Potting up. How come nature doesn't.

[gardening_gal]

I think I'm right in saying the point of potting up is to help develop a strong root system before being planted out. If a seedling goes from a small cell to a large pot the roots may get overwhelmed with too much moisture in the soil?

Nature just grows things though, so how come we need to pot on, but seedlings just grow in the ground without any of that faffing?

What am I missing? I am so warming to VC's 'treat 'em rough' school of thought these days, lol.

[Thelma Sanders]

In the ground the roots can get as big as they want, so don't have to make efficient use of every inch of soil - if they will stay in a pot all their life - then they do need to.

[gardening_gal]

I get the pot plant idea, but if the plant is going to get planted out then you'd think we could just chuck them in the ground the minute they popped their heads up (weather/temp allowing that is).

We don't do that though, we pot on to a larger pot and maybe even another before they go out.

[Bigmallly]

Many folks sow direct which obviously excludes potting up. Only the tender plants need to be sown in pots/modules to give them a better chance of making roots & surviving. I don't pot on.

[muddled]

A plant in nature has to get a fruit or two to maturity in order to reproduce.
I want a lot more from veggies than that!

A root veg plant in nature has only to sustain itself untill flowering...whereas I want a long, straight and sweet carrot.

Some plants have stayed pretty close to their original 'format', spinaches and kales for example and they can be left to do their thing.
Some are very far from home...chillis, tomatoes, aubergines etc and so need to artificially replicate their preferred conditions.

But (I would suggest) most veggies have been selected and bred to exaggerate their edible parts, tenderness and flavour so now we need to offer more care if we wish to sustain those characteristics.

So, you only have to remove stones IF YOU WANT your carrot straight and you only need to pot on your tomatoes IF YOU WANT a rootball that can hold up a plant laden with heavy fruit.

[Cadalot]

I only plant runner beans, beetroot and spring onions in modules to give them a fighting chance to get a little larger than the slugs and snails like

[SaraJH]

I think that we also start in modules and pot on to get a head start and early crops. I've not started much in modules this year and looking at every one else's pics I'm waayyyy behind most people. Planting out at the same time as we start in modules would be too early and cold for lots of veggies.

[Thelma Sanders]

Many folks sow direct which obviously excludes potting up. Only the tender plants need to be sown in pots/modules to give them a better chance of making roots & surviving. I don't pot on.

I agree, stuff like cabbage, calabrese I sow in seed trays, or smallish multi modules, they only need a few leaves and they're good to plant out. These won't get potted on unless where they are going isn't ready for them yet.
I do the same thing with beans of all kinds....... and squash/courgettes are the same, although they start in a bigger pot because they grow so quickly.

But, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines etc go - seed tray, module, 9cm pot where they stay until the weather is kind enough for them to be planted; because I never know how long they will have to stay in the pot, they have to use all the root space available.

[Miss Mousetrousers]

My guess is it's the survival of the fittest, so some seeds don't germinate because they are in the wrong place, some that do just don't survive or are weaklings. Those that come to fruition are the ones that are the strongest. I know that some self-seeded plants grow where they shouldn't be able to, and potted-on seedlings don't need that much water to settle them down, so it maybe a case of Mother Nature knows best and - boy - can she treat 'em rough sometimes.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Then there is the odds thing.

A tomato plant only needs to produce two plants and it has doubled its population, yet it must drop thousands of seed to the ground most of which will never produce a plant.

[SusieG]

I agree, stuff like cabbage, calabrese I sow in seed trays, or smallish multi modules, they only need a few leaves and they're good to plant out. These won't get potted on unless where they are going isn't ready for them yet.

And curiously, the seed packets say about sowing direct ..... I'm trialling the 'sow direct' method with some things in my SFG beds: spring onions, cabbage, basil, chard, swede, beetroot and various 'salad' leaves/rocket ~ so far () everything is sprouting through ........

[Bren In Pots]

I don't have a lot of space so I sow everything in modules that way I don't have gaps in my beds.

[ESBkevin]

It extends the growing season for lots of things. Sowing indoors or under glass adds vital weeks to the begining of the season. Small seeds are hard to plant as singles so trays are sprinkled and then pricked out into pots/cells to await climatic or seasonal weather.