Transplanting Seedlings

It was really cold and wet today so Clare cancelled garden club, but a few determined souls still turned up, keen as mustard. Two went off to help Mr Greg with some digging, and the other boys helped Ali pot up some vege seedlings. These have grown from the seeds that we planted just four weeks ago and they’re looking very healthy. Keeping them in the greenhouse and watering them gently every couple of days has really done the trick.

Transplanting the seedlings was a delicate job. Firstly they needed to be very carefully removed from the grow cells – the boys used ice block sticks to lever them out while causing the least possible damage to the delicate roots. In some cases it was very difficult because the roots had grown through the bottoms of the cells – a sign that it was definitely time for them to be moved to more spacious accommodation.

Because they’re planning to sell the plants, the boys decided to make bigger pots containing three seedlings in each. They chose to make various combinations of the different veges – kale, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage and lettuce. They filled the big pots with potting mix, made sure it was nice and damp, then poked deep holes into the mix to pop the seedlings’ roots into. Then they gently firmed the mix around the stem of each plant to make sure it was secure.

Now it’s a matter of nuturing them for another two or three weeks until they’re big enough to sell. Because it’s the school holidays next week, one of our dedicated gardeners has offered to come in every couple of days to keep the seedlings well watered. Our gardeners have already calculated the amount they think they could earn for the garden club – very impressive maths skills on display :)