Shock and Wilt Free Transplanting

Hi, not sure which forums to post this in so it will go in Organic and Permaculture.


Here's an article or blog post on how to transplant vegetables without any shock or wilt, even during a heat wave.

http://lowcostvegetablegarden.blogspot.com/2012/07/shock-wilt-free-transplanting.html

Interesting- what are those net pots made from? So you would just remove them from the soil after the plant has lived its life? Good write up, thanks for sharing. Might come in handy here where planting out seeds may not always be an option with our short summers.

The pots are plastic, not sure what type. They are also called ponds pots as they are used to protect pond plants from fish that would eat them, used in hydroponics systems too.

Yes the plan is to just dig them up and reuse next year. Just need to make sure they are completely covered in the garden, so UV sunlight doesn't break them down.

I'm going to try some ways to do this w/o the pots, but so far transplanting in the pots has been completely reliable.

Yesterday it was 109 degrees F (43 degrees C) in the my garden, full sunlight and none of the transplants were wilting or drooping in the least.

Whoa. Talk about results. That is HOT. I'm going to pass your tip on to a friend who runs a few community gardens. I think your advice could help a lot of people when they transplant.

What about using burlap pots. They would root prune and the burlap will break down in the soil.

I've got the same heat index going and just have to say that from looking at your photos that you're planting out wayyyyy too late. The plants are so large its no wonder they're wilting. I transplant my squash etc when they're 3" tall, if I use transplants at all for curcubits.

"you're planting out wayyyyy too late. The plants are so large its no wonder they're wilting. I transplant my squash etc when they're 3" tall, if I use transplants at all for curcubits."

Well, my blog wording obviously needs some improvement.

The whole point I was trying to make is that you can plant way too late and so large and still totally prevent all transplant shock and wilting. Even if you transplant these large curcubits in the middle of a sunny hot day.

This spring, as usual I direct seeded my curcubits. But I was just doing some trials with soil block transplants, to see if I could use them for shock free transplanting.
Eventually I stumbled on this only burying the bottom half of a transplants soil to prevent wilt.

So far I transplanted 5 cucumbers with this method and not one has wilted, 5 for 5. The pictures of wilting ones were for comparison purposes to show that burying the entire soil block cuts out the air flow, which causes the wilt.

For a gardening geek like me, it's pretty exciting. Now I can probably get a 3-4 week head start on next year's summer garden.

Currently I'm doing some more trials to use this method directly on store bought transplants in a peat mix and without using a net pot.
So far it's working, but the weather has been mild.
Will post pictures of this next week.

I understand better now. Very cool technique for catching up when behind.

Conclusion giving enough air to plant roots is not only important to avoid excessive moisture but also to avoid wilting from excessive heat and dry.

I am planting in my bed with woody materials underneath, compost, soil but the top half of the transplants with grass cuttings, to provide them enough air. They seem to behave better, just as it happens with you.

very interesting... i wonder if there is a good way to do this with trees?
do you think one would eventually pull back the wood chips and fill in a bit more soil or just let the wood chips break down and form rich soil?
i personally prefer direct seeding whenever possible but i work with lots of people that transplant nursery trees and this could potentially be worth looking into quite a lot... thanks for sharing:)

Nice 'photos and analysis. You mention soil blocks can be too compacted. I only use soil blocks for my vegetables - initially 3/4" starter blocks then inserted into 2" blocks. The 2" block mixture is compost, spagnum peat, building sand and lime. I have recently dispensed with the building sand without adverse effects. A great way to grow and the plants do well, though initially they have to adjust to more sun and weather exposure. I have more information on my website under "growing organic".