replanting sprouts - how many per little pot?

[denemante]

Hey all - for my hot peppers, I tried to put just one seed in each cell of the seed starting tray - but perhaps I dropped a few in. They all took. So for a few, I have two sprouts.

Are these in fact two separate plants? They are so delicate - I hate to separate. I'm soon moving to 4 inch plastic pots.

1. Should I keep the plants grouped, or just try to get place good sprout per pot with peppers.

2. Related - I don't recall what the parsley seeds looked like, but they are growing like mad. Each cell in my tray seems to have a bunch. Should I keep them bunched or try to somehow separate single sprouts?

3. Any reason to keep any sprout with it's sibling from an early age? Seems like they could grow into one - or maybe not.

[rainbowgardener]

Yes they are all separate plants and they will all need to be separated.

I didn't follow this: just try to get place good sprout per pot with peppers

but any way one plant per little pot.

Yes parsley has tiny seeds, easy to get too many. If you have more than you want, you can just clip some off with manicure scissors.

One way to separate little plants is just to (gently!) take the whole clump out and drop it in a cup of water. After the soil is washed off, they will separate easily, maybe even float apart.

They are separate individuals and can't grow together in to one, any more than you and your brother could. They will compete with each other for light and nutrients.

[amylong]

When would you recommend separating them?? My pepper seedlings have their first true leaves and their second one slowly coming in. Is it too late to separate? Thank you so much:)

[rainbowgardener]

Not too late to separate them, but it is time.

[Dillbert]

if you have enough seedlings, I would not separate them. just pinch off the weakest plant.

attempting to separate small spouts often results in tearing up the tender root system(s) and they both die.

[rainbowgardener]

If you soak them as mentioned above, they separate easily.

But sure, if you have more than you want, just clip them. Personally, I have trouble sacrificing seedlings... that's why I end up donating 400 of them to the plant sale

[amylong]

I have trouble killing seedlings too. I have grown attached to them and want to keep them all. Do you think they are too difficult to separate? the only experience I have is separating my tomatoes..and I am surprised they survived-.- phew.

[imafan26]

Peppers are not that hard to separate. They do not have tap roots. Soak or tease them apart. It is best when transplanting seedling to handle them by their leaves and not by the roots.

[amylong]

thanks. I will try today to separate them. If I successful separate them, should I bring them indoors to protect them from shock? How long will it take to know if I successfully separated them, like what is the critical period? is it ok to bury a little bit of coffee ground and a banana piece in their new home, or is that too much shock? thank you:)

I think I separated them successfully. I heard a few cracks when I was trying to tease them apart. I hope they are not too tramatized:( If they don't live, then maybe I will just get some sweet pepper from my local flower shop:) thank you all so much for the advice:)

[amylong]

Most of the pepper seem to be ok. One of them looked sad and I was so scared, but a few sip of water seem to perk it up so I was glad. I hope they are ok tmorrow.

[amylong]

I thought most of them were doing ok and in the evening there as some sun set so I took them outside thinking they would like the sun. After an hour, my peppers looked so sad. I took them back inside and slowly they are perking up I hope.

[imafan26]

After I repot anything, I keep them in the relative shade for about a week to make sure they are over the transplant shock before I stress them again by moving them into more light.

[TZ -OH6]

Concerns like this seem odd to those of us who tear apart our seedlings every year to pot up. There are very few losses and those are usually from a stem that gets crushed in the process when I drop a tool or something and squash the little plant, not from root damage, no matter how severe.


Peppers do have a tap root and like a tomato plant, it is best (or at least not a problem) if you damage it through replanting to get a more fibrous root system. Peppers are as tough as tomatoes so you can dense plant (see the thread on that) and then literally tear the roots apart to separate the plants when they get their true leaves. Deep plant them to the cotyledon leaves, soak the soil and put in a shady spot for a few days to recover. Light means water loss from the leaves. It has to happen for photosynthesis to proceed. So if you don't want water loss cut down on the light and the air movement. Fluorescent lights with no fan running is fine, outside or direct sunlight through a window is bad.