One of the first ways to prep for your summer gardens is bystarting seedlings indoors.
There are certain important steps to follow to ensure your seedlings can successfully transition to the garden and thrive.
Meet the Expert
Carrie Spoonemoreis a gardening expert withFrom Seed to Spoon.
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Before Planting
Before moving your seedlings outdoors, ensure they are well-established.
It is the most important step for gardeners to complete before moving seedlings to the garden.
Apply abalanced, water-soluble fertilizerdiluted to half strength during watering.
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Avoid pouring the fertilizer directly on the plant’s leaves.
This involves weeding the area and loosening the soil until it’s loose and friable.
If these weeds arent removed, its unlikely your seedlings will survive outdoors.
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Keep the soil evenly moist for the first few weeks after transplanting to encourage deep, strong root growth.
This will help retain soil moisture, regulate soil temperature, and reduce weed competition, she says.
Do Seedlings Need Support in the Garden After Planting?
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She recommends adding stakes and cages right away to prevent disturbing the roots later on.
Spoonemore provided a breakdown of the average timeline from planting to harvest for each kind of seedling:
