Hey guys, it's Brigette with San Diego Seed Company. We own and operate a one acre, certified
organic, urban farm in San Diego California. Kellogg Garden Organics has asked us to do a video
about transplanting and to show you how to be really successful. So what are the things you need
to consider? Well first of all, what size do you transplant your plants at? It's a common question.
For us, we try to get them as big as we can before we put them in the ground because we
know it's a wild, wild world out there, and they're going to get attacked by insects and
all kinds of things. So, this is a really good size for a tomato to go into the ground.
The other consideration is the root development. This bean here, has grown a lot in its small
little pot, and if we leave it in there any longer the roots will become root bound and it's
not going to be happy when we transplant it. So, this is a clear indicator to us that this plant,
this bean plant, is ready to be transplanted. It has already outgrown the pot that it was in.
Now, what are the things you have to remember when you're transplanting, what are the common mistakes
people do? Well first of all, it's really important that you break up the root ball.
I know it sounds scary, it seems like you're hurting the plant, but by unraveling these roots
you're going to allow the plant to grow deep into the ground and establish a better root system,
and grow quicker, and be happier than if you were to just plop it in the ground when it was all
grown in a big circle. It's really important to remember that. I know it's scary but trust me. You
won't regret it. The other common mistake people make is that they plant their precious, little,
tiny start into dry soil. Never do that. When you break up these roots you're automatically going to
cause the plant to wilt a little bit because you broke up these very delicate roots, and so when
you plant you want to make sure that you plant into a hole that has already been pre-watered.
Our suggestion is always that you water, even maybe the night before. If you have a raised bed
make sure that is moist throughout every layer of that raised bed, so that when you plant this
tiny little plant it's ready to receive all of that moisture. That's very important.
The other factor to consider is, how are your plants getting fed? When you transplant your
plants it's a good idea to make sure that you fertilize and you fertilize with something that
the plants can utilize right away. For us, we like to fertilize with a liquid fertilizer,
that's readily available to our tiny little baby plants. It's something like this. This liquid
fertilizer is put with water, and when we water the plants for the first time we utilize this
so that they can they can get the nutrients they need right away. The other factor that we really
like is that it doesn't burn our plants, it's not a chemical fertilizer that could potentially harm
the plant if we accidentally give it too much. That's another reason why we like it. So, you've
learned all these tips on how to be successful at transplanting, now let's go out in the garden
and let's do it together. Okay so, let's do some transplanting together. First of all, tomato. Very
popular crop, how do you transplant it? Well, as I mentioned before, you really want to make sure
that your soil has adequate moisture in it. Look at that guy. That's part of happy soil. So,
luckily in the last couple weeks we've gotten rain in California, so I've got some moisture in the
soil, but if your soil is bone dry you really want to make sure that you water beforehand so that the
soil is at least got enough moisture in it that when you squeeze it, see how it makes the ball?
That's telling me that there's moisture in there. On top of that, I'm still going to pre-water.
Why? Because as I mentioned before, when I take my tomato or any plant
out of its pot, I'm naturally going to break up some of these roots which means that it's going
to wilt a little bit, so I don't want it to be in dry soil at all. Now the cool thing about tomatoes
is you see these little white hairs, every single one of those little white hairs will turn
into roots so you actually can plant it very deep. I'm going to plant it all the way up to here.
Don't be scared, I know. I'm pinching off the side leaf so I can put it in the hole nice and evenly.
So, I'm going to plant it all the way down here,
and cover it up. Now, on top of the water that I put in my planting hole, I'm also going to water
again. I cannot stress enough how important it is that your plant doesn't wilt when it's
a little baby. Another tip that I have is, if you're planting in a very hot time of the year
it's a better idea to plant in the evening versus in the morning where the plant is going to sit
in the hottest part of the day. You can also put up shade cloth to help protect your baby plants.
When they're this little they're very delicate, and once they get big enough they can withstand
all the warm hot days, but when they're this little you really want to baby them. So, that's a
tomato. Here's a bean, this is a good example. If I were to plant this just like this into a hole,
it wouldn't do a whole lot because the roots are all wrapped around like this, I want to break
up the roots so that I can tell the plant, 'hey I'm free, I'm out of the pot, I'm in the ground,
I'm gonna be nice and happy!' So I'll dig my hole, water before, and again I'm checking the moisture
of the ground, and I can tell that there is a little bit of moisture in there which is great.
Now beans are not like tomatoes, you wouldn't plant them as deep as I planted that tomato.
You're going to plant it right at the soil level. So, he's going to go right like that,
break them up, push them down. I'm going to give them a little more water.
And now, my soil is really happy and healthy there's all kinds of worms and
microbiology and we've done a really good job of fertilizing,
but I'm still going to add a little bit of fish emulsion into the water that I
use to water the plants to give them an extra head start. By doing all these tips
you will be successful in your garden and your transplants will grow to be healthy and happy!