Pricking out seedlings

[IndigoElectron]

I got some good advice on here recently, which was to repot my tomato seedlings to just below their seed leaves. I think this was to allow them to send out roots from the stem. Do I do the same with other seedlings too? I currently have peppers, chillies and aubergines in the propagator, but will be sowing other things soon, including some flowers. Thanks

[rustylady]

Basically yes. However, try to keep them as light as possible to prevent them becoming leggy in the first place.

Also sow seeds as thinly as you possibly can.

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks Rustylady. I have decided to start again with my tomatoes, after allowing them to get leggy and then mixing them up because they weren't properly labelled. I won't make the same mistakes this time!

[Mikey]

Yes I've done that indigo, gave away what I thought were tomato plants only to later discover they were chilli and pepper plants.

These days I label every seedling from initial tray onwards, I hate being disappointed. There are loads of plants that look alike as seedlings

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks Mikey. The peppers and chillies are okay (I learned my lesson from the tomatoes!), but I think I have mixed up a cordon and tumbling variety. Given that the tumbling tomatoes are going in a hanging basket, you can see my problem

[Mikey]

Yes, why not plant them in large pots to start with and when you can determine its habit, transfer to the hanging baskets.

[IndigoElectron]

I decided to start again because I'd made a few mistakes and thought it was best. I've just dug up the seedlings and they were mostly stem and hardly any root, so think I made the right decision.

[Two_Sheds]

will be sowing other things soon, including some flowers.

Do you have enough room, with enough good light, to keep these plants until they can go outside in May?

You might end up with pretty large plants on your windowsills for the next 10 weeks, unless you have a greenhouse for them

[IndigoElectron]

I've got a blowaway coming soon, it comes with a fleece cover. Would that be okay to put them in? I know from asking on here that I need to think of it as a cold frame rather than a greenhouse, but was hoping the plants would be warm enough with the extra fleece cover. Otherwise I can wait until closer to May, I'm not in a hurry. Can I just ask why you say May, and does it make any difference where I live? Is it the same date for all plants or can some go out earlier than others? Thanks.

[Chippy Minton]

I won't make the same mistakes this time!

Excellent! Because there's a whole bunch of other mistakes to be made

[Two_Sheds]

was hoping the plants would be warm enough with the extra fleece cover.

warmer, but with less light, so you're back to the leggy situation

Can I just ask why you say May

because that's when your last frost is.
Tender plants like tomatoes, chillies, sweetcorn, pumpkins etc can't tolerate much cold, and a frost will kill them dead
It may be warm daytimes, but night temps need to be over 10c consistently, as well.

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks Two Sheds. I did actually look at that website when I sowed my tomato seeds - my Square Metre Gardening book said to sow them so many weeks before the last frost date, which I thought I did. Unfortunately the book has disappeared so I can't check how many weeks it was, and having done a quick Google search, it looks like it should be 6-8 weeks, which is from 5th March onwards, so I think I may have miscounted the weeks

I just need to check I understand this - I can plant them out from the 1st May (approximately), so do they need to be kept indoors until this point, or do I begin a process of hardening them off beforehand? If so, over what period of time do I harden them off?

As for the blowaway, what is the point of the fleece cover if it stops light coming in? My plan was to keep the tomatoes indoors until they were young plants (i.e. too big to stay on the windowsill any longer), and then put them in the blowaway with the fleece cover on (until it's warm enough to take off). I know seedlings get leggy due to lack of light, but is this the same for young plants as well?

[Alison]

You can't necessarily plant out at the start of May, round here I usually don't plant out until the end of the month, it depends on the weather and where you live, you very much have to play it by ear. And yes, you definitely need to harden off for a few weeks, a couple at least by putting out during the day and bringing in at night otherwise the sudden change in temperature puts the plant in shock and stops it developing for a while. Personally I only really start hardening off tender plants at the start of May.


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[IndigoElectron]

Thanks Alison.

[Jeanied]

If East London is behaving like West London, IndigoElectron, our last frost date is set for late April. This year has so far bucked the trend - unlike last year! I have got houseplants outside on my kitchen windowsill, all looking fine as the frost hasn't got that near to the house. It all depends on your microclimate.

I put stuff out on my garden table under a large cloche in the day and bring it back in if overnight frost is predicted - or fleece it.