transplanting plantsJenny and I were more than a bit intimidated when we first started gardening but at the same time so stoked  as beginner gardeners.

I can remember worry that I was planting my plants in our veggie garden like dad use to do and he’s not around to ask question to any more.

A few starter plants didn’t make it into the garden in the best of shape, after trying to extract them from their starter post, our first time around. Well the good things is I didn’t kill anything in the process and eventually my thumb started turning green.

I wasn’t actually sure how deep to plant each plant and remember re-digging holes more than once before accepting the depth and planting the poor things. Maybe we got them a little too deep or shallow but they survived and we learned as we went.

Even though we learned a lot by trial and error we also had help from online readers and friends. I have listed a few things that will help you get past those initial fears of planting plants correctly in your gardens.

1. Now Where Should I Put These Plants

Our first blunder has to be digging our vegetable garden where it was going to be shaded until about noon every day. Where the heck was my brain. I think I remember enjoying the shade while I was digging it up. DUH!!

Fortunately the trees along our east property fence are our trees. We plan to remove the trees that are blocking the garden. We would move the garden but really it’s the only place in our backyard that has the space for our garden. So glad we have control over those trees, as they are getting bigger every year.

To make it even tougher that section of our backyard is also the lowest in the yard and hold water enough we get ducks landing in our yard come spring. I have put a lot of work into drainage for our veggie garden but any new gardens are going to be raised bed gardens because my back hurts.

2. How Deep And Wide For Starter Plant Planting

Even though Jenny and I both had gardens while we were growing up we didn’t actually create or maintain them. Yeah we had to do some weeding but that wasn’t our issue when we first started vegetable gardening. We were just a bit intimidated but not enough to give up.

I work from home here in Moncton and use the Internet to make money online so when I’m stumped I head to my office and check online for answers.

I seemed to worry a bit about digging holes to transplant potted starter plants. Was the hole to small, too wide, too deep, was it not round enough. Okay that last one was an exaggeration but you get my point.

The thing is it was pretty simple to just plant it to the same depth as the container but I figured it had to be tougher than that, but it wasn’t. Gotta stop second guessing myself.

I have learned that when transplanting tomatoes I can plant them a little deeper and put dirt up the stalk a bit to help grow bigger root systems for healthier tomatoes.

3. From The Container And Into The Ground

Okay this one was pretty simple but of course I had to be in a rush to get my garden in so I could start watching it grow. This led to a few starter plants being partly destroyed getting them out of those little containers.

Once I learned I could just squeeze the size a little to loosen the roots a bit and then I turned them upside down with the stalk between two finger for support and slowly pulled them out of the container.

4. Getting Your Plants Finally Planted

Once I have the plant root ball safely out of the container I gently spread the roots out without breaking them if at all possible. This will help them to spread out through the earth easier after being balled up in a tiny pot.

I like dig the hole a little deeper and put a small pile of dirt in the middle to drape the roots over to keep them spread out as I fill in the dirt around the plant. I also try to push the dirt into all the spaces so there are no air pockets.

6. Caring For Your Plant After Planting

Excellent, now you can transplant plants with confidence but you’re not quite finished yet. Your plant may go into shock before the roots can get established so you need to give your plant a good watering, allow it to drain well and repeat.

Happy home gardening and do share your experiences with our reader through commenting below.

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Filed under: container gardening • gardening • gardening tips • home gardening • vegetable garden

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