Growing Green: From Pot to Plot (Tip #8)

 

Hey! We're up to Tip #8, which is about transplanting seedlings into the garden.

There are only a few things that I make sure to do when transplanting my hardened-off seedlings into garden beds but I also want to make space for talking about a few tangental topics like plant spacing and companion planting. Hopefully I can lay it out in a way that makes sense. Let's start with a simple step-by-step of how to transplant a seedling to the garden.

How to Transplant Seedlings:

Step 1: Bottom-water your plants before transplanting.

• The idea here is that the roots will be looser and the plant will go into the bed fully hydrated. 
• Transplant shock is less common when you do all of the steps to harden seedlings off, but you may still notice some plant grumpiness in the day or two after you've transplanted. Watering before transplanting helps to decrease that effect.

Step 2: While your plants soak, loosen and amend the soil in your garden.

• I don't till my garden beds, but I do break up the top crust that develops over the course of the winter. The healthier your soil is, the less it tends to crust over, but after 6 months of snow and rain you are likely to have some level of crusting in any garden bed. 
• I sprinkle Garden-tone fertilizer or compost on top of the beds, then mix that in as I break up any clumps. If I have worm castings, I'll sprinkle that in as well. 

Step 3: Create indentations in your garden bed to indicate where you intend on placing each plant. Some people like to physically sit each seedling in the indentations so they can get a visual idea of whether the plants will have enough room as they grow. How cool is this muffin tin hack? 

• I talk more about how to decide where to place your plants below.

Step 4: Remove plants from their nursery pots and fluff out roots, particularly if they are root-bound.  

Step 5: Dig a hole that is a little bit larger than your plant width-wise, but about the same height. 

• If the soil down below looks too compacted, I will often loosen it a bit. 
• I also sprinkle a tiny bit of fertilizer down in the hole.

Step 6: Place the plant in the hole, taking care to not over-bury it. 

• I'm not too fussy about this, but I've heard plenty of times that some plants don't like to be buried too deeply. 
• See the next section for the one time you might want to over-bury a plant!

7. Water your plant in.

• You want to water it pretty well that first time. If you don't and the plant does experience some transplant shock, you'll be second-guessing whether it's asking for more water and be tempted to over-water. Best to just water them in well when you transplant.

The One Time You Might Want To Over-Bury Your Plant:

While the general rule of thumb is that you don't want to over-bury your plants, there is one plant that loves it. That plant is the tomato! Tomatoes have the unusual ability to form roots from any part of the stem. Anything that's underground is going to grow roots. 

This can be a helpful tip when you're in a very windy climate (like we are) or when your tomatoes are tall but lanky. (Some heirloom varieties of tomato are slower to thicken up, making their stalks look like string beans.) To give these tomatoes the best chance of thriving in those circumstances, you can plant them deeply in the soil to give more rooting space! Many people actually lay their tomato plants on their side and bury most of the plant, like this:

And this is so easy to do! Simply remove the branches up to the point that your soil will go, then dig a little trench in the soil. Lay your tomato plant in the trench, and bury. 

*Note: This is where I remind you that tomato plants are prone to blight, a fungal disease that lives in soil and infects tomato leaves when it contacts them. I've done so much battle with blight that I do everything in my power to avoid it. 

When I'm transplanting my tomatoes, I take care to not let the leaves touch the soil and then cover the soil area with 4 inches of grass clippings before letting go of the plant. This can get kind of tricky when you're planting by yourself but is possible if you place your bucket of grass clippings close by. 

Plant Spacing: Square Foot Gardening...ish.

Plant spacing when gardening is one of those life categories where it really matters what kind of person you are: 

There are people who are hopeful, zealous, and a little rebellious. They tend to say, "I want to fill the bed up and make the best use of the space! It'll be fine!"

Then there are the cautious, careful, rule-following people who tend to say, "Better safe than sorry! Err on the side of caution and give more space between plants." 

Quick, which type of person are you? 

I am naturally the first type of person, but have come closer to center as I've gone along. I appreciate the "better safe than sorry" method and agree, but experience tells me when it's okay to stretch the boundaries a little bit. Consequently, when I follow the Square Foot Gardening method for deciding on plant spacing, I only kind of follow it. 

Square foot gardening is a spacing method created by Mel Bartholamew in the 1980's. It gives guidelines for how closely each kind of garden plant likes to be planted. Remember, some plants are heavy feeders, some have enormous root systems, some can be trellised, and some become enormous over the course of the growing season. So all of that needs to be taken into consideration when deciding how closely to plant things to one another. Following the square foot gardening method will take all the guesswork out of it.

I chose the above photo to illustrate the Square Foot Gardening concept because it has borders to clearly define each square foot. While some people like to have a physical grid to lay over the top of a bed, most don't go to the trouble. In my own garden I use a hori hori or ruler to measure out the squares, then plant.

This is the garden tool I use most often, the hori hori.

So how close together should you plant things? Well, even within the SFG community there are differing opinions, but I'll post the chart I use below.

Carrots Radishes	Peas Pole Beans
Arugula Basil Beets Bush beans Chinese cabbage Chives Cilantro Lettuce, leaf Scallions Spinach Turnips	Calendula (1-4 plants) Celery (2-4 plants) Garlic Kale, baby Kohlrabi Lettuce, leaf Leeks (4-8 plants) Shallots (4-5 plants) Onions Parsnips Parsley Swiss chard Thyme

Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Cilantro Corn Cucumbers (on a trellis) Dill Eggplant Kale, full-size Lettuce, head (romaine, butterhead, etc.) Most herbs Okra Oregano Parsley Peppers Potatoes Rosemary Sage Sunflowers Sweet Potatoes Tomato

Asparagus Elecampane (12-30 inches apart) Melon Squash (if staked and pruned) Watermelon Zucchini (if staked and pruned)

Whether you follow this method or another, plant spacing is important. If you crowd your plants, they won't thrive and your yield will decrease. However, giving your plants too much space is wasteful in the sense that it decreases the number of plants you can grow in all. You can experiment with these spacings and see what you think. As I said, I follow this chart pretty much. Except when I don't. Ha!

Companion Planting and Plant Combinations to Avoid:

When I first started out gardening, I planted things pretty much willy-nilly. I had a few guidelines to follow, but not much. However, I've since learned that there are planting strategies that you can employ to help your plants thrive. In the gardening world, we call this Companion Planting.

com·pan·ion plant·ing

noun: The close planting of different plants that enhance each other's growth or protect each other from pests. 

So we intentionally plant certain things near one another to help our garden, but on the flip side, there are also plant combinations that you want to avoid. These may have a negative impact on growth and yield. 

I'm a big believer in this wisdom. Since I started planning my garden with a companion planting strategy, the garden has flourished. I'm dealing with far less pests and my plants seem to be happier in general. 

I've found two articles from Old Farmer's Almanac which give all the information you'll ever need on this topic. The two articles explain which plant combos are beneficial and which are detrimental. I'll link the articles here, but am also going to paste a copy of the Companion Planting Chart below, for ease of access.

Companion Planting Chart and Guide for Vegetable Gardens

What Is Companion Planting? A list of the 10 most popular vegetables to grow along with their friends (and enemies)

Companion Planting Chart

Crop Name	Companions	Benefits and Notes
ASPARAGUS	Calendula Petunias   Tomatoes	Calendula, tomatoes, and petunias are thought to deter asparagus beetles.
BASIL	Peppers   Purslane    Tomatoes	Purslane is used to shade the soil around basil plants, helping them to remain fresh in hot weather.   Basil improves the growth and flavor of tomatoes and peppers.
BEANS	Beets   Corn   Lovage   Nasturtium   Rosemary   Squash   Strawberries  Sunflower	Nasturtiums can be used as a trap plant to entice aphids away from beans.   Lovage and rosemary also have excellent insect-repellent qualities.   Sunflowers can be used to create shade for sun-stressed crops.   Corn will benefit from the beans’ nitrogen-fixing capabilities. Pole beans provide structural support.
BEETS	Brassicas   Bush beans   Garlic   Lettuce   Onion family	Beets are companions for chicory and endive.   Onions protect against borers and cutworms.   Beets add minerals to the soil, as beet leaves are composed of 25% magnesium.
BROCCOLI	Oregano   Other Brassicas   (Cabbage, brussels sprouts,   cauliflower, etc.)	Oregano has insecticidal properties.   Plant Brassicas together so that they can all be covered with nets to protect from pests such as cabbageworms.   They also all like lime added to the soil.
CABBAGE	Garlic   Nasturtium   Sage	Nasturtiums deter insect pests such as beetles and aphids.   Garlic planted alongside cabbage repels insects with its odor.   Sage deters cabbage moths.
CARROTS	Chives   Leeks   Onions   Peas   Radishes   Rosemary   Sage	Chives improve the growth and flavor of carrots and deter aphids, mites, and flies.   Rosemary and sage repel carrot fly.   Leeks are thought to repel many flying pests (including carrot rust fly).   Foes: Dill can reduce the yield of carrots.   Dill, coriander, and other members of the Carrot family should not be planted near carrots (they tend to cross-pollinate).
CORN	Beans (pole)   Cucumbers   Dill   Melons   Peas   Squash   Sunflower	Dill is thought to protect against aphids and mites.   Beans can provide more nitrogen to the corn.   Sunflowers can act as a structure and a windbreak for the corn, and dwarf sunflowers bring in ladybugs to control aphids.   Pole beans are sometimes interplanted with corn, adding nitrogen and providing structural support.   Spinach grows well in the shade of corn, keeping corn roots cool.
CUCUMBERS	Beans   Borage   Dill   Lettuce   Nasturtiums   Oregano   Radish   Sunflowers   Tansy	Dill is thought to protect against aphids and mites.   Nasturtium deters aphids, beetles, and bugs and improves growth and flavor.   Oregano deters pests in general.   Radish, Nasturtium, and Tansy repel cucumber beetles; radish also repels flea beetles.   Tansy also deters ants, beetles, bugs, and flying insects, as does borage, improving flavor and growth.
LETTUCE	Chives   Onions   Oregano   Peas   Poached Egg plants   Radishes   Scallions   Zinnia	Chives, onions, and garlic deter aphids and other pests by masking the scent of the lettuce with their aroma.   Basil is thought to improve the flavor and growth of lettuce.   Radishes can be used as a trap crop for flea beetles.   Poached egg plants (Limnanthes), a wildflower, will bring hoverflies and other beneficials that eat aphids.
ONIONS	Beets   Cabbage   Carrot   Chard   Lettuce   Strawberry   Tomatoes	Onions protect against borers and cutworms. Their aroma disorients pests.   Onions benefit from marigolds as the smell of marigolds reduces the egg laying of onion maggot fly.
PEAS	Alyssum   Carrot   Chives   Corn   Grapes   Lettuce   Mint   Radish   Spinach   Turnip	Chives deter aphids.   Mint improves health and flavor.   Alyssum brings in pollinators and encourages green lacewings, which eat aphids.   Foes: Do not plant near garlic and onion, as they will stunt the growth of peas
PEPPERS	Basil   Marjoram   Onions   Oregano	Herbs like basil, oregano, and marjoram have a protective, insecticidal quality.
POTATOES	Basil   Beans   Calendula   Catmint   Cilantro   Garlic   Horseradish   Oregano   Peas   Tansy	Beans can improve the size of potato tubers.   Cilantro protects against aphids, spider mites, and potato beetles.   Calendula, Tansy, and horseradish planted at the corner of a potato patch ward off Colorado potato beetles.   (Note: Tansy is considered invasive in some areas. See local guidelines before planting.)   Catmint also repels Colorado potato beetles but can bring cats into the vegetable garden, so it is a good idea to plant it in pots around the edge of the plot.
RADISHES	Chervil   Lettuce   Nasturtium   Peas	Chervil improves growth and flavor.   Nasturtiums are a good trap crop for radishes.   Radishes are often used as trap crops for flea beetles.   Peas give nitrogen to the soil, which benefits radishes.
WINTERSQUASH   andPUMPKINS	Beans (pole)   Buckwheat   Calendula   Corn   Marigold   Nasturtium   Oregano	Buckwheat brings in pest predators, which reduce insect pests.   Nasturtiums protect against pumpkin and squash beetles.   Oregano provides general pest protection.   Calendula deters beetles and root nematodes.   Squash is traditionally planted with corn and beans (“three sisters”) to disorient the adult vine borer.
SPINACH	Beans   Cilantro   Eggplant   Oregano   Peas   Rosemary   Strawberries	Peas and beans provide natural shade for spinach.   Cilantro, oregano, and rosemary are thought to repel insects.
TOMATOES	Asparagus   Basil   Borage   Calendula   Dill   Garlic   Nasturtium   Onion   Parsley   Thyme	Calendula deters general garden pests   Asparagus repels nematodes.   Basil repels whiteflies, mosquitoes, spider mites, and aphids.   Basil also attracts bees, which improves pollination, tomato health, and flavor.   Borage repels hornworms.   Dill makes it difficult for cutworms to lay their eggs and supports parasitic wasps that attack pest caterpillars.   Thyme reduces egg laying by armyworms.
ZUCCHINI/ SUMMERSQUASH	Buckwheat   Oregano   Nasturtium   Zinnia	Buckwheat brings in pest predators which reduce insect pests.   To attract pollinators, plant oregano and zinnias.   Nasturtium protects against aphids and whiteflies.

That was a lot of information! I hope it all made sense, even if it was an overload. I have printed out all of the charts I consult and put them in my gardening binder. Then when it's time to plan out the garden, I have them right there and don't have to go hunt it down.

Okay, I think you're up to speed with me now! I'm transplanting late this year because I had a really fun week with my kids instead of doing my garden chores. I took a Body Pump class, saw "The Fall Guy" at the theater, played Bananagrams, visited a friend, and went for walks. Now I'm a few days behind, but it was totally worth it.

I'm not sure what to do next! I'll probably continue to do monthly garden photos and maybe do posts about some of the questions I get. Maybe I'll bring you along with me as I work on my garden projects? I don't know. We'll see!