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Contributed by: jem1ranger
Submitted: 03-14-2003
We are now 21 days
old and time to move out of the house and get a job.
Well get a new house anyway. I am a first time (serious)
grower of my own, and today I am going to show the step
by step method to transplant from a 6" pot to a final
home (I only know the home is a lot bigger).
 This is Stretch, so called
because she stands heads above the others all the same
age. Say HIGH to stretch.
Here you see that I have already prepared the soil in
advance. The pot is about 2/3 full with a bowl made in
the bottom about 4-5" down slightly off center. I used
water and a bit of Epsom salt to wet the soil as I saw a
slight (maybe mg) yellowing on some other plants.
(Preventative measures?)
Note: If you are
using a soil mix with organic ferts it MUST be prepared
at least 7-10 days before using it (the time needed for
the micro fauna and flora to develop). Of course, if you
just mix plain potting soil (pre-fertilized) with
neutral additives like perlite, this is less important.
 I use the handle of a spoon or
knife to go around the edge of the pot to loosen the
soil. I could feel the resistance when I came upon a lot
of roots and went around them. If you use an up/down
motion it will loosen the soil as well.
 After you have gone around the plant
entirely, turn the plant over using your hand to support
the stem and soil coming out. I put the stem between my
fingers and cover as much surface of the soil as I
could.
In the bottom of your pot I use the drain holes to push
out the soil. Go around once and gently shake and lift
the pot away from the soil. (I cheated a bit in that I
placed a coffee filter in the bottom of the planter
prior to adding soil, and yes the roots went through no
problem).
Now take what you have in your hand and gently try to
loosen the soil a bit. (It?s not a big deal if only very
little comes apart.)
Place this into the hole you created in the new pot, you
should be about 3 inches below the top of the pot.
Now you should give it about a cup or so of water. I
would advise to water around the plant, not directly at
the base. Soaking the medium is really useless, plus it
won't promote fast root growth.
Then I top it off will some more soil until it?s almost
to the top and just give it a good spray to wet it down
a bit.
There you go stretch; this will be you home until your
day comes. It only took me 12 minutes from start to
finish. You should start to see growth again in a few
days.
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