in a quandary

[lawless23456]

hi all

these are my shoots at the moment i need to move them because i have some unsprouted seeds that i need to put the prop lid back on top of the rest of the seeds. so can i move these yet or are they still to small and how do i get the others to sprout without putting the lid back on? sorry if this doesnt make sense lol. i have lettuce, carrot, turnip, aubergine, beetroot, brocoli, basil, leek, of which the turnip, leek and basil have sprouted quite well, today two shoots of the beetroot came up and have one shoot of aubergine, so is it alright to plant these out so i can put the lid back on to allow the others to sprout?

thanks in advance
lawrence

[peanut]

Personally I'd wait until they had their true leaves through maybe even 2nd set. I wouldn't want to chance moving them whilst they are sooo small.....but that's just me, sure a more experienced Grape will advice shortly.

[jacob marley]

I think they are going leggy and i would transplant them a bit deeper than they are now jacob

[BarleySugar]

As long as you do not touch the stem, hold by the seed leaf, you should be able to move them. My Mum always pricked them out as soon as she could get hold of them, so I tend to do the same. Dig them up with a table fork or something similar, gently tease out the roots if they are tangled, and keep them a bit shaded until they get over the disturbance. As Jacob said, they are looking a bit leggy, so I would think they need moving to somewhere where they can get the light. I know it sounds as if I'm contradicting myself, but I mean don't let the sun get to them after transplanting.

[lawless23456]

As long as you do not touch the stem, hold by the seed leaf, you should be able to move them. My Mum always pricked them out as soon as she could get hold of them, so I tend to do the same. Dig them up with a table fork or something similar, gently tease out the roots if they are tangled, and keep them a bit shaded until they get over the disturbance. As Jacob said, they are looking a bit leggy, so I would think they need moving to somewhere where they can get the light. I know it sounds as if I'm contradicting myself, but I mean don't let the sun get to them after transplanting.

so need to put them somewhere shaded for a while then put them somewhere where the sun is?

[Herbie]

I would move the turnips out as they don't really need to be done in the propagator, mine were a direct sowing and are just getting their second set of leaves.

Basil needs to be kept warm as its a mediterrean herb and likes the sun. Could you keep this in the propagator? Auberines also need heat or kept warm.

When you say plant out do you mean outside?
Leeks should be ok out of the propagator.

[rustylady]

Don't transplant yet. Just move the whole cell tray out of the propagator, preferably into an unheated greenhouse or coldframe. You don't say if your propagator is heated, but you don't need artificial heat to germinate things like lettuce, beetroot and carrots. Most standard veg seeds only need around 5 degrees to germinate. The exotics like tomatoes, chillies, courgettes etc are the ones that need extra heat.

[lawless23456]

the propegator is not heated it was just one bought from b and q just a seed tray and lid. the reason it is all in the prop is because i am limited on space so will be growing in planters on my patio. when i say plant out i mean plant into bigger pots until the weather warms slightly (still getting a bit of frost now and again)

lawless

[Flummery]

Once anything comes through I take off the lid (or in my case sandwich bag!) If you are mixing different things in a seed tray you will have different germination rates which can give you a problem. I wouldn't try transplating at this stage - I'd just take off the lid and remove the modules and start again for your next sowing.

[BarleySugar]

I've always transplanted early with no problems, so it is interesting to see several of you advise against. Still, each to his/her own.

[ClayGarden]

i've read before you can transplant once the seedling leaves come out. They are extremely strong things. you pull by holding both between your fingers and it just pops out the compost. always worked for me, and again just yesterday, where the roots are very long (watered from below).

[Flummery]

I usually wait for the first true leaves to come through. Can't justify this scientifically. I always do it because I've always done it!

[peanut]

I've read about waiting for the first true set of leaves too Flummery.