which vegetables don't transplant well

15 years ago

There are a couple things I would like to say before I get to the main point of this post. One, it's too late for me to plant anything where I live because of where I live; thus any information acquired from this thread is for FUTURE reference.

Two I'm going to give a very basic definition in botanical terms of what "transplanting" is. You plant a seed in a little pot and wait for it to germinate; you then wait until it's big enough that it's too big for the current container it's in. As a result, it has to be moved to bigger container. You take it out of container A and repot it into container B. where it will have more space to grow.

Certain veggies I know you should plant them where they're to grow, because they just don't do well when you try to transplant them.

I can think of a few off of the top of my head, and they are:

*Watermelon

*Cantaloupe

*Zucchini

*Summer Squash

*Butternut squash

*Acorn squash

*cucumbers

However these are the only veggies I know for sure you should avoid transplanting. What are other vegetables that should just be avoided like the plague when it comes to transplanting them?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

stephen_albert
15 years ago
Root vegetables with the exception of onions are almost always sown in place, where they will grow in the garden. Beets for greens are an exception.

Here is a link that might be useful: HarvestToTable.com
pnbrown
15 years ago
I am familiar with z9 florida gardening and it is not too late to plant certain crops or set out transplants there. You would do better to re-think some very basic things that you presume to know already, rather than worrying about a large amount of detail.

You'll have a lot more to eat that way....
Related Discussions
Vegetables that don't need much root depth
Q
Comments (5)
ajax Good suggestion! I've been thinking about some dwarf marigold seeds that I have for that area, too, and the two might really color-blend well. I hadn't thought about edible flowers, but that sure works with lettuce, doesn't it? stephen Thanks for those links. Some neat small veggies at the cut&paste link. I didn't say, but growing vegetables in containers is a very minor part of my gardening effort -- I have lots and lots of room to plant in the soil and must guard against planting more than I can handle there! I do grow all my lettuce in containers, since they're on the deck and I can move them into shadier spots during the bad heat of summer. I've had pretty good success doing this for years. But the onion containers are new this year, and I sure do hate the thought of their being idle for half the growing season! The 8.5" depth is not great for a lot of vegetables, though maybe good spacing would compensate some. ANYWAY, I'm also interested in herbs, as well as flowers, that I could plant after the onions are pulled. Some herbs don't do well in the heat, and some that do get to be very large. My Mammoth dill grew to be more than five feet tall out in the garden last summer! I just need to find some that won't outgrow those containers.
...See More
Is there any vegetable cutworms don't like?
Q
Comments (3)
anney, Two things are memorable for me concerning cutworms. One...they like young tender plants [especially tomatoes] rather than ones a bit thicker and tougher. Hardening really well for a couple weeks helps there. Two...I haven't had any cutworm damage on tomatoes for several years as I have raised my own tough ones now. I had a couple watermelons cut off two or three inches high last year. One of them turned out to be one of the most vigorous plants I have seen!
...See More
How to transplant fruit trees do they don't die!
Q
Comments (10)
Good for you.....It would be good exercise, but like swimming upstream in a swift river. If it were possible, postpone the digging until Fall arrives and leaves drop off. It would be very good to deep soak the whole area around each tree so as to change the clay into slushy, gooey, soggy consistency. Dripping, falling-apart wet. With rubber gloves, a sharp shovel a hand pruner, and a garden fork you could slowly try to uncover and clean each root and remove the slushy clay encasing the roots. Cut the roots as far from the trunk as you can. Especially salvage the thin, mossy roots. Gentle handling is very worthwhile. After the "fillet" of tree/roots comes out, you could hose it off to get rid of the remaining soggy clay. If it were possible, soak the entire root structure in a water-holding "vat" made of any kind of frame that could support 6 mil thick plastic sheeting that would make a shallow swimming pool. Let the trees soak for a day or 2 in water that is enhanced with fertilizer. For me, I use a strong dose of Superthrive in the water. Instead of digging a big hole for each tree and covering the tender roots with chunky native soil, I would use several bags of nursery's bagged potting soil to pour on top of the trees to make a mound on top of the undisturbed soil there with the tree staked upright and sitting on top of the soil. Keeping the mound continually moist is necessary so the thin mossy roots don't croak. All of this is greatly improved if done in late Fall. Good luck.
...See More
Olde People Don't Adjust Very Well
Q
Comments (24)
Ok! So now the dirt and the sweat is washed off, and the garden is "where it would have been at the beginning of any other olde year!" Time for a break--and a few slow walks to admire the Fruit of Your Labors! There's not many things I delight in more than walking past the things I've finished---over and over and over---to just look at what I accomplished---and the longer it took and the harder it was to do, the more fun it is! This year I decided I was gonna de-clay my veggie garden! Ok! That's not entirely true, but I decided I was at least gonna try to get the potter's clay out of it! It took me 3-4 weeks, but I went out there day after day (whenever the weather was halfway decent) and dug up one shovel full at a time, down about 8-10", and then sat down and went thru it clump by clump with my hands, breaking it up into tiny pieces, and throwing anything that changed shape rather than "breaking up" into a big pot, and lugging it to the dumpster. Had to space the crummy stuff out in the dumpster every week, 'cause clay is HEAVY, and if the truck can't pick it up, they might get out and look to see what I had in there---and I don't think we're allowed to put "dirt" in the dumpster! So for several weeks I was dumping a bunch in, and testing the weight, and dumping more in, and testing the weight---and saving the left overs in other big pots for the next week. Shovel full by shovel full, and clump by clump, I got half of the garden done! That's an area about 3 1/2 by 14 1/2, so it's really only about 50 sq. ft., but, oh, my, what a job! When I started, I was gonna do the WHOLE veggie garden (minus the tomato/eggplant area), but, uh, that's not gonna happen this year! The cukes and carrots and beets and parsnips and squash are gonna have to bide their time for one more year in the BAD clay! That side's a little bit bigger, more like 65 sq. ft., and my hands and back are simply not gonna consent to doing that this year! BUT--oh boy, is it ever FUN to walk out there now--over and over and over--to look at the good (for MY garden) soil that's on the lettuce/spinach/pea side of the garden now! And all those things are planted now, tho it's been pretty chilly since I put them in about a week ago, so definitely no action yet! But, cold or not, I have something to stare at every day now! :-) It was HARD work--when I was doing it---but it's SO much fun NOW! Next year the other side!!! With all the massive gardens you plant--every year--I have trouble believing that you're "round the bend" at all! Yeah, the bod hurts in a couple new places every year (found out a couple weeks ago I have bursitis in my hip--I already knew it hurt, but now I have a NAME for it! Woohoo! And found out last week I have four seriously deteriorated discs in my cervical spine! Woohoo?), but the joy of going out there and looking at what I've accomplished somehow seems to make the pain go away---for a while at least! And if I didn't have the garden, I wouldn't have anything to "make the pain go away!" Definitely time for a break and a chocolate Easter egg! And that's from somebody who just finished a very large piece of Marie Callender Chocolate Silk pie! (Chocolate helps with "that pain" too! LOL) Tomorrow sounds like it's gonna be a wonderful day for a long walk to look at all you've gotten done, Skybird
...See More
bulldogges
15 years ago
Not sure why you are saying squash, Cantaloupes and Cucumbers do not transplant well.

i have never had a problme with translanting them.

So long as you transplant them getting rootbound AND prior to them vining (they start of as just a clump, you should have no problem transplanting.

i have started all three inddors and transplanted them outside with no problems.
solanaceae
15 years ago
I agree with the squash comment. They transplant just fine. Melons and cucumbers are a classic nightmare.Using container friendly varieties I have a portable green house and I will be placing directly the 5 gal containers which is where they will stay.
digdirt2
15 years ago
I think the reference to squash is because they may stunt and produce less if transplanted well into 3rd set of true leaf development. The usual recommendation one sees is to transplant them prior to second set of true leaves developing for best results. Of course that depends on the soil temps too.

But then they direct seed so easily and perform so well when direct seeded that there is little of nothing to gain by starting them inside IMO.

Dave
bulldogges
15 years ago
Completely agree that squash direct seed great.

I start them in cells (along with cucumbers and lopes) simply because theyre are other things growing right now where I want to plant them.

I know its not much, but it saves me a few weeks - start them a few weeks before I plan to remove the current plants growing. I plant them out sometime around them having the 2nd set of true leaves.
flora_uk
15 years ago
In my climate the only way to grow any squash successfully is by transplanting. We get plenty of zucchini etc by this method. It works fine. Direct sowing is not effective because the soil temp is not high enough until well on in the season for the seed to germinate. I also transplant tomatoes, corn, beans, lettuce and brassicas. But not roots.
pnbrown
15 years ago
Flora, didn't Britain have quite a heat-wave last summer? Perhaps those will become more common. Not long enough of course to affect your squash season...
flora_uk
15 years ago
Not where I was there wasn't! It was very very wet, very very gloomy and the only 'heatwave' was a couple of warm days in early Autumn. Basically there was nothing much to call a Summer last year. I didn't get a single tomato, just a mushy pile of blighted vines.

Regarding the transplant question - if I waited for soil temps to be high enough for squash germination I'd be sowing in mid-June, and even then with protection. If I set out young plants in mid May I can get a good harvest up until a frost, usually late October, early November.
wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana
15 years ago
One problem with squash and cucumber direct seeding [which I do] is that for the first few days after emergence, they are extremely vulnerable to cucumber beetle devastation. Transplants do have that one advantage in that they are not quite as vulnerable there.

I guess i get a little testy when some are so sure of their way as THE way. LOL
digdirt2
15 years ago
There is no THE way Wayne. All any of us can offer is our personal opinion on what works best for us. ;) But there is, for what it is worth, gardener consensus that squash does best when direct seeded if possible. Some places that just isn't possible but since the OP is in Florida, direct seeding shouldn't be a problem.

Flora - have you ever tried using black landscaping fabric to warm your soil up faster? In northern climates it lets you plant many things much earlier.

Dave

which vegetables don't transplant well

Comments (11)

stephen_albert

pnbrown

Related Discussions

bulldogges

solanaceae

digdirt2

bulldogges

flora_uk

pnbrown

flora_uk

wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana

digdirt2

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US