Pricking out seedlings

Hi, i put some seeds in trays a few weeks ago and some have now germinated, they are not fighting for room atm there still quite small is there any set time to pot them on, i have a 100 and 1 things to do and hoping i can leave them a week or so .

 

It does rather depend on what they are!

 

Thanks i have various flower seeds unsure what they are i will have a look tomorrow.

 

Do you have any pics?

 

Hi Kaz, not to hand there just small seedling that look something like this.

 

I would prick out when the first true leaves emerge (ie the second set of leaves that emerge after the seed or cotyledon leaves).

 

Martin, you need to thin those seedlings out before you do anything else. In the first picture they are overly congested.

 

Many thanks Kaz ive just watched a few videos and get the general idea they should be ok for a week or so.

 

Thanks Verdun there not pictures of my plants i was just showing an example, mine are more spaced out and smaller, what ive just seen on youtube i will be ok for a week or so,

Many thanks all .

 

Ok martin, sounds like you are doing it better than on youtube

 

Hi folks. Not wishing to offend anyone, as we all love growing things. Might I offer a word of advice. Before sowing seeds. Read the instructions. NO instructions, then take a moment to look it up. It's great to be gardening, to have a greenhouse where I can create my own enviroment and sow and grow anything and everything.

Most of us have had these feelings and thoughts. Out come the seed trays, compost etc and packets of seeds are sown. Then, too late. Should have gone to spec savers. Folks. Not all seeds welcome to starting life under glass, or behind glass. Half hardy annuals do best sown where to flower, even some annuals have the same hidden desire. If I may try to explain. Try and imagine an inbuilt growing clock. This clock is set to control just how fast you grow. So you are a half hardy annual. Poor you! So genetically you are naturally/creatively programed to start growng just at the right time. As part of the natural world, this means outside. On the kitchen windowsill or in the GH, this is not natural. Answer. Sow in open ground. The seed's DNA dictates the rate of growth. Natural heat and light plus the the soil elements. Sowing like this. You will find that the seedlings appear, then steadily grow, the main stem greening rather than being a sickly white. The seedling gradually grows up, flowers becomes of age, sets seed and that's life.

 

It's not just what's happening above ground, but also whether the roots are tangling up below ground, with the possibility that if waiting until the seedlings start getting close before pricking out, finding their roots are all tangled up and get bady damaged separating them.

That's why I sow everything in either singleor clusters of cell modules so they can be easily popped out to check root growth.

 

Sowing indoors everytime for me....at least with flower seeds
Remember, we grow plants from all over the world and we need to try and emulate their natural conditions....including seeds and germination temps.
Besides, sowing indoors and then into pots enables us to plant out exactly where and when we want to. They grow better too I think.

 

Not offended or picking but.. the whole idea of a forum is to get other people's perspectives, opinions and advice (for me anyways), whether that's sowing marigolds or meconopsis, nigella or nicotiana.. not always the packet has the best information.. IE Lidl: its like decrypting hieroglyphs! And not everyone loves google, I'd much rather a conversation on sowing seeds than reading about 4 pages of text to get an answer

Not everyone has a greenhouse/blowaway/coldframe or a greenhouse to heat..whatever.. to create their own perfect conditions so some of have to use windowsills

I do agree though that some half hardy's do prefer to be sown direct but in a garden full of slugs and snails, I best not leave it to nature.

 

This is what i have all the packets have fell to bits so i cant see what they are , i will have to get a pen and some proper labels for the next batch, mice keep digging some of them up i will have to do some alterations in the GH if they carry on.