Uppotting?

Hello!
I am in need of experience to answer my question.
If i plant a bunch of spinach into 1"x1" cells, then want to uppot them into 6 cell packs, and am as careful as i am will they have issues with shock?  also what about arugula and mustards?

The reason im asking is I am going to make a bunch of mix packs to give out to my community but dont want the issue of planting a 6 cell tray and not have some seed come up.

Anyways would appreciate a quick answer so i can keep working

Russell

I'm as gentle as possible when potting on and use well-sieved growing medium.
I wouldn't recommend using arugula though, it much prefers direct-seeding. Mustards and spinach should be fine.

I think spinach plants are pretty tough.  Just handle them gently by the stem, not the roots.  When I pot up things, I usually gently fill the soil in around the transplant, and then tap the container gently a couple of times to get the dirt to settle without having to jam fingers into the pot and then add more soil to fill, leaving about 1/2-1/4" of room at the top for water to properly soak in and then I tamp from the top of the soil-- this keeps the roots from being accidentally smashed.  Also, watering in new transplants with a mix of liquid fish and liquid kelp extracts will help eliminate transplant shock.  The kelp is specifically used to aid the plant in avoiding transplant shock and the fish provides a boost of plant food to get the roots reaching out into the new medium. These are diluted in water usually at the rate of about 1-2 TBL per gallon of water.  I've done what you are doing with good success with various plants...lettuces, cole crops, clumps of scallions, etc.

The 6-cell packs are not much larger than the 1 x 1s, so I'd just direct seed into the 6-packs and either plant a few extra seeds in a cell and thin them later, or just plant out a few extra 6-packs for filling in the missing  cells later on. Less labor and less transplant shock.

But maybe you have limited space, and you gotta do the transplanting later on.

Wow thanks, that really put rules to paper for me to dictate to others that dont have my knowings.
Imma try the kelp liquid, I got 600lb of dead salmon fofree so I am going to try my own liquid fish death smells.

I am hesitant to put extra seeds in each cell because of the overall cost of doubling up each tray with seeds, I am going dick to dirt as it is with finances, need to keep profits on a scale I can say that was worth it, plus i'll need to pay for massages/chiropractor post salad farm session.
hehe

Russell

A friend of mine makes little paper mache thimbles to start her seeds in, right around the time the paper mache is starting to dissolve from watering, the sprouts are ready to transplant and she just puts the thimbles in her six packs directly without touching the plant. No transplant shock, but there is the tedium of making all those damn thimbles...

imho 1x1's are to small for anything!

the smallest i use is 2 x 2's  and PREFER to use nothing
but 4 inch square pots with one seed per pot.

if you have a pot that didn't germinate you can simply
add another seed for the second planting

Roots of seedlings that are visible to the naked eye
have SIDE roots so small they are invisible to the naked eye
and these are the ones that get damaged.

anyone try those soil compressor starter systems? they compress potting soil and you plant directly into them. then drop them into a larger and larger size, or drop them into the ground. suppose to be better for plants because roots air prune.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-455-soil-block-makers.aspx?source=Home_SeedStart_0111
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOqc5DCYgUc

might be a solution

2x2 block of wood
(does the same thing) 
or a 3.5 inch square
of 2x4 with a handle on it

for 199. bucks you can get allot of
compost delivered instead

Well Spinach is going well, potting soil is the best i have ever made so far and 2nd best i've touched.

Here's my recipe and requirements:
Reqs/Amendments:
1) A Giant pile of sticks that has been accumilated for over 10 years; 1 5gal bucket soil under forest stick pile harvest.
2) Heavy Chicken shit compost: 1/3 5gal bucket nitrogen boost
3) 1/4-1/5 5gal bucket (depending on loom in soil base)
4) Moisture (unless dry then hydrophobic) and plant plug shape retention: 1/2 5gal bucket Peat Moss, Alternatively use alder chip compost (with or without horse poo, depending on what you want to plant and what the horse eats as far as seeds)

You could go more Peat moss and less soil depending on item availabilities.

Russell's Mad Man Mix!

ruso, thanks for the recipe.

countryraven, not sure i understand how you are making the device. sounds like something i'd lean towards though. was interested in time input and how well they work. if that worked well, it might be possible to set up a block system to open up the holes in the ground you are going to plant the blocks in

Dr_Temp wrote:
anyone try those soil compressor starter systems? they compress potting soil and you plant directly into them. then drop them into a larger and larger size, or drop them into the ground. suppose to be better for plants because roots air prune.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-455-soil-block-makers.aspx?source=Home_SeedStart_0111
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOqc5DCYgUc

might be a solution

came here to ask about these and found this discussion already up..
i've been checking them out all night, i really like what i've seen so far, bunch of video tutorials on them on youtube. i found some DIY versions that seem to work for people.. but quite frankly. the  3/4"-20blck and 2"-4block makers look very well built  and functional for only $25/30, i wouldnt waste time DIYing something inferior...the 4"-1block pot for $110 though i'd certainly DIY.

so i 2nd you query , anyone using these things?