Thursday, June 20, 2013

BIGGER is better


In my recent experiments I believe I have proven that when it comes to raising seedling...  BIGGER is better. This may come to quite a shock to many gardeners not endowed with large propagating equipment, me included. Luckily a gardener does not have to be stuck with what they inherited ;-)

As you can see from the photo seedlings that were raised in large pots grew to around double the size. This is a massive difference and one I can not igone. It is a real shame though, I was expecting bigger pots to be better but I was hoping the difference was going to be negligible. In order to get anywhere near producing 80% of my own veg I need to constantly have a large quantity of seedlings on the go -  I was hoping my current seedling table would be enough. With the small pots I can fit around 200 seedlings on the table, with the large pots only about 70. The small pots I find are also so much quicker and easier to plant out - I can usually manage to quickly dig a hole with just my fingers.

I am curious though, the commercial seedlings available from garden stores often look quite impressive, and their pots are even smaller than the ones I trialled. I suspect they are liquid feeding with artificial fertiliser, so I think a few more experiments are in order before I throw away my small pots. I don’t want to use artificial means to stimulate growth but I might try a regular dose of fish emulsion and see how that goes.

Oh and... Happy solstice to you all - bring on the longer days.

6 comments:

  1. Interesting Jason. So how about the good old styrofoam box? They certainly dry out less than pots, even the larger ones. And I do wonder if the famine and feast of watering that you get in smaller pots or trays could account for some of the difference in growth. I've been doing a bit with a few boxes and have just picked up a few more. And when the seeds are in, I can cover the whole box with a bit of old fly screen to keep the locals from getting in and digging up all my hard work

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  2. The styrofoam boxes I have used for starting seedlings but not raising them. I would have thought removing the individual plants when they are large enough to plant out to be difficult and damaging. How are you doing it, and has it been successful?

    Yes water retention in small pots could well be the problem. The experiment was started in the cooler months and I did ensure I watered every morning. However it could still account for it.

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  3. Interesting results Jason. I use the Styrofoam box method but as soon as the first set of real leaves appear I pot into larger pots. I find this method allows for more flexibility and less stress if I forget to water.

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    1. My experiments have validated what you are saying Fiona. Starting the seeds in a big container then transplanting into large pots so far has shown to be the most successful. The ones shown here have be done with that very method. I will blog more about it soon.

      How do you go for space with the big pots?

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  4. So, bigger pots help them to grow bigger earlier. But how does it go after you plant them out? Do the little ones catch up quickly or are they always the measly ones? I started some chicories in a pot this year and due to moving (but not quickly enough) and being busy elsewhere, they became very neglected, dried out a few times, were tiny and measly. My husband said chuck them, I couldn't bring it over me, so after we moved, I planted them out into a bed. Suddenly they just made a huge jump in growth and have quickly grown into a huge plants!

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    1. Great story about the neglected rising to success. I will admit I would have chucked them. As plants take so long to mature I prefer not to take the risk. Some plants do seem to bounce back but then I have had many that just don't. In the case of failed seedlings I nip to the garden store and just buy some. But I am very pleased to hear yours are doing well.

      Regarding your question of how the bigger seedlings go planted out... they do do better. Their biggest advantage being they are more tolerant to bug attacks. In the case of these seedlings I found the large ones stayed ahead of the pack by a few weeks but in the end they all turned out the same.

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