How To Re-Pot Your Indoor Seedlings the Right Way
Are your seedlings outgrowing their starter pots? If the weather is still too cold to plant outside, you may have to transfer them to bigger pots until it warms up. If you haven’t done this before, don’t worry. Today we are going to talk about how to re-pot those seedlings the right way!
We published an article a while back called Start Your Herbs Indoors With Paper Pots. Well, some of those plants are getting big and need a change of pot size before they get moved outside.
The night temperatures are only in the teens, while the daytime temps are in the 40s and 50s. This is still way too early to move the babies outdoors.
Since we can’t get them in the ground, we need to get to work re-potting them! We’ve put together this little tutorial to teach you how to re-pot your indoor seedlings!
I am looking out my window and my tractor is begging me to come outside and play!
Let’s Re-pot Our Seedlings!
Winter is still here, and it is a beautiful day to get our hands dirty and get our baby herb plants a little more real estate. In the article that I mentioned above, we planted some of our herb seeds in plastic 72 spot liners, and the other 34 plants we planted in the paper pots that we made. As it turns out the paper pots are working perfectly and have plenty of room for our plants to continue through outdoor planting (We should have planted them all in paper pots).
What Will We Re-pot Our Seedlings Into?
Our goal is to plant our pots directly in the ground without having to handle our seedlings too much, so we are going to move our 72 plants into peat pots.
We have used a less expensive brand before, but in my eyes, Jiffy makes a very high-quality product. They are tough, thick, and hold moisture perfectly.
Our soil choice to re-pot our seedlings…
The soil that we choose to use is a certified organic soil mix. We use two different potting mixes. They are the Burpee eco-friendly Organic and the Miracle-Gro nature’s care Organic. My family chooses to use organic products but to each their own. You can have wonderful results with whatever potting mix you choose. You can dig up some dirt or compost right in your yard if you like.
These are the two different brands. They are both OMRI listed products.
Check the Roots
Before you begin to fill your peat pots, check the roots on one of your seedlings. The roots should be through the bottom of your soil, or even root bound. This will keep your roots protected while you are handling them and moving them into their new home.
If you try to move the babies before they are ready, your soil will fall away from the roots and will probably not transplant successfully.
Re-Plant Your Seedlings
Fill your pots about ⅓ full. Pop your plugs out of the plastic tray. Crush the root plug lightly to allow the roots to stretch out a bit and then place them on the dirt in the pot. Add more potting mix around the root plug to top of the peat pot. Gently compress the soil around the roots, don’t worry about bringing the soil up too far around the green parts of your plant. It has been my experience that this will help to stabilize your plants and allows for more root growth. This will also make your plants a bit stockier and stronger.
(L)Peat pots partially filled with soil. (R)When we plant our babies, our hands are the best tools!
Sun & Water Your Seedlings
Once your seedlings are all transplanted, place them in a sunny spot. Gently water them so that the plant is not uprooted and the greens are not smashed down. You probably will not over-water them, the great thing about a peat pot is that they will absorb and hold a lot of water. This water will be there when your plants need it.
I generally don’t water them every day, I check them every day, but usually water about every other day. You will be surprised at how these peat pots will take such good care of your babies.
Conclusion
That is about it. If you read a thousand blogs, you will find a thousand different variations on this same theme. My advice to you is simple, learn by doing.
Get your hands dirty, spend some time with your family, plant some seeds, re-plant your plants and enjoy your farming experience. Spring is coming, Farm it!
Thank you for spending some time with me.
Love, Peace, and Light.
Terry has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. He has taught in the New York State School system for 18 years, where he teaches Career and Financial Management, Agricultural Business, Marketing and Distribution, Sports Management, Wildlife Conservation Management, and Resort and Recreation Management. His time has also been spent as an FFA advisor for 12 years and has been farming his 100-acre family farm since 1991. Terry has a deep love of all types of agriculture and takes every opportunity to promote agricultural education.