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How to deal with multisprouts?

punchy

punchy

In my infinite wisdom, I put several seeds per cell in my seed starter. Now I've got anywhere from 1 to 6 sprouts in some of the cells. Is it OK to separate them (gently) when I move them to solo cups? At this point they should mostly just have tap roots, yeah?
 
There will be others to answer(pros), but it is my understanding that if you are very careful that's what most of these guys do. Check the glogs. I've seen pics with folks wearing gloves and carefully seperating. Good luck.
 
yeah you can separate, just don't break tap root ( the main big root ). If you do that plant is probably trash.
 
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I let them grow bigger (at least 2 true leaves), plenty of water just before moving them (will separate them better), and split them. I am taking the entire cube of soil out, and split the plants, sometime help them breaking the soil. Some small roots will broke, but this is it, as OKGrowing mentioned, be more careful with the main root.
 
cruzzfish said:
Split them with running water to clear the soil if you have to. I've done it before, lost only one.
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Hum... that sounds like a right good idea!
 
I was gonna suggest letting the soil dry to the point of becoming somewhat crumbly, making it easier to tease the roots free.
FWIW, that tactic worked for me, with zero losses out of maybe 10 'twin' seedlings.
 
Geonerd said:
I was gonna suggest letting the soil dry to the point of becoming somewhat crumbly, making it easier to tease the roots free.
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I think this depends on the soil. Sometime the dried soil solidify somehow around the roots, and these will be broken. If the soil is wet, moist, will release the root better. At least this is what I do, when they are twisted together.
 
I think you've already got good advice. The only thing I'd add is to have a spray bottle handy. Use it to ease the roots apart (it's gentler than running water) and keep the leaves wet for a while after the plants are separated.
 
i would separate them sooner rather than later before the roots start to really tangle. i like to let the soil dry out when i separate them
 
I agree - separate sooner rather than later as the roots will get more entwined the longer you wait. That said, you can save yourself some future hassle by germinating between two damp coffee filters in a plastic container. As soon as one sticks it's root out dump it into some starter mix - that way you only ever have one per cell.
 
Yes, easy to separate, and no, you don't need to be TOO gentle about it. Usually I let them dry as much as I feel like risking, then pop them out and shake them gently to knock off soil and de-tangle the roots. Sometimes it goes easier but I've had them a month old all tangled up. When they are real tangled I flick the roots repeatedly with my finger to "encourage them", or pull the plants apart and shake while I'm doing it to try to get them to de-tangle. Managed to separate them fine, and they've grown to be just as healthy as ones that I remembered to cut.
 
I lost *1* out of 282 transplants this year.
 
I even lay them on the table for as long as 15-20 minutes under strong grow lights as I pot them up one by one.
 
If I have too many to pot up I'll select transplants based on root strength (not foilage), then discard the rest.
 
If you try to do it when the soil is WET it will be a disaster.
 
Let the soil dry as much as possible (without causing wilt) and it'll mostly fall right off and make it MUCH easier.
 
I have in some cases used luke warm water, and did a complete full rinse on the roots so no dirt is present, and then put them into there respective containers.
 
yes it increases the chance of transplant shock, but I usually don't have issues. Try it with 1 and give it 1-2 days and see how well it goes for you.
 
I only try on those rare and hard to get plants, and only if I already have at least one sprouted elsewhere.
 
I try to get a minimum of 2 seeds planted per spot, 3 preferred, and snip the laggards.
 
Many have luck externally sprouting, but I either kill them in the bag or when planting them.
 
I transplanted mine (using netted coir) into a larger (2.5 inch square this year) pot, let them grow until the both have three or four sets of true leaves and are fairly root-bound (this is the key).
 
Then I water them, not soaked, but moist all the way through, de-pot them, and, using a sharp kitchen knife, carefully saw in between the two stems through the rootball. This should result in two equal rootballs which I then put into larger pots.
 
Out of about sixty 'doubles' I had this year, I only lost one because I was not careful and actully cut the stem of one at soil level.
 
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