Thinning the sprouts

[trying2findmygreenthumb]

I was wondering if anyone else was like me? I usually put two seeds per hole, when they both come up I have a hard time thinning them.
I feel bad to do it , I love my little sprouts so much. Any suggestions for killing off the ones I don't need? Thanks. Fall garden looking good.

[opabinia51]

I do the same thing and all I do is pluck the extras out when they are young. Granted sometimes you will pull both out by accident but, that's just what happens.

Have fun! And I'm glad your garden is looking good!

Opabinia

[rainbowgardener]

I have that trouble too, so a lot of times I just gently pull up the extra ones and plant them somewhere else... Course eventually your garden runs out of room and you have to start potting them up and giving them away. But I hate killing baby plants...

[rsmtexasaggie]

Howdy, new here, but desperately needing advice.

I'm having the same problem except mine is a bit more problematic.
I started broccoli by seed directly in the ground, like my grandmother used to do it, just drop seeds in and see if they grow. Well, needless to say THEY GREW and now I literally have bunches of seedlings coming out of the same spot. I really need to figure out how to thin them, btw, when
I say bunches I mean BUNCHES, picture a forest of seedlings. Well too many trees so I need to thin, very badly. I feel so silly, anyway, do I pull them and hope the handfuls I pull don't affect the ones I leave, or do I clip them back and give extra care to those I leave?

I'm literally clueless, broccoli is such a smaller seeding than other plants so I didn't expect this. Peas, I can handle, tomatos, etc., I can handle, this I can't.

Also I'm going to try to transplant some of my black-eyed peas seedlings into an adjacent row, any advice?

[opabinia51]

Yah, just use two fingers to gently pluck them out one by one. Granted you will get more than one now and then but, that's okay. Not a problem.

And just a little note: this is gardening which should be a cool, calm exercise so, don't worry to much. You can't do to much harm.

Good luck!

Opabinia

[cynthia_h]

Mel Bartholomew, of Square Foot Gardening fame, recommends using a small pair of scissors to thin seedlings. That way, the fragile roots of the plants which remain won't be disturbed in the least.

Obviously, you'll want to select a pair of scissors that has already seen hard wear! And not those nice ones used for hair cutting or fabric cutting...

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[rsmtexasaggie]

Well, I took both of y'alls advice and did a little of both. That way I can see what impact each have on the plants I leave.

Literally, in a few spots, there were as many as 30 or more sprouts. What was I thinking. I know, what I was thinking, I was a pessimist, I really didn't think that the seeds would take and therefore underestimated the richness of my soil.

Well, a life lesson learned.

I'll report back and let y'all know how they (we're) doing.

Thank y'all So very much for your help!! I'm sure I'll have plenty of other questions for y'all as I go along.

[gixxerific]

Trying2find... you just need to pull them. Find out how far they should be spaced and do it. I'm like rainbowgardener I try to replant if possible. I plant anything anywhere. I have been doing this recently though not sure if what I have will survive or produce for that matter.

Oh, just be carefull when you do thin and all should be good.

[SP8]

I just snip them to soil level with a pair of scissors to avoid disturbing the other seedlings’s roots.

[opabinia51]

the scissor method seems like a good idea, I'd actually recommend doing that. Though, I haven't had any problems with my previous method over the years.

[jal_ut]

Do thin them. Give a plant room to grow and it will feed you. Don't worry about wasting the ones you pull. Just drop them on the ground. First they are mulch, then worm food then food for the microbes, then plant food. Nothing is wasted.

When planting small seed like lettuce, cabbage, or broccoli, I just plant a pinch of seed (3-5) in a bunch every foot in a row. I like to have more than one seed in each spot to guarantee I will get one up. Then when it comes up I will thin each bunch to one plant. A little seed goes a long way when doing this and the plants do well when they have room to grow.

I too have often transplanted some of the plants I take out when thinning.

It is amazing how large the plants can get from such a small seed.

[trying2findmygreenthumb]

Thank you. I will pull and plant back into the ground as mulch. Go thought.

[NatGreeneVeg]

I was wondering if anyone else was like me? I usually put two seeds per hole, when they both come up I have a hard time thinning them.
I feel bad to do it , I love my little sprouts so much. Any suggestions for killing off the ones I don't need? Thanks. Fall garden looking good.

In the future, have faith that the seed company tested their germination rates. Most do.

Plant one seed per hole at the proper distance. Most people over plant no matter what anyway. What one person needs more than four lettuce plants to feed himself at any given time anyway? Unless you want a few leaves from a dozen varieties of leafy greens, there's no reason to plant an entire row of hundreds of lettuce seeds for example.

You might want to consider the principles of Square Foot Gardening. Where you plant with an intensive, efficient use of space and don't over plant.

[trying2findmygreenthumb]

Wow, great suggestion. Thanks.

[pharmerphil]

Do thin them. Give a plant room to grow and it will feed you. Don't worry about wasting the ones you pull. Just drop them on the ground. First they are mulch, then worm food then food for the microbes, then plant food. Nothing is wasted.

When planting small seed like lettuce, cabbage, or broccoli, I just plant a pinch of seed (3-5) in a bunch every foot in a row. I like to have more than one seed in each spot to guarantee I will get one up. Then when it comes up I will thin each bunch to one plant. A little seed goes a long way when doing this and the plants do well when they have room to grow.

I too have often transplanted some of the plants I take out when thinning.

It is amazing how large the plants can get from such a small seed.

GREAT ANSWER JAL_UT

It is hard to thin plants, we start everything from seed, and we raise heirlooms, so we save our own seeds...

You need to be ruthless with your thinning, Thin your plants, and you get maximum results..if possible, do replant your thinnings...

If not, as Jal_Ut says...feed your best allies, worms and your soils microbes
Relying on seed companies germination tests can be risky...there are to many "variables" that their tests don't/can't figure in.

[NatGreeneVeg]

Wow, great suggestion. Thanks.

You might enjoy reading up on the principles [url=https://www.squarefootgardening.com/old/body_seeds-2.html]here[/url].

You need to be ruthless with your thinning, Thin your plants, and you get maximum results..if possible, do replant your thinnings...

It goes against most gardener's nature to kill a plant, especially new gardeners. I personally don't like to do things twice, so I prevent any thinning in the first place.

Relying on seed companies germination tests can be risky...there are to many "variables" that their tests don't/can't figure in.

While there are variables, especially unsterile soil issues/damping off etc, there are common vegetables that people commonly WAY over plant, especially those with small seeds, like lettuce, radishes, dill, etc. Obviously some common sense needs to be applied. If you only have room for 4 gourds, plant 7-8 seeds if you just bought them. Then decide if you want to give 3 away or sell them, assuming they all germinate. If you've been saving them for three years, start 15. You'd be surprised how many new gardeners assume they're supposed to plant the entire packet of one variety of seed along the length of the row they created for that variety in their garden.

It's easy to forget that a tiny tomato seed can grow in to a 9 foot tall, five foot wide monster. It's easy to over plant in the spring, when you have all that empty space, begging for utilization, and you have spring fever.

Unless you're donating extra produce to a local food bank (look [url=https://feedingamerica.org/foodbank-results.aspx]here[/url] to find one near you), then it's a waste of time, money, and space to over plant.

As for seed companies and germination, there is enough information online to make educated decisions. If you go to a place like the [url=https://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/]Garden Watchdog[/url], you'll get a good feel for reliable companies fairly quickly.

If you ever get poor germination and you've tried starting the seed from the same new pack a couple of times in different soils, then you should always call the company to inform them so they have the opportunity to be aware of the issue and do something about it. Most seed suppliers have people who grow out the seed. They should know who grew what out. But they can't do a thing if their consumers don't tell them there is a problem.

If for some reason you lose a seed you really wanted but still have time to plant, you can alway use something like the wanted section of [url=https://www.craigslist.org/]Craigslist.org[/url] or [url=https://www.freecycle.org/]Freecycle[/url]to ask if anyone has extra seedlings or seeds, will likely yield what you're looking for. You'd be surprised. You can even search member offerings by variety. Many provide thorough lists of what they have to offer by variety, cultivar, & Latin Name. Many don't over plant and trade heirloom vegetables. It can be cheaper and more fun. I used to give away vegetable seeds for SASE. I could send 15 varieties for less than $0.80.