So I planted some leek seedlings and more than expected grew. They've been up about two weeks. Now I have a tray filled with a nice lot of leek seedings. They're too small to plant out and only a few have their second leaves. But they're too densely packed and I'm sure I'll have a mess of roots later... do I leave them a little longer? Do I try and replant indoor until they get big enough to go out?
Thanks for the help. I have grown leeks before but only 5 as they were going on the balcony (before we had an allotment).
I'd prick them out into those 24 cell trays... that will hold them for about 5-6 weeks... :)
If the seedlings are growing really close together I would separate them asap as if you leave them longer it will impossible to disentangle the roots.
I would get out the compost/soil and plants from the seed tray (in one piece if possible) and place it in a bowl of water that is just a bit deeper than the soil. That way you can wash off the soil and tease apart the roots with the minimum of damage. Prepare some pots/modules first already filled with compost/soil and pop each rescued seedling straight into them.
Can I use toilet paper rolls for this?
Don't worry to much about tangled roots on leeks. Most people cut the roots back to about 2cm before replanting
If you were to use the recycled greengrocers boxes like I do you can plant 6 to the row and 8 rows for a box of 48.
If roots are too tangled, separate with a knife or scissors.
I'd just plant them out, they are really tough plants.
x sunloving