Moving/thinning out peppers

[Nickerly]

I planted some pepper seeds in a trough, sowing them thickly because they were from an actual pepper and I didn't think they would grow.

I'd ideally like to think them out to four plants but the strongest seedlings are all really close together.

Would it hurt them to gently dig them up and move them along a bit? Is it best to do this when they are babies or once they are a bit stronger?

[Eyren]

How big are the seedlings, Nickerly? I potted up a load of toms and peppers at the weekend, and like you I found that the best seedlings were often the ones in the same module

The way I separated them was to remove the block of compost from the module then hold the seedlings by their leaves (peppers have nice big seed leaves) and gently jiggle them up and down as I very slowly pull them apart. This seems to untangle the roots without too much damage. Pop them straight into a 3" pot with a little compost in the bottom then fill it up, firming the compost down as you go so that they stand up straight. Finally water (and label!) and place in a shady spot to recover for a day or two.

That was on Sunday morning, and the ones I've kept (rather than sold) all seem to be fine, fingers crossed!

[Nickerly]

Hi Eyren - they are all quite big, maybe 3 inches with proper leaves.

They are hardy little mites - they have survived being left outside in the cold, being neglected and being knocked over more than once, so hopefully they'll survive being moved a bit.