HYB:Seedlings:Protecting the roots

In a message dated 3/24/2006 2:49:01 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
lmann@volfirst.net writes:

<<Yes, fine roots are damaged and it does set them back, but they  still
get off to an earlier start this way. >>
 
Damaging roots when taking plants for the pot . . . 
 

Nearly 20 years ago, George Slade, a KY hybridizer, told me how to take  
those seedlings out of the pot without damaging the roots.  
 
Fill a 5 gal bucket with water and submerge the seedling pot in the bucket  
while you remove the seedlings.  The roots tend to float free  and do not 
suffer much damage.   I did try it with the large  quantity of seedlings and found 
it helpful.  But for me it had drawbacks,  soil lost & any surviving seed must 
be hunted down individually or  lost.  You could run the water  through a 
fine sieve.   None of these appealed to me.  

 
In the beginning I've had as many as 125 seedlings growing in one  pot.  One 
hundred + seedlings creates quite a mass of small  delicate roots!  This is 
the main reason I quit planting all seed in one  pot.    Now, I limit the number 
of seeds per pot to approximately  25.  
 
Now if I could just get past the idea that clumping them together aids in  
germination!  
 
 

 
________________________________________________________
If you  don't cross them, you can't  plant them! 
Betty W. in South-central  KY Zone 6 ---
Bridge In Time Iris Garden@website:
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