Someone asked.
If you're pushed, you can pr..k out as small as this.
And although t'other could go out if we were frost free, it's fine for potting up. As I had to do today. Because we're not!
is there any benefit from moving seedlings out of modules into bigger pots before they go in the ground? I have been moving them on because i needed the module trays but they all look at bit pathetic and puny.
Also I am growing loads of stuff from seed at the moment for a charity plant sale on 2nd July. I am potting them on into plastic drinking cups with holes poked in the bottom (because they are only £1 for 100!). Do you think they will all be ok in these until July? I am growing bog standard stuff such as Nasturtiums, Calendula, Gazania, Marigolds etc.
Justy - I pot things on from the modules, as I only have a few modules! I believe it gives them more room to grow and more access to food. Some things get stunted if they are too cramped.
Tim - first one is a relief. I've done most of mine at that size this year! (last year I left loads too late, so they got really leggy, so I was trying to do better this time!)
I am trying to do the same as mine are all a bit leggy and spindly.
As a side issue - was at garden centre yesterday and they were giving away all the old module trays that their plug plants were in - they are really sturdy and I got 10 trays - 100 modules in all! Off to fill them now! ;D
I think things do need pr*cking out and potting up. I think in the long run it maked the plants healthier and stronger. Plus, fresh growing meduim provdes nutrients which helps the plant as well.
After reading a debate on the site last year about modular sowng versus pr*cking out, I decided this year to try direct sowing into modules as a trial. It was not a sucess. OK a couple of veg plants like cabbage and lettcue did OK grown this way, but tomatoes and hardy perennials grew rather 'floppy' and spindly and needed pr*cking out from the modules! After which they grew on happily and strongly (albeit more slowly after such a shaky start).
Subsequent sowings have been in a more traditional way - into small shallow pots and then transplanted into modules - from where they are easily potted up into larger modules or pots to grow on before planting out. This method seems to suit what i grow well.
Justy - top marks to that garden centre for doing that. So many just dump their pots and trays in a skip without even offering them to customers. Often all the things need is a good wash and they are as good as new again
I am a module girl and have excellent success with it. For me, it is a time issue. Between 2 allotments, garden, house, 2.5 kids, Ava, family, etc and so on, etc..... time is always precious. I find module or pot grown plants can be left to their own devices until I am ready to plant out - celery, celeriac, lettuce yesterday for example. Pushed out with a short piece of bamboo, no root disturbance, strong little plants plonked straight into their little hole. I think it is just a case of whatever suits you - sone people have the time, and are light fingered enough to prick out, others suit module life.
A model girl, I would say!
And modules make sense. Or why would all the plant suppliers be turning to them?
But the right size for the job is critical.
quite like the modules because I can judge how many plants I will get (provided they all germinate :)) I hate having a tray full of little babies and then not having space for them all when I have pricked them out.