[Lupin lurcher]

Heh, good to know I'm not the only one!!

Would you expect all the seedlings to be up at the same time?  Not all my tomatoes are up.  Is that because they haven't germinated?  Or can they just be a bit slower?

Hi as I said this is my first year so I can only say what happended to mine.  Mine took about 10 days for all seedlings to come through.  I waited for the true leaves to appear and then potted them all on, into individual 3 inch pots, and they are all about the same size now.

[babycakes]

hey lupin lurcher how many leaves actually acount for the 'true set' of leaves? mine have 2 leaves so far and wondering when they can be moved onto grow bags. thanks :-)

[UrbanG]

'True leaves' are normally the second set (2nd pair) of leaves.
The 1st set of leaves you see are from the seed and the 2nd set are the true ones which have actually grown from the plant?
I hope that makes sence??  hehehe

[babycakes]

yeah it does thanku  feels like iv been waitin a while for the 2nd set of leaves to appear

[Sharonx]

Mine are at the point where they need to be potted on. Do you plant them down to the set of leafs?  What is the smallest size pot I can get away with until they go out into the allotement? I have alot of plants so am lacking in space so the smallest size the better 

[unconcerned]

Mine are at the point where they need to be potted on. Do you plant them down to the set of leafs?  What is the smallest size pot I can get away with until they go out into the allotement? I have alot of plants so am lacking in space so the smallest size the better 

I tend to plant them to the original leaves, but in degradable pots so I can plant them straight out with no disturbance and some very strong roots. That way I can plant up to smaller pots initially and the kids love seeing a broad bean shoot poking out the end of a toilet roll

[Kristen]

Mine are at the point where they need to be potted on. Do you plant them down to the set of leafs?  What is the smallest size pot I can get away with until they go out into the allotement? I have alot of plants so am lacking in space so the smallest size the better  

When I prick out I bury the baby seedlings up to their seed leaves.  Some plants don't mind the main stem above that being burried (e.g. Tomatoes), some hate it (e.g. Cucumbers).

If I am planning to pot on (e.g. Tomatoes which I grown on to 9" pots before they are planted out) then I use 3" pots to start with, and then increase at about 1.5" a go, and then a bit more when I get to "larger" sizes - so maybe 3", 4.5", 7", 9" ...

For things that I plan to plant straight out I prick out into 9cm / 3.5" initially. The reason for this is that it gives me a bit more time before they MUST be planted out - so if weather is not right, or I'm not ready then there is some leeway before they must be planted out.

Some things are happy in smaller modules (Onions, runner beans), and some things I plant several to a pot (actually I've now taken to planting two Runner beans to a 3" or 3.5" pot instead of one-per-module-cell which I used to then plant two-cells per cane - now I do two-seed-per-pot and plant one-pot-per-cane

I also grow 2 lettuce per pot (and cull one for salad-leaves early on) and 3 beetroot around the rim of the pot (and take two of them early for "thinnings")

Other option is to use Richy's Paper Pots made from newspaper rolled around a can.  I reckon the ones I make are only 2" in diameter, but often 5" or 6" deep. I use them for things that need depth (Parsnips, Sweet peas, Sweet corn) and which don't like being transplanted (whole pot and plant goes into the soil) but you could use them - don't need that depth for most things though.

But I would avoid using pots that are any smaller - even if you are tight for space. They will just need potting on before they are ready to be planted out.

For Peppers, Aubergines, Chilles you are going to be potting on before it is warm enough for them to go out ... so I reckon you need to plan for that  :happy:

[unconcerned]

very much so...peppers planted at the same time as tomatoes are just sprouting when you are potting on toms