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| Pricking out seedlings |
As soon as the first set of true leaves appear the seedlings should be transplanted (Pricked Out) as seen here
This is a tedious but necessary task, however, with the aid of cell trays, as discussed in Seed sowing this task can be somewhat reduced.
What is being grown often determines what type of container the seedlings will be pricked out into.
Generally the larger the plant the larger the container, however do not be tempted to prick out into what eventually, will be the final pot size.
It is much better to ‘pot on’ plants as they outgrow their container rather than do this.
The most common containers are; trays, boxes, punnets, cell tray, and pots.
In each case fill the container with moist compost, prior to pricking out.
Do not over compact the compost in the tray, it is better to just fill the container to its brim, tap the container on the bench.
This should give all the compaction that is required.
If pricking out relatively small plants, aim to give each plant around 30-50mm (2") growing space between each other.
The use of celled insert trays goes a long way to ensuring this, and is also very useful when potting on, or planting out, as it avoids damaging the root system of adjacent plants.
For larger plants, prick out into pots or large celled trays.
Keep the seedlings shaded for a couple of days to allow them to recover
Tips
When pricking out, use standard 14”x 8” (450mmx 200mm) cell tray inserts with 24 cells per tray.
If pricking out plants for friends, prick out into punnets / strips.
If pricking out structural plants destined for containers, prick them out into 3” (70mm) square pots from the outset.
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