Transplanting Vegetable Seedlings

 Hello, it's me again.

    I have officially ran out of ideas on how to make an intro. So.......

PLANTING METHOD

    You can plant your vegetable in 2 ways. Both of these method has their own perks and advantages so pick whichever you think is worth it.

    a) DIRECT PLANTING

It is basically as it is. You directly plant the seed to the soil. This method is the most common and simple method available. This method allows early maturation of the plants. It is also less labour intensive. The disadvantage of this method is that not all of the seed will be guaranteed to grow. This basically means that you are not fully using the available area for growing crops. This will also cause you to lose seeds. Not only that, your crops are also exposed to pest infestation. It also has to compete with weeds to get nutrient from the soil causing less overall growth.

    b) INDIRECT PLANTING

Indirect planting is the method where you sow the seed in starter (seed trays). Once the seedling reaches a certain maturity, they will be ready for transplanting. Advantage of this is that it allow a greater control of the growth condition of the plants. Each seedling are given access to equal amounts of nutrients. Not only that, the success rate for germination is higher. However, this method is considerable more expensive and requires more labour compared to direct planting. There is also the risk of transplanting shock during the transplanting process.

SEEDLING TRANSPLANTING

    This process is done by moving the fully germinated seedling and replanting it in a permanent location. There are certain criteria which need to be checked before the seedling are ready to be transplanted. They are:

    1. Seedling must be free of pest

    2. Have undergone vigorous growth

    3. At least have 2-5 TRUE LEAVES

    4. Is around 12-15 cm of height

*if the seedling has a disease, it is more beneficial to dispose them

TRANSPLANTING METHOD

    1. Water the seedling before you start pulling it out from the seed tray. This is done to reduce the shock effect.

    2. Carefully pull out the seedling without shaking the media from the roots.

    3. Immediately plant the seedling to prevent the roots from drying out.

    4. Gently press the soil around the roots. 

    5. Proceed to GENTLY water the soil surface of the seedling. Using high pressure/impact water will cause the topsoil the be separated.

MULCHING

    Mulching is done to protect the top layer of the soil. It is done by layering/covering the soil with a layer of material. Organic mulch such as tree bark, straws, shredded leaves and peat moss will apply a natural cover which gradually breaks over time. This will improve the soil condition as the nutrients from the mulch is released back into the soil. Inorganic mulch, such as plastic mulch, does not break over time and does not bring any other benefit to the soil other than providing cover. Overall, using mulch can prevent weed growth, water loss, controlled soil temperature and reduced soil erosion.

That should be it for now, see you next time. Goodbye.