Heres how to give your seedlings the best chance at survival.
you might also up-pot too early, before the seedling is strong enough to survive the shock of transplanting.
The cotyledons provide some photosynthesis, while true leaves provide actual food for the plant.
You cant transplant until true leaves are established and grown in, and Id wait even later.
In addition to paying attention to the roots, I look at the seedlings themselves above the soil.
Now that your seeds are seedlings, they need nutrition and therefore, theyll need a different soil mixture.
Youll notice this at your nursery, too.
Some nurseries may have old ones theyll give away, too.
However, for lots of gardeners, April is when they start making newspaper pots.
I only stopped making paper pots because it is time consuming and because I got one too many papercuts.
I’d steer clear and go with one of the other solutions I described above.
A lot can go wrong here, and usually it’s human-based error.
Wash your hands often and dont transplant seedlings that look diseased.
Toss them (not into the compost) and wash your hands.
My advice is not to do that.
This way, youre not breaking apart the soil around the roots and trying to separate them.
I do not water on mornings I’m planning to up-pot because the drier soil makes this process easier.
You simply pick up the block and move it.
With your hand, pour additional soil around the seedling block.
Pat the soil down and give the seedling a sip of water, about a quarter of a cup.
From there, the pot can go on a tray to go back under the lights.
Up-potting is an opportunity to do so, and this can solve a problem with leggy starts.
Beware, though, because this is when they are most vulnerable, in my opinion.
They are still inside with limited airflow and in close proximity to one another.
Virus and fungus can spread quickly, and light is limited with all that new growth.
Be careful to water just enough, but not too much.
