Tips For Transplanting New Seedlings Into Your Garden

It’s nearly fall y’all! Everyone’s favorite season for pumpkin spice, cozy sweaters, changing leaves, and GARDENING! Wait, what?!

Yes, gardening. While most people think of spring when it comes to planting flowers, veggies, and all the new green beauty, fall is actually a fantastic planting time in many areas.

The sweltering heat is at last beginning to subside, bringing in fresh breezes, gentle rain, and the smell of change.

There is a reason we all love it, and why new seedlings love it too.

Pests are less prevalent, cooler temps mean less heat stress for new seedlings and plants, and many of our favorite flowers and veggies actually prefer the chillier weather – i.e. brassicas, lettuce, squash (think less squash bugs, huzzah!) – to name a few.

So, as we are on the cusp of entering this glorious season, daydreaming of the bounty our fall gardens will provide, how can we ensure that our plants truly thrive upon transplanting?

Here’s a few tips to give your seedlings the best start!

• Make sure that all new seedlings have been properly hardened off. Seedlings started indoors or purchased from a nursery where they may have been kept indoors under lights are not equipped to handle the elements right out of the gate. We would not assume that a brand new baby human is ready to take on the challenges of the world on its own, and in the same respect, neither is a new little plant. Over the course of a week to ten days bring your plant outside to their prospected planting area beginning for one hour. Each day increase this timeframe by one hour, slowly building up your baby plant’s ability to tolerate the intensity of the sun, heavy beating of the raindrops, and potential pests. On the 7th day and beyond your plant is ready to be put in the ground.
• Choose a location that gets plenty of sun. The days are getting shorter and the weather is getting cooler, which means every ounce of sunshine and warmth that your plants can soak up each day will sustain them greatly and give them a longer growing season.
• Transplant your plants in the evening. Getting your plants in the ground around dusk gives them a little extra time overnight to settle into their new homes before the heat of the day kicks in.
• Amend and water your EMPTY planting hole. Before you pop your plants in the ground take a second to prep their space. We all like to be cozy and plants are no exception. Be sure to break up the soil around the planting hole to give the roots room to roam, add a bit of organic compost and a handful of chicken manure for nutrients, and then water this BEFORE you put the plant in the hole. This will ensure that there is immediate water and nutrients available deep down for the roots as they settle in. You can then snuggle your new transplant in, give them one more watering, and let them rest.
• Water deeply once a day for a week. Depending on where you live and the climate it may be beneficial to water in the evenings rather than mornings. Use your best judgement here. Evenings are my personal preference because it gives my plants the entire night to soak up the water before the day temps reach 95+ degrees. Ah, summer.
• Decrease the frequency of watering to every couple days or so. Once the initial week passes and your plants have had time to settle in, it’s time to focus on the roots. Decreasing the amount you water them will encourage the roots to spread wider and deeper in search of water. This wider surface area allows the root system to uptake more nutrients from a larger area, as well as provides structural stability to the plant itself, giving you a healthier and more robust plant which will produce until (and sometimes even beyond) the first frost.
• Consider adding a handful of IMO2 to your planting hole before dropping your plant in. IMO has incredible benefits for all soil types and has been proven to improve plant health and growing conditions within the first season. Check out more about IMO and how to use it here.

I hope you find these transplanting tips helpful and if you have any of your own to share, I’d love to hear them in the comment section of this post!

Happy Growing!

For more on seeds and seedlings check out this article on choosing the right kind of seed for your garden!

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