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When to pot seedlings on?

I have never grown flowers or lettuce from seed before, gave it a try and now have these! I would like to know how long I leave the seedlings in the yogurt pots, before I plant them into bigger pots? Also, should I split the lettuce seedlings up, one per pot,  as there are a few growing together? Thanks in advance.

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Hi @my-tiny-garden

Great to hear from you again and well done on starting to grow your own plants from seed and also using recycled pots. 10 out of 10 from Garden Ninja!

When to pot on seedlings:

As a rule on thumb we prick out and pot on seedlings when they have 2 true leaves.

This often means that each seedling has 4 leaves in total. The first 2 are seed leaves, different to the main 'true leaves' and just there to get the plant photosynthesis and growing. Then true leaves appear. 

When we pot on we always hold the seedling by the top leaves. Never the stem. This is because if we crush the stem by accident, the plant will die. If we rip off or crush a leaf, it will recover. So always by the leaves even if it feels weird! Tomatoes are a good example of seedings that have distinct seed leaves and then true leaves.

Steps for potting on a plant:

  • Water the pots well before transplanting.
  • Use a dibber to loosen the seedlings.
  • Get a p9 or other small pot to transplant them and fill with multipurpose peat free compost.
  • Loose your seedlings from your seed tray.
  • Hold the seedlings by their top leaves - never the stem.
  • Make a hole in your pot with the dibber.
  • Place the seeding in root first.
  • Water around the seedling which is usually enough to pull it into the soil and fill the hole.
  • Don't use your fingers to bed soil in around the stem or you may crush it.
  • Water well and job done!

Hope that helps!

My tiny garden has reacted to this post.
My tiny garden

Great! Many thanks for your advice and you tube video Lee, which I will watch with interest 🥷🌱

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