OrganicTexasMama
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Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:20 am
Location: Sugar Land, TX

Overcrowded container - can I transplant?

Well, this has been an adventure already! I started my container garden with starts that I ordered and had trucked in. I got six packs of Diva cucumber and Crimson Sweet watermelon, among others. I didn't end up getting enough pots (and can't run out easily to get more), so before I could get them planted, the cucumbers and watermelon were dying. In an effort to save *something* of the plants I was most looking forward to (well, other than the strawberries, which went in a pot first), I planted the handful of not-yet-dead starts all in one sizable pot (about 20"x18"). In the process, one or two died, and two that had been in the same cell did well so I moved and spread them out.

They grew slowly, all of them, until something started killing off the cucumbers. I was prepared to move my watermelon plants (finally having another pot) when the cukes started dying, so I waited to see what was going on. Eventually, I was down to ONE cucumber and three watermelon, all in the same pot. It seemed better to move the cuke than the watermelons since the best watermelon was already smack in the middle of the pot.

But, they were all still struggling. I'm not sure what happened, but one day (after I had given up on them and ordered a smaller cultivar) the middle watermelon started growing, then the other two followed. The cuke was still fighting what seemed to be a losing battle, but I have a hard time pulling anything until I *know* it's done. And, much to my astonishment, right after I gave up and ordered Diva seeds, my little plant has ALSO taken off!

So, at this point, I have four HEALTHY plants in this one pot. And I'm not really sure what to do with them! I know the watermelon will take over the patio (no big deal), but I also know that it's really best to just have ONE in a pot as they have such high needs. But it seems horrid to pull two healthy plants. :/

Then the cuke is doing well, finally, and I ought to start trellising it as it's about ready to fall over. It seems like the obvious one to move to a new pot, but I am scared to death I'll shock it and/or kill the watermelons in the process.

So, what do I do?! Leave them all and see what happens? Leave just one watermelon with the one cuke and let them duke it out? Move the cuke and pray it takes? Plant it in a new pot with some of the seeds I just got and figure *something* will work? Something else?

It has been quite an uphill battle with the whole garden and I am REALLY looking forward to actually having legitimate fruit for all this labor! I just don't want to jeopardize it, either way, but I can see pros and cons to each option. :/

Thanks for any help! (And for reading my novel! :o)

OTM

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Moving plants is a lot easier than people think. Your melons transplant easily and will not mind being moved. But the sooner the better, the larger the root systems get where they are, the harder it will be to dig them out without shocking them too much. Dig around them in the biggest circle you can and take a lot of dirt with the roots. Alternatively if you have a bunch of plants in a smallish pot, you can just take all the dirt and plants out of the pot onto some newspaper. Once out of the pot, it is easy to just gently pull the plants apart and then plant everything back.

But you did not pick easy subjects for container gardening. Here's a thread where jal_UT posted a link about how watermelon roots naturally grow. https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=131820#131820

That's not to say it is impossible to keep them contained in a pot, but if so they will need LOTS of watering and fertilizing. It will be essentially a version of hydroponics where all the nutrients are coming from the outside, not from the soil... I don't grow watermelon, because they aren't space efficient for a small garden. One watermelon plant spreads 20' in diameter and produces maybe three melons, if you work real hard at it. With limited space, I prefer to grow things that produce a lot more crop in a lot less space.

OrganicTexasMama
Full Member
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:20 am
Location: Sugar Land, TX

I'm glad to hear the watermelon will transplant well! I knew they'd be "more trouble than they're worth" when I planted them, but it will be worth it if we get something to grow! I see flower buds on the largest, already. And the smaller cultivar I ordered to replace these "dying" plants (that have since revived) are already starting to really grow, too. I'll take a couple of those and see how they do, as well.

Now, I need to go find more pots!



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