Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Advice on potting-on, especially brassicas

Collapse

X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    Advice on potting-on, especially brassicas

    I'm never very confident about potting on. Usually I sow a few seeds per smallish pot and then thin out to one seedling per pot, where they remain till they get planted out. This year, however, some of my pots have no surviving seedlings and I find myself in a position where I need to extract a few brassicas (kalettes - like Brussels sprouts) and pot them on to make up for the losses?

    The seedlings are currently at the two-leaf stage (true leaves, not seed leaves) and are maybe a couple of centimetres apart. Is it feasible to pot them on? If so, any advice on how I should go about it?

    Or do I risk losing all of them and so should just give up and start off some more seeds?

    Thanks.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    No reason why not to, brassicas transplant pretty well in my experience.

    Just be as gentle and careful as you can, keep as much root as possible with each seedling, and handle them by the leaves, not the stem. Should be fine.
    My spiffy new lottie blog

    Comment

    • #3
      Same as hamamelis really - I prick out all my seedlings at seedling leaf stage, and use a sweetcorn fork to tease the plants out without destroying the root or stem.
      Last edited by sparrow100; 07-04-2017, 10:59 AM. Reason: it's a forK not a forf!
      http://mudandgluts.com - growing fruit and veg in suburbia

      Comment

      • #4
        I pot on brassicas every year, currently I have a load in trays that need pricking out. I let them get pretty big (4-6") so they're less delicate, and I bury them up to the first true leaves, as they've usually flopped over with a bit of horizontal stem before growing 'up' again. Works for me!
        He-Pep!

        Comment

        • #5
          Water them first so they break apart easier,then I use a teaspoon to do the fragile work,I've got a 3" pot with eight petunias in it to separate when I find some courage
          Location : Essex

          Comment

          • #6
            My method is to take the entire rootball out of the pot and then tease it apart gently with my fingers.

            Brassicas seem to like being transplanted, they seem to do better than if you just thin them out. So go for it.
            My gardening blog: In Spades, last update 30th April 2018.
            Chrysanthemum notes page here.

            Comment

            • #7
              Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll do it this evening so they have the night-time cold to recover.

              Comment

              • #8
                Same as all the previous advice, wet the compost so its moist then use something to tease the roots out for each plant and handle using the seed leaves. Place into new pots making a hole in the compost for the roots and then firm in, water and leave to grow further.
                The day that Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck ...

                ... is the day they make vacuum cleaners

                Comment

                • #9
                  Yep I pot on brassicas every year with no ill effects (so the slugs tell me anyway )

                  As said already, just be gentle and take your time..With brassicas, I always try to make sure that when you pot them on, that they are securely held in their new pot (i.e not floppy)
                  I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives....


                  ...utterly nutterly
                  sigpic

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    I've never potted on brassicas, leave them in the modules until ready to go in the ground, I have Golden Acre Primo and Romanescque( can't spell and neither can the auto checker lol), just out of the blow away and will grow on where they are for a couple of weeks until hardened off and in the ground. Brussels will be following then the Swedes the same.

                    Comment

                    Previous template Next

                    Latest Topics

                    Collapse
                    View All

                    Recent Blog Posts

                    Collapse
                    View All
                    Working...
                    X