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seeds how soon should I separate seedlings

bravesfan

bravesfan

All 4 seeds that I sprouted from my Caribbean red seeds are looking great so I am thinking of separating them out and growing all 4. When is the best time to do this? All four in coir in a small container about 1"-2" tall at this point
 
I do it once they have their 1st true leaves, and if I plan on separating I always sow them a lil bit farther apart. You have to be very CAREFUL tho and do it quick or the roots can dry out on you and it can affect the seedling. Good luck.

,Vegas
 
Yeah I didn't plan on all 4 looking good thought one would stand out so just kinda through them in. I think I will attempt to separate them tonight when I get home
 
bravesfan said:
Yeah I didn't plan on all 4 looking good thought one would stand out so just kinda through them in. I think I will attempt to separate them tonight when I get home
Click to expand...

My usual preference is to plant 2-3 seeds in each plug and then cut all save the best one. If you have more seeds then try and separate them. If you don't I'd still clip the 3 smaller ones at the soil line and keep the best (tallest) one in the plug. Trying to pull them apart at this stage runs the risk of tearing their fragile roots. Best of luck whatever you decide.
 
As long as they don't have more than 2 sets of leaves the roots should just be a single piece going down.

Any longer than that and they'll start to branch out and grab onto everything.
 
I would also separate them after the first set of true leaves. I have done it when they were in the 3-4" range before but it is a delicate procedure and very difficult to get them separated without damaging the plants.
 
Make sure u have a small container of water and seperrate them there. Swirl an jiggle. Don't force the roots apart. Shouldn't be. A problem. I've seperated like 4" plants apart and all had no problems.
 
I did separate one out by just verrrry gently pulling the seedling out of the coir then planted it in another cell. Is a little droopy right now so I guess we will see. I try post a pic later on tonight when I get home
 
A few years ago NCTomatoman, from Tomatoville.com, m, fibally posted a series of videos about his dense planting technique. I've used it for bith tomatoes and peppers without problems.

Here's a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLbeZEcz3sw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

So long as you don't pop the main root, the seedlings can typically handle the abuse.

If the media is loose enough, one should be able to separate roots quite easily unless the plants are getting too old.

I also vote for separating when the first or second set if true leaves have appeared.
 
here's the videos. I recorded 2 it's just the same tho.

http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid833.photobucket.com/albums/zz255/sickturbo/VID_20130227_164635.mp4

http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid833.photobucket.com/albums/zz255/sickturbo/VID_20130227_163048.mp4

hope this helps.

,Vegas
 
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