[earthing83]

Hi everyone I have a couple of questions I wonder if anyone can guide me in the right direction?

I have dwarf french beans growing very well in small modules. Even as a beginner I can tell that there is not enough room left and I need to move them on. (there are two plants in each small module) I need advice with the best way to do this. Shall I pick the strongest of each pair and put in a 3inch pot or shall I pot them all on to have a better chance in the long run. Any advice on the actual process of potting on would be really helpful! e.g what compost to use, how deep to plant, how much to water etc.

I also have some tiny basil seeds that have germinated. Most of them are covered with a mouldy, furry looking white substance! Has anyone grown basil from seed before and had this? I'm not sure if it's normal!

Thankyou all!

[Riala]

The white stuff sounds like something I learnt about only yesterday called damping off... here is a linkie!

[earthing83]

oh! new to me too! I had beter get rid! Thankyou

[DD.]

As regards the beans, I'd pot up every one, but be gentle in teasing the roots apart. I use grow-bag compost for just about everything.

Just pop them in slightly lower than they are at the moment.

If you've got a lot, instead of using single pots, you may consider the use of deep trays such as, (wait for it people), ........

Cat litter trays!

You can get quite a lot in one.

[Kristen]

I would split them up, as DD say, one-per-pot.

However, do consider how many you will have room to grow (or be able to give away). Its very easy to try to keep every seedling alive and then have to murder it later rather than sooner! although having some spares just-in-case is no bad thing.

[Yabba]

I also have some tiny basil seeds that have germinated. Most of them are covered with a mouldy, furry looking white substance! Has anyone grown basil from seed before and had this? I'm not sure if it's normal!

I've always managed to kill basil, until this year, mainly because I was over watering, so now I leave them until they start drooping before I give them any water. So far it's working

¥

[ben]

Regards Basil : I've never really had a problem with it, and have grown indoors and also in a unheated greenhouse - but as said before, do not overwater it. It likes a bit of rough treatment. Don't crowd the seedlings though, they don't seem to like it much.

Regards pricking out - I tend to plant 2 seeds per module. If the seedlings are close together, then I will kill one of them, in order to avoid disturbance of the stronger specimen.
However if they seem far enough apart in the module, I'll try to transplant/pot on and double up the crop. How far "far enough apart" is depends on size and plant type, but you'll soon learn what you can and cannot do for each plant type.

[SnooziSuzi]

If you tap the basil seedlings does the white substance come away, like talc?  If so then it could be grey mould (botrytis).  This is a bad thing and if other plants come into contact with the spores then they will become affected too.

don't know how to get rid of it but some of the boffins on here will 

[BobandJack]

DD if you are using cat litter trays then do you keep the beans in them until you are ready to plant out or do you have to transplant them when they get a bit bigger?  Are you using the really deep trays?  I have some that are 3 inches deep, would that be deep enough?  Also how are they for drainage?  Particularly relevant given my recent french bean drowning disaster 

[DD.]

They're fine in there until planted out, I get about 40 in a tray. Mine are about 3" deep.

You need to make drainage holes, this is best done with a hot skewer, or similar, other methods are likely to crack the plastic.

If you think this is overcrowding, years ago I bought some off the market, there were about 20 in a 6" pot. Went straight into the ground & were fine.