Wee daft question

[JMCKG]

Been reading up on growing peppers/chillies, but this question goes for other plants also. Why is it necessary to transplant into bigger & bigger pots? Would it not save time by just using the final size pot at the start? I'm sure there will be a sensible answer to this.

[Thelma Sanders]

No question is daft if you don't know the answer

Have a look here
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...uestion-3.html

[PamK]

JMCKG I am no expert but I think it is this ...If say you put a tomato seed into a small pot it will shoot to the 2 small leaves Then would be the time to pot on Now if you put it straight into the large pot it will grow but become tall and leggy (a very thin stem ) But if you plant onto a next size pot it will grow steady but with a stronger thicker stem till it outgrows and has used up all the goodness in that pot(if it is left it would then get pot bound ) now is the time to plant into it's final large pot where it will spend it's life in the greenhouse or where ever is the final place hope this makes sense

[rustylady]

Basically to stop the small plants roots being overwhelmed by cold wet compost, causing them to rot. You don't have to go up one size at a time, a couple is fine.

Just repot when the roots have filled the original container.

[JMCKG]

Thanks very much for the answers, makes sense now.

[Bigmallly]

When I first read the title, I thought we were gonna discuss compost accelerators...........

[Kristen]

Risk of too much water, in an overly large pot, for the plant to drink - resulting in root-rot or stagnation. When the plant drinks the water in the pot too quickly - before the day is out even its a good indicator that it needs potting on, although if the plant shows signs of wilting / stress within the day then its already a bit late for potting on!

To form a good rootball. Put a small plant in a large pot and the roots grow out to the sides, and then around. Pot-on and each successive pot size constrains the roots, and you wind up with a dense mass of roots in the final rootball, which are better able to take-up moisture and nutrients

Finally, for me, bench space early in the season. I can get more 3" pots in than I can large ones, and as the Spring progresses more plants gets moved outside / hardened-off, and that releases space for the plants that need to stay in and they can then have larger pots.