Thinning

What does this term mean? Does it mean pulling out of plants/veg or does it mean you pull it out and replant it in another location?

Reply to
Grub
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It means you overplanted and now to much is growing in too little of space. So you thin the plants so they will be able to reach their full potential. Replant? Usually not worth it. Once pulled, plants can go into a shock and just die.

Donna in WA

Reply to
Lelandite

It can mean either. Generally, though, it means pulling excess sprouted seedlings until those left are spaced the recommended distance apart (every seed packet gives that spacing). Thinning is rarely needed with some seeds, the ones that have a high viability reliance and where you get almost 100% germination (zucchini, beans, and a few others commonly) so you can plant less seed to begin with. Carrot seeds are so tiny that you will always have to do a LOT of thinning so that the strongest plants (always the strongest ones) stand about 2" apart. Spinach, Chard and Beet seeds are actually seed *capsules* that contain 3-5 seeds. Thinning to the strongest single plant is essential with those. Some seedlings will transplant fine. Others are a waste of time. NEVER pull up a thinning, and try to transplant it - you will have left half of it's microscopic root system behind. Lift it with a Popsicle stick, keeping a finger-sized ball of soil around it, and then transplant it and give it a light watering. At that, you'll probably lose 40-60% of the transplants, but yes - you can do it.

Thinning goes against the grain. You are "slaughtering" half of your sprouted seedlings after all. But it must be done - believe it.

Tony M.

Reply to
Tony

The simplest method of sowing seeds in germination trays is based on the principle that a seed compost should consist of two parts: a lower layer which provides space for the roots to develop, and a reservoir of water and nutrients to support their growth, and an upper layer to accommodate the seeds, provide them with ideal conditions in which to germinate, and seedlings to be established. Any good quality potting compost can be used for the lower layer, but this should be free-draining, and contain high proportions of fibre to enable it to hold water like ftasponge, and yet drain freely to dispose of surplus water. The upper layer must consist of a material which is porous and water-retentive, but free-draining and very stable. Loams and peats do not match these requirements and are unsuitable in any form. Grits and sands dry out too rapidly and are not very i satisfactory. An ideal material is a porous grit (similar in consistency to the debris of heavily crushed clay flower pots). Crushed clay pots have been included in recipes for potting composts from time to time in the past but are not available to many of us today. Alternative materials which are easier to obtain include:

(a) Calcined clay minerals of the kind that are used for cat litter, or soaking up oil spillages from garage floors, or marketed from time to time for horticultural use. (b) Horticultural vermiculite or perlite. (c) Crushed brick, marketed as a dressing for hard tennis courts. (d) Crushed tufa, sifted to remove dust.

All of these have the right consistency, they are stable materials which retain their integrity for a long time and are easy to manage, they are inert, they hold water and yet drain freely, and produce an environment for seeds which is moist, well-aerated, and easily penetrated by the emerging plumules and developing roots.

In practice, containers in which seeds are to be sown are prepared by filling them two-thirds with potting compost, to provide the lower layer. The topping of porous grit or vermiculite is then added to fill the container, apart from a gap below the rim about C.5 cm (I in) deep to allow for watering. Very small seeds are scattered over the surface and allowed to sink into the upper layers of the grit when they are watered; medium-sized seeds are scattered evenly over the surface, and then 'ploughed' in using a pencil or pointed stick to break up the surface and bury the seeds beneath it. Larger seeds are sown on a shallow bed of the porous grit immediately above the lower layer of compost, and more grit is added to bury them about 1.5 cm (9/16 in) beneath the surface.

When seeds have been sown in this way their management becomes extremely simple. They should be covered until they start to germinate. When seedlings emerge the covers should be removed each morning and replaced each evening, until the seedlings grow up and come into contact with the cover. The seeds and young seedlings must never be allowed to become dry, or suffer stress from lack of water.

It is well worth making an attempt to standardise the containers in which seeds arc sown if this is at all possible, by choosing a particular shape and size, appropriate to the number of seedlings needed. Plastic containers are easier to manage than clay ones, and a square cross section is more economical than a round one.

Whether plastic pots or seed trays are being used, seeds are sown quite thickly, but not too thickly, and soon after they have germinated the seedlings are transplanted into another container, individually or in small groups, by an operation known as pricking out. At this stage each seedling is spaced out to give it room to develop and a seed tray becomes an appropriate, convenient and practical choice. Seedlings should be pricked out at the first moment when they can possibly be handled. Normally this is when the seed leaves, known as cotyledons, have just become fully expanded?a prospect which dismays many novice gardeners. Tiny seedlings are surprisingly easy to handle, holding them firmly by their newly expanded seed leaves, and they suffer much less damage than they would if attempts were made to move them later when they appear to be more robust. Many seedlings produce roots which grow so rapidly and strongly that any delay results in damage to the roots and makes it much more difficult to place the seedlings quickly and neatly into their new positions, using a small pointed stick to open up planting holes and guiding each seedling into it by hand.

Reply to
Billy

Many thanks all, I appreciate the info :)

Reply to
Grub

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Reply to
dr-solo

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