intend to share that. And hopefully that will help somebody. In terms of the lights, this was a hard one for me to learn too. And ultimately, you really want the lights to stay about two to four inches above your ceilings,

[00:19:51] especially right after they first sprout, but no more than six inches. Now, it might seem like you're worried about it being too hot or burning the plants if you're putting them too close. And this can be an issue with fluorescents because fluorescents do give off a good amount of heat. And so if they are very, very close to those seedlings, they might actually burn them if it's too hot. Airflow is going to help with this.

[00:20:21] It's going to help to cool that air that's closest to the ceilings. But you can also, that's where you want to be a little bit more on the higher end of that distance. So maybe at the four inches. LEDs, a little bit less likely to burn the plants because they don't give off as much heat. So you might have them closer to that two inch mark, but no more than six inches because this is where they start to get very leggy because they are trying to reach that light.

[00:20:46] This light that we're using from artificial sources is not all encompassing like our outside daylight would be. So we need to get them as close as possible. If you cannot adjust your lights down, then we can be raising the plants up. So if you have a static area where your lights are being held, then you can use something to prop your ceilings up to get them closer to that light. So a box, some old books that you don't mind, you know, getting wet because again,

[00:21:15] we're inherently using water here, right? Um, you know, cardboard boxes, something that you can stack old other trays that you flipped upside down and put those on top of there. Whatever you can do to get them closer to that light, the better. And this is why I don't recommend doing this in a sunny window unless you have some sort of a backing to that, um, that area to kind of reflect that light back in. Because again, those plants are going to stretch. They're going to lean toward that light.

[00:21:43] So that's the advice that I have on, on figuring out, you know, how close those lights, um, should be to your plants. And then in terms of transplanting, well, today's episode for potting up, um, we're going to talk about transplanting or what it means to get them into larger containers before being put outside. But then in a couple of weeks, we're going to talk a little bit about hardening off those plants to get them transplanted outside.

[00:22:08] And this should help in terms of the survivability and just the thriving of those plants. Once they get out into the garden, the whole key is patience, young Jedi. You have to be patient before moving them out into the garden and give them time to acclimate to the outside. So all, all of these problems that we talked about, um, are addressed in my seed to sprout class. It's got videos and a downloadable troubleshooting guide that addresses all of this.

[00:22:34] So if you have dealt with these issues in the past, or you're totally new to indoor seed starting, and you don't want these issues, then check out the link in the show description for that class. And then one thing that we don't address in the class though, is the problem that was sent in through YouTube by Jacqueline Whitmore, who said, my biggest issue seed starting is basically space. I plant too many seeds just in case.

[00:23:01] And then I pot all those babies up instead of thinning and run out of room fast. Yes, it is so hard to cull seedlings that we don't necessarily need, especially if they look healthy. It's not a bad idea to start a certain percentage more than what you need, because like I keep saying, we are dealing with living organisms here and nothing is guaranteed.

[00:23:25] So now that I have my seed starting technique down to a science, so to speak, I generally plant about 10 to 15% extra to cover my basis. Sometimes more if I see on the seed packet that a certain seed I'm sprouting has a low germination percentage. But if you've got an overload of seedlings that you've potted up and now there's no room,

[00:23:50] you might consider some pop-up greenhouses or cold frames outdoors in a sunny area, but kind of close to shelter. If you're in a really cold area, this may mean moving them in at night and putting them back out in the morning. But if you're in a more mild climate, you might be able to get away with leaving them in their little greenhouse or their cold frame with just some extra insulation for the overnights. This is especially helpful if you've got cool weather plants and warm weather ones in the same seed starting area.

[00:24:19] So if you can move the cool weather ones out sooner rather than later into those protected areas, then you'll have more room for the warm weather ones. Now this is different from hardening off those seedlings to go out in the garden. So again, we're going to talk about that here in a few weeks. This is just about, you know, giving them a protected place where they can continue to grow on a little bit that is sort of away from the rest of the seedlings so you have a little bit more room. So let's talk about potting up those transplants.

[00:24:51] Before we move into potting up, I need to remind you that this is your last chance for the special Magic Mind offer for the month of February where you can save 40% off of your subscription instead of the usual 20%. This offer is only good for the first 10 orders. I know several of you have already taken advantage of it, but for the rest of you, now is the time to jump in there before it's too late. I have been in Colorado taking care of my mom for the last several weeks and I brought some

[00:25:18] of my Magic Mind with me, but I've been here longer than anticipated. And my latest shipment is back home and I have run out here. If I wasn't heading home soon, trust me, I would have placed an extra order to be sent here because trying to care for a loved one and continue to work and heading into tax season and all the paperwork that goes along with that has got my focus pulling in all kinds of different directions.

[00:25:44] And I feel the difference not having my Magic Mind to help me focus on my tasks fully. I forgot what it was like to be working on one thing, but be thinking about three others at the same time and not doing any of them effectively. I am ready to get back to my usual calm focus. And if you're ready to try my little mental performance shot for yourself, head to magicmind.com

[00:26:09] slash grow something 40 right now to save extra this month on your new subscription. The link will be in the show notes. Okay. Why and when should you pot up transplants before getting them out into the garden? Potting up or up potting, however you want to say it, is simply moving seedlings into a larger container before transplanting them into the garden. This is going to help prevent root bound plants. It ensures continued growth while they're waiting to go in the ground.

[00:26:38] And it gives them more access to nutrients. We want to do this before the plants begin to show signs of stress. Generally, this is going to be based on the size of the container they were started in and how long they're going to remain indoors. If you see any of the following signs, it is already stressing the plants out and they need to get out of their current container, either into the ground or into a larger pot. If you have roots that are visible through the drainage holes.

[00:27:05] So if they're poking out from the bottom of the container, your plant has likely outgrown its current space and it very well may be root bound. So if you've ever purchased a plant or you've grown your own and you pulled them out of the container to put them into the soil and the mass of roots was just bound super tight around itself, that is being root bound. Essentially, the roots of the seedling have hit the edge of the container and started to loop around themselves.

[00:27:32] Now, this is generally not a problem if you are doing soil blocks because those roots will air prune. They'll just get to the edge of that block and then just stop. That doesn't mean that you don't have to pop those up because they still need more room, obviously. But this is much more prevalent when we're growing in containers. The second thing to watch out for would be slowed growth or yellowing leaves. If your seedlings have seemed to stop growing or the lower leaves are starting to turn yellow,

[00:27:58] then they may be running out of space to grow and the volume of that soil is too small to hold on to enough nutrients to feed the plant. And when I say the bottom leaves, I'm not referring to the cotyledons, those first little leaves that come up when they actually sprout. Those generally are going to yellow and fall off naturally on their own. I mean the lower first true leaves. We don't want those to be turning yellow and dropping off.

[00:28:23] We also should be feeding our seedlings after those few first sets of true leaves appear, especially if we're using a seed starting medium that doesn't have any type of nutrients in it like the regular standing soilless seed starting mixes. They're not going to have anything. So we should be feeding those plants. But if they're not growing at all when we're feeding them, they obviously aren't getting enough food and the volume of soil is likely the culprit there.

[00:28:49] You also need to pay attention to see whether or not those seedlings are drying out too quickly. So if that soil is drying out within just hours of you watering it, then the root system may be too large for the container. It's taking up that water much more quickly than what you are giving it. And so it's going to require frequent watering. And then the last one would be legginess. Now a lot of the time this is due to light issues.

[00:29:15] But if you have seedlings that are growing too tall for their containers, then they might benefit from a deeper planting into a larger container. This is very specific for tomatoes especially. They will start to get nice and tall and they may start to flop over. And that is the time when they really do need to be potted up. Now you may not need to pot up at all. Some of our started seedlings can go directly from their original containers out into the garden.

[00:29:42] So fast growing crops that are going to be moved very quickly to their final location that are only inside for a handful of weeks. Any seedlings that you have started in larger sized containers. So if you're growing tomatoes for instance and you have started them in solo cups or in a three to four inch container of some sort. Then you may not need to pot those up. They may do just fine in that size of a container before heading straight outside. Any short season crops or really slow growing ones.

[00:30:11] So lettuces for example or small brassicas that typically don't spend enough time indoors to require an intermediate transplant before going out on the ground. The ones that likely do need to be potted up are things like tomatoes. These can be potted up multiple times. Especially if you're growing a ton of them and you want to start them in a very small space. You often times are starting them in smaller containers. And then they're going to quickly need to be potted up once sometimes twice.

[00:30:40] Depending on how early you're starting your tomatoes and how long they have to remain indoors before going outside. The same thing goes with peppers and eggplant. They grow very slowly but we have to start them really early in most areas. And they are often going to need a larger pot before we transplant them. The same thing goes for our larger brassicas. So they can benefit from being potted up if we're starting them in small cells.

[00:31:09] So if you're starting them in something that's only about an inch or so across and deep. You are definitely going to want to pop those up into a larger container. Because they're going to be a little too crowded if they stay in that volume of soil for even just four weeks. But if you start them in something that's an inch and a half to two inches. And they're going out within that four weeks. Then you likely aren't going to need it. If you're starting them earlier and they're in those one and a half to two inch containers.

[00:31:39] But they're hanging out inside for about six weeks. You're going to have to watch for signs that maybe they've gotten too large for their containers. And they need to be potted up. So this is going to take some practice and some experience. To figure out what size containers you need to start your seeds in. So that they don't outgrow them too quickly. And force you into having to pot things up a lot. And there also are some herbs like basil or dill that are really fast growing.

[00:32:08] And they may need more room before you transplant them. Now proper timing can prevent a lot of this though. If you've had to worry about potting your basil up multiple times in the past before moving it outdoors. You might just decide to wait longer to start them. And just time it for when it's appropriate to transplant them once. So you don't have to worry about potting them up. But if you want a really really big plant before it gets moved out of the garden. Then just know you are going to have to pot that up.

[00:32:36] The ones that likely don't need to be potted up. Are things like cucumbers, squashes, and melons. Number one they grow very quickly. And so we probably should only be planting those. Or starting these a couple of weeks prior to when they need to go out into the garden. They also do not like having their roots disturbed. So again this is really important when we talk about timing our seed starting. So if you look on your calendar and you know.

[00:33:04] All right well I want to plant you know cucumbers out after Mother's Day in the U.S. So around May 10th ish or so. Then you likely don't want to be starting your cucumbers indoors much earlier than that. And a lot of times unless you are in a very short season area. You may not have to start these indoors at all. You can just plant them directly out in the garden. So anything that doesn't like having its roots disturbed. If you don't have to for the sake of your season start them indoors. You may not want to.

[00:33:33] But just know that if you do start them inside. They really only need to have those roots disturbed one time. And that is going from indoors into the ground. We don't want to have to pot those up. The other things that you likely aren't going to have to pot up. Are things like leafy greens. So lettuce, spinach, arugula, and your really small brassicas like kale. They really only spend a very short time indoors. Before it's time for them to go up. Mainly because they're mostly frost hardy. And we're putting those in right around the time of our last frost.

[00:34:03] And so they don't need to spend a whole lot of time indoors. Which means they're not going to have to get potted up. So there's sort of a natural progression when it comes to potting up our plants. We want to choose a container that provides ample room for growth. Without being excessively large. So a good rule of thumb would be start with a smaller cell. You know one and a half to two inches wide for germination. Okay. If it's a crop that is going to go out into the garden fairly quickly. That might need be the only thing that you need.

[00:34:33] If it's going to stay inside for a longer period of time. Then you may need to take it from that one to two inch cell. And pot it up into a three to four inch container. Once the first set of true leaves develops. So we're trying to avoid them showing any of those signs and symptoms that I talked about earlier. The root bound. Being root bound. And starting to turn yellow. And all those things. So in order to prevent them from getting to that point. We want to pay attention. Once they get that first set. Maybe two sets of true leaves.

[00:35:02] Then we can go ahead and pot them up. For plants that are going to spend an extended period of time indoors. So for example. If you are in a short season area. And you want to grow tomatoes and peppers. And you have to start them way ahead of time indoors. Then you might need a final six inch container. To pot these up into. Before putting them out into the garden. So it all is going to be based on how long they're indoors. How fast they're growing. And how big that root system is.

[00:35:30] Before putting them out into the garden. When it's time to pot up. We want to prepare the new container. Make sure that it has proper drainage holes. And make sure that we are using a high quality. Well draining potting soil. Okay. This is different from our seed starting mix. At a lot of different instances. If you are new to seed starting. And you are using a soilless seed starting mix. This is the time when you are going to start using a regular potting soil. Something that has a soil component.

[00:36:00] This is going to be better for the root system. For the plant as it's being potted up. It's also going to hold on to moisture a little bit more. As we get that larger volume of soil. That's something that we want. It's also going to hold on to the nutrients better. So we want to switch from a seed starting medium to a potting soil. Slightly damp soil helps the roots adjust faster. So we want to moisten the soil. We don't want to waterlog it. Right. Because that leaves less air space for the roots to move through. And it makes harder for them to settle in.

[00:36:28] So very similarly to how we moisten the soil prior to starting seeds. We want to do the same thing to our potting mix as we're potting up. Pull your seedling from out of its container. Sort of loosen the soil a little bit around the roots. You don't want to damage them. So don't be jerking them around. But just loosen it up a little bit so that you can plop them into their new container. The right depth here is important. So tomatoes obviously can be buried much deeper.

[00:36:57] We're going to cover a part of the stem to encourage the additional root growth. So I always drop my tomato plants actually into the container while it's still empty. And then I will fill it in with the potting soil. So that tomato plant is as deep as it will go. And it only gives me about an inch or so at the top for it to continue its growth. That makes a really, really strong root system. But you can't do this with all of your plants. Brassicas and herbs generally should be planted at the same depth

[00:37:26] as their previous container. The only exception to this is if you have some excessively leggy plants, like your brassicas, you can bury them just slightly under the soil to help sort of shore them up a little bit if they're flopping over. Just make sure if you're doing that, that you are watering from the bottom and not the top. Because we don't want where the plant stem is touching the soil to stay wet all the time because that's going to encourage some rot.

[00:37:54] Peppers and eggplant are kind of the exception to this. They don't really develop roots along their stem the same way that a tomato would, even though they're all in the same family. But they also are more hardy than like the stems of your brassicas. So I tend to, if my peppers are looking a little tall for their containers, I will bury them a little bit deeper in the pot. Not at the same soil level, but maybe an inch deeper just to give them a little bit more stability. No matter what, you want to go ahead and kind of firm that soil

[00:38:24] in place around the plant and then just water thoroughly to settle everything down. We still need to provide at this point adequate light and airflow. So you still want to keep those seedlings under grow lights with good air circulation to prevent disease. This is the time when having something that's adjustable, whether it means raising the lights or dropping the plant, is going to be effective. So if you can't move those grow lights,

[00:38:52] then whenever you set your setup up, make sure that you have adequate distance between the lights and the shelf or whatever it is that you're using. And if you need to raise your seedlings up to get them closer to the light, then do that. Stack them on books, stack them on, you know, trays or cardboard boxes or something to get them closer to the light and then slowly lower them down so that they're getting adequate light. And that way, when they're in the taller ceiling phase,

[00:39:20] then you can just slide them onto the shelf without anything to prop them up and they're going to get the right light. That way you're not having to move the lights up and down. If you can move the lights up and down, that's great. If you can put them on a chain or something where they raise and lower, then that's fantastic. But if you don't want to go to that effort, then do it the opposite way. Just make sure that your seedlings, once they're protted up, are still getting that adequate light. It doesn't mean that they need less light at this point. If you need to move them to a sunny window, that's fine. I still recommend putting some sort of reflective material behind them

[00:39:49] to reflect that light back on them and continuing to rotate them because even though they've been potted up, they will still lean one way or the other if they're trying to stretch for the light. This doesn't stop just because they've been potted up and they're no longer baby babies, okay? And then, of course, we still want to continue to water them. We want to water from the bottom, if at all possible, because we want to encourage that root growth to go downward. If that's not possible, which, I mean, if you could just put them in a tray of some sort with just about an inch of water in it

[00:40:19] and let them naturally pull that moisture up from the bottom through their roots and then give it a day or two to dry out in between and then add some water again, that's perfect. If you're not in a situation where you can do that and you need to water from the top, that is fine. But as usual, we are going to go with less frequent, more thorough waterings, just like we do out in the garden. So soak it, but you do not want that soil surface to continue to be wet all the time. Let it dry out in between waterings and then water again.

[00:40:48] So a few things to think about for keeping our seedlings healthy before they go out into the garden. We want to be sure we are using the proper potting mix. So something that's got some organic matter in it with good aeration, we do not want to go out and grab soil from the garden and bring that in and use that to pot up into because that's generally too heavy for those smaller seedlings in a small amount of space. We do, however, want to be feeding them. So once you've potted them up, wait about a week and then go ahead

[00:41:16] and resume feeding your plants, your seedlings. At this stage of the game, once they're potted up, you can feed them at full strength the same way that you would out in the garden. And if you haven't been feeding them up to this point, then you might want to introduce this gradually by doing like a half strength fertilization. And then of course, if potting up is happening close to your outdoor transplant time, make sure that you are hardening these seedlings off properly. And then just be aware, you know, larger pots are going to hold more moisture.

[00:41:45] So you may need to adjust your watering frequency accordingly. Potting up can be a crucial step for some of our seedlings. It allows them to continue developing those strong roots and taking up adequate nutrition. This just sets them up for success once they get out to the garden. By understanding when and why we should pot up, making sure that we are choosing the right container sizes, following the right transplanting techniques, we can make sure that our seedlings

[00:42:14] are healthy and thriving when it's time to harden them off and get them out into the garden. Thanks for listening today. Don't forget, my brand new Seed to Sprout mini course is available now from the courses page on my website, justgrowsomething.com. I will leave a link to that in the show notes. We are inching closer to spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, and I hope you are all as excited about it as I am. Until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating that dream garden, and we'll talk again soon.