It's only one more week until the last expected spring frost for my area according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. I figured if it's been used for over 100 years, I could take a chance on it's advice. :) Based on this info I could've actually planted last weekend, but due to being busy with some certain chickens and a certain bunny it had to wait. Today was a beautiful day for planting though. Clear, sunny, comfy temps in the 60's. Wonderful.
You may be wondering, how the heck do you know when to perform this delicate operation? Well, you could just guess like me (just kidding) or you can go by plant age and the amount of leaves. Brassicas, like my broccoli and cabbage for example, should be grown about 4 to 6 weeks before the last spring frost and transplanted about 2 weeks prior to the last frost. It is suggested that there be about 2 sets of leaves on these plants as well. Honestly, mine only had one set of "true" leaves.
Well, what the heck is a "true" leaf? When many plants first sprout they come up with two broad, heart shaped leaves called the cotyledon (pronounced: coddle-lead-in). These are also commonly called the "seed leaves". These are the first leaves generated from the germination of the seed. Interestingly enough, this is the same name given to a lobule of a mammalian placenta.
The biggest problem with transplanting is transplant shock. This is a condition caused by stressing the plant because of moving it. The roots react poorly to the move and if not tended to, it can damage, stunt, or kill the plant. To avoid shock: keep roots moist, intact, and as undisturbed as possible. To treat shock: use a weak sugar water solution to water plants, cut a piece off of the leaves, water thouroughly without drowning, and be patient. It may help, it may not. That's the world of plants. Don't get discouraged if you kill them, it won't be the first or last time! There are special soils, liquids, contsiners, and other things you can buy to help this situation as well if you're concerned or desparate. I'm cheap and full of optimism, so I just cross my fingers.
My transplanting went fine today, though I did make the rookie mistake of underestimating my space. So, we will be planting a few things in some oddball place. Such is life. I did take a risk by not planting mine with all the suggested leaves, but my plants are over 6 weeks old and I was sick of them taking up space in the greenhouse. I will keep my fingers crossed.
As a side note, I did not keep any of mine in the newspaper pots that I made. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet since it is my first time using them. I think I will put one or two of my rejects that didn't fit in the garden in with the pots though as an experiment.
Wow, that was nice and long winded. :) Thanks for reading!!
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