Planting transplants1/7/2024 ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Read my tips on protecting your plants from slugs/snails and on how to keep cats out of your garden beds.ĭo not be tempted to drown your new transplants with water to compensate for the weather. This is to both kill snails/slugs, but also to keep cats from eating the Sluggo and from digging (they love freshly dug dirt). I also also finish with a sprinkling of red hot chile pepper flakes. I put copper scrubbers around each plant (especially delphinium, lupines and anything else loved by slugs/snails), then sprinkle Sluggo. If snails/slugs are a problem, be sure to protect your new transplants.I usually lightly scatter some bone and/or blood meal, some coffee grounds (free from Starbucks!) and a light layer of old, dried and shredded wildflowers. Provide a light mulch to shade the soil.Provide shade until plant is established – meaning that it can be exposed to the sun without wilting.Transplant early in the morning, or ideally in the evening so the plant has time to settle into its new location before it’s hot again.Fully saturate the container before planting.Don’t let plants languish in the shade or worse, get stressed sitting in the sun. When possible, select plants that are not overgrown for their container or root bound.Snapdragons really don’t like hot weather transplanting (they grow best from seed) and Iceland Poppies are a close second. Some flowers I’ve planted recently: Snapdragons, Iceland Poppies, Dianthus, Chrysanthemum palusodum, ornamental kale and cabbage. Many plants that will be quite happy when temperatures dip below freezing in the winter, will burn up in early fall weather if they are not temporarily protected from the autumn sun. Mound mulch around your leeks to protect them, and you can enjoy digging fresh vegetables out of your garden into late fall.Fall weather in my zone (9b) can be pretty hot (above 90F) and that’s a problem because I want to get a jump on preparing for the winter garden. Temperatures as low as 20☏ may not harm some varieties. Leeks are fairly frost tolerant, so you can delay harvest until after the first few frosts. There is often a small amount of soil held tightly between the leaves, so slice the whole leek lengthwise, separate the layers and rinse thoroughly to remove any soil. Trim the leaves to a more manageable length at harvest, if desired. Harvest leeks by either gently twisting and pulling them from the earth, or digging and lifting them. The top growth, called the flag, should be dark blue-green. Unlike their onion and shallot cousins, leek tops do not die back as the crop matures. Swelling at the base, called "bulbing," is undesirable. A quality leek should have a firm, white shaft more than three inches long. Some smaller varieties mature at one-half to three-fourths of an inch diameter. Most leek varieties fully develop when the stem width is bigger than one inch. As the plants develop, raise the soil level along the stems up to the leaves, gradually filling the furrow.Īnother method is to hill the plants by planting them at normal soil level, then mounding compost or soil around the plants several times during the growing season. Set transplants at the bottom of a six-inch deep furrow. To produce long white shafts, some gardeners plant leeks in furrows. This spacing will make the best use of space, light and air circulation. Close spacing of two to four inches between plants works well if the plants are set out so the leaves will grow into the between-row space, rather than towards the plants on either side.A transplant solution of half-strength 20-20-20 or 10-10-10 fertilizer will get the plants off to a good start.Plant two to six inches apart, with 12 to 36 inches between rows.Trim the roots of the transplants to one inch to help you transplant, if necessary.Transplant leeks as soon as early spring weather has calmed down and daytime temperatures are at least 45☏.If you do not have a cold frame, set them outside for longer periods each day while returning them to the shelter of your home or garage at night. Harden off the plants for five to seven days before transplanting by putting them in a cold frame.Transplants should be no more than 10 to 15 weeks old when set out in the garden. In northern climates, start seeds indoors in late February or March. ![]()
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