Pricking Out Seedlings
When planting in containers or in seed cells, you might find your seedlings growing in patches. This is potentially hazardous to your plants as they will choke each other out. In this article I am going to tell you more about pricking out seedlings: taking out the seedlings that are growing too close to each other.

Posted Wednesday, April 12, 2006

As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, at least an inch or so high, and before the roots get to be too long or entangled to remove, you can move seedlings away from each other.

An additional benefit of moving plants is that it prevents the seedlings from growing lanky and thin. Seedlings that are clustered together are more susceptible to disease and problems that spread through soil or water.

Here is what you are going to do when pricking, pulling, or moving out seedlings:

After the seeds are germinated and have grown to be an inch or two tall, you will remove the cover that has been keeping the soil moist and the temperatures high. Allow the air to circulate around the plants for a day or so and then you can get started on moving them.

Water the plants at the bottom of the plant, and avoid watering from the top whenever possible. You are going to take a small spoon and transfer the plants that are too close into a separate container. Removing a little soil with the roots will be best to prevent shocking the plants too much.

While pulling out the young plants from the soil with your spoon, do not pull too hard on the roots. You want to gently remove the plants and the roots from the soil and then move them onto a wet newspaper or a wet paper towel so the roots remain moist while you get them ready for the new container.

When planting your new seedlings use potting compost that is sterile. You will want the soil to be sterile for the seedling so you are not putting additional stress on the young plants with disease or pests.

Put the seedlings back into soil as deep as you had them originally. Don’t try and pack the soil in too hard as this can crush their delicate roots. Put the soil around the plant, and after watering, you can find out if you need to add more as the mixture packs down in a more natural manner.

Don’t put your new seedlings out into the strong sunlight until they have been set in their containers for at least a few days.