Flora’s guide to transplanting seedlings:

YOU WILL NEED:

Potting Mix

Face Mask

Gardening Gloves

Plant Labels

Dibber (or pencil)

Once your seedlings are starting to get too big for the tray you sowed them in you can start to transplant them.

Start by preparing your pots and soil. Wearing your mask and gloves, get the potting mix and fill your pots approximately two thirds of the way up. Then use the dibber to make 2 deep holes approximately 3 cm apart. Carefully poke the dibber (or a pencil) down into the pot and lift the seedlings up. This is the fiddly part when you need to very gently pry apart the seedlings taking care not to damage the fragile roots. Once you have the seedlings separated, you can put a seedling in each of the holes you prepared.

Now you can press the soil around the roots of the seedling and firm it down. Make sure you give your seedlings a good water in. They don’t need full sun so pop them somewhere they won’t get frosted and won’t get too stressed from heat. After a week or so you can start to harden them off.

Hardening off your seedlings:

This is a really easy process, and a really important one to ensure the survival of your seedlings. The idea is to slowly adjust the plants to the real conditions they will be in.

I start by taking my seedlings outside and put them somewhere covered that doesn’t get too much sun. Under a verandah or against a house in a mini tunnel house works well. Leave them there for a few days and if they are in a mini tunnel house, open up the door each day for a few days, building up to leaving the door open all the time. Then it is time to plant out your seedlings into the garden or a bigger pot!

By transplanting seedlings you are giving them the

chance to grow into a bigger and healthier plant.