03/24/2026
What makes for a healthy transplant?
* Good seed starting medium. We have loved the organic growing mix from Ohio Earth Foods because it contains natural fertilizers and minerals to provide the nutrients a new plant will need for 6-8 weeks without additional fertilizers.
* Sunshine! Growing starts under light usually leads to leggier, weaker plants. Perfectly adequate (we've done it!), but moving to the greenhouse has tremendously improved the quality of our starts.
*Adequate Water. Obvious again, but there's an art and science to providing the right amount of moisture. I'll often pick up trays to see how dried out they feel. On cloudy days, I water sparingly or skip altogether. On hot days, I'm watering twice. Overwatering can lead to a lack of oxygen, damping off, and other disease issues.
*Air Movement. We have a couple fans circulating air. Air movement regulates transpiration, increases CO2 availability, and reduce fungal growth. Direct air movement can also help strengthen stems.
*Air Pruning. We've all experienced seriously root-bound plants from a garden center. That's largely because the plants should have gone in the ground a while ago, but whenever a root hits the side of its container, it will circle around. Using soil blocks or air pruning trays like these "winstrips" pictured below will expose the roots to air when they hit the edge of their cell. This causes the outer layer of root cells to die and new ones to grow, encouraging lateral root growth. Strong root system=more resilient transplant.
