What’s the safest way to move and take some plants?

Within the next year, I hope to be moving from Louisiana to Oklahoma, to our family ranch. Due to logistics I currently container garden, but once I move I want to switch to permaculture - raised beds, food forest guilds, composting, eventually a hugelkultur. I’ll have a lot of room around my house to experiment! But I don’t want to have a negative impact on the rest of the ranch - the grazing land, other inhabitants’ gardens, and the native organisms and ecosystem already in place in the “wild” areas.  

Most of my plants will go to friends but there’s some I’ll want to bring for sentimental reasons, like the amaryllis whose bulbs have been passed down through my husband’s family. There’s others that I could bring like the one sage plant that won’t die no matter how I neglect it, or the one particular basil that has a really great flavor. I don’t HAVE to have them but if it can be done safely I’d like to.

How concerned should I be about possibly bringing “aliens” along? I’m thinking about things like:

- septoria and downy mildew - I wouldn’t bring a symptomatic plant but is a plant that grew near an infected plant going to be a vector?

- hammerhead worms - I sometimes find these nasty little invasives hanging out under my containers waiting to eat my earthworms

- seed bank in the container soil — non-natives that seed profusely like celosia or wood sorrel. Things I let volunteer as a live mulch because I like to eat them, but don’t want to discover in five years I’ve accidentally let them take over the ranch

(I recognize that there is ongoing debate in these forums over whether “non-natives” are actually a problem. My concern is that in my ignorance I may bring something that will outcompete and crowd out existing plant species, but be of less value to the livestock and native wildlife than what was already there. I want to learn and enhance the current ecosystem, not disrupt it.)

- plants and invertebrates like earthworms that “should” be ok to bring because their species is native to OK, but won’t be the regional ecotypes and might bring various cooties that they are adjusted to but the OK ecosystem isn’t

My two big questions are:

1) how strict should I be along the spectrum of “bring the treasured heirlooms only” to “rent a U-Haul so ALL the plants will fit”?

2) what actions can I take before and after the move to mitigate any negative impacts?

Thanks so much!
Julie

Great question Julie. I thought at first you were worried about permaculture affecting your ranch, but it is (mostly) unwanted aliens that are the worry! It is a good thing to consider, but I'm sure we can think of some precautions to take so you don't have to leave everything behind.

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To avoid spreading diseases and weeds try and move as little soil as possible. Here are some ideas:

1. You seem to have a little time to prepare for the move, so I would suggest (assuming you are visiting the ranch in that time) just cuttings of any plants that are likely to grow from cuttings and try and grow them at the ranch. If it is possible to move just a little plant material to the ranch then no soilborne organisms can hitch a ride. I don't know whether someone is there that can keep an eye on them for you?

2. Move bulbs while dormant - remove them from their pot and brush or wash the soil from them.

3. Any plants in pots could also be removed from their pots and the roots washed thoroughly, the same would go for any bareroot plants that you may want to dig up and take with you. Again this is probably best done while the plants are dormant if possible. Wrap the roots in damp newspaper or sackcloth to prevent them drying out, and 'heel them in' if you cannot replant immediately at the other end.

4. Wash any pots that you want to take to remove soil (removes eggs and seeds) and dry them in sunshine (kills mould and diseases).

That's all I can think of for now, let's see what others come up with.

Since your plants are already in containers you are ahead of the game.

my suggestion would be to put the container in pans, buckets, or pails that you can add water to.

Besides watering the plants during their long trip the water might help with drowning those aliens.

Most of my moves have been exhausting to the point I had no time or strength to dig up my favorites so those got left behind.

Nancy and Ann, thank you both so much for your excellent feedback. Sorry for my delayed response - I really appreciate that you both took the time to share these ideas. They will be a big help!