2-4 Seedlings in pot - divide, kill, or plant them all??

13 years ago

I am doing some veggie container gardening. Everyone of the seedlings I bought has multiple plants in one pot - roma, bells, and basil. I don't know what to do!

The roma (in 4inch pot) has one big girl and one small one right next to it. The green bell has 3 stems in a 2 inch pot. the basil has 4 stems in 4 inch pot, and the yummy bell has 2 stems, i think. They are all Bonnie's in peat pots 'cept basil.

So. . . should i try to divide them up? I fear i will devastate them with division. The roma might be dividable b/c they weren't close in the pot.I transplanted it a few days ago but am moving it into bigger container (5 gallon bucket) The peppers. . . all i could probably do is cut them. Though I haven't taken them out to look yet.

Or should I just plant them in their containers as is? I took the day off work to catch up on all this and now I'm in a quandary!!

I've scoured the internet and can find nothing! Any help would be super appreciated!!!

also, i planted one tomato seedling in too small a pot. Should i transplant now (week after original) or give it a while to get bigger and then transplant?

thanks!

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Comments (6)

digdirt2
13 years ago
In part it depends on the size of the containers you are going to plant them in. The roma tomatoes need to be either separated into different containers (5 gal. minimum) or sacrifice the small one by snipping it off with scissors. 1 plant in 5 gallons is the standard minimum recommendation.

The peppers will also do better if separated or snipped off although you can grow 2 plants together in a 10 gallon container. I tried 2 in 5 gallons and neither did well.

The basil can be planted as a clump assuming a good sized container.

The one you planted in too small a container? - move it now. You won't be able to move it later.

Is 5 gallons your biggest container? Drilled drain holes in them right? Using a good potting mix, not soil, right?

Good luck with your plants.

Dave
grandad_2003
13 years ago
I've had good success separating multiple plants in single pots/containers, particularly if the plants are small. The success rate for me is probably about 80 to 90%. If you do decide to do this, be sure to completely saturate the pot before attempting to separate the plants. Wet soil yields less root damage.
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dirtydan
13 years ago
You can snip the extra tomato, dip it in rooting hormone, cut off extra lower leaves, bury it deeply in wet potting soil and it should have roots in 2 to 3 weeks. Of course its better if you can keep some of the existing root mass.

A friends tomatoes were recently wiped out by frost so we propagated cuttings off of 8 different tomato cultivars from my garden. 100% success with all those cuttings.

It seems that tomatoes are very easy to propagate from cuttings.
orangeblossom76
Original Author
13 years ago
Bump. . .
thanks for the tips y'all. Three very different replies, but each seems to reinforce one thing - don't let them all live in one pot.
I was kinda hoping. . . . since i'm basically out of space already. probably just going to pinch the peppers. . .
rjinga
13 years ago
I went out of my way to search out pots at Lowes' with multiples in one pot. I separated them and planted them all. If you have any outdoor flower beds, the peppers would do well in amongst your other plants. I have done this numerous times when I ran out of room in the designated garden spot. I also do it frequently with herbs. I like to step off my deck and snip parsley without having to truck out to the garden. same with chives etc.

make sure when you are ready to separate them, that the soil it good and moist, you can see as you start to gently tug them apart where the roots for each is. (most times :)
glib
13 years ago
If one transplants them in garden soil, tomatoes are the strongest at surviving some time bareroot, and basil the weakest. But they should all make it, if transplanted on an overcast day (or in the shade, if the containers are portable).

2-4 Seedlings in pot - divide, kill, or plant them all??

Comments (6)

digdirt2

grandad_2003

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2-4 Seedlings in pot - divide, kill, or plant them all??

Comments (6)

digdirt2

grandad_2003

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orangeblossom76Original Author

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