Transplanted all to cups
 

First year of trying to grow from seed and today after 4 weeks of growth in the peat pots I replanted all 22 Tomato & pepper plants into clear 9oz. solo cups. Here's what I did filled each cup 3/4 full of new Burpee coconut coir seed starter mix that I put in the microwave 3 times with 2min. sessions to kill any bad stuff. I very carefully removed each seedling from the old mix and removed as much coco coir from the roots as possible. I labelled with marker pen each variety before hand then made a generous cavity in the new mix so there would be enough room for the root system, I planted the tomatoes deep so they will have a strong root system when its time for final planting outside. I know replanting puts some stress on the seedlings so I have them in a dark area now. How long would you wait til they go back under the grow light and how much time should they spend under the lights before I go back to 16hrs? Another question concerning watering... In the peat pots the seedlings seemed to either be to wet but then in just a few days the seemed very dry what can I expect from the 9oz. plastic cups? I poked holes in the bottom of each cup so I can still bottom water. I was wondering if I could use a spray bottle to add a little moisture to the plants between watering?

Sounds like you're doing fine! I'd give em a day in low light to acclimate, then give em a nice shot of half strength MG Blue and put em back under the lights. Good luck!

Jon

Jetstar, I personally pot up in 16 oz. cups, and I don't change the lighting schedule. I only bottom water.

Mine usually go directly back under the lights. Never had a problem. but I don't remove any soil from around the roots. Just out of one cup, root ball intact, into another larger cup. So yours may need a little more time to recover. Someone here experimented with the clear cups once I remember but I can't recall what the result was. It will be interesting to hear how you do.

Unless you had multiple plants in the peat pots & wanted to separate the seedlings, I don't know why you would take them out of there & remove any coir but, to answer your question:

I would put the seedlings back under lights, toward the ends of the the tubes, 6 inches below them. Start with reduced hours (at least 4 or 5), as a precaution. Keep them just barely moist, no more. If they show no ill-effects, you should be able to quickly (within a couple of days) work your way back up 16 hours & the center of the tubes.

If you have Superthrive (plant vitamins) give your seedlings the recommended dose for transplanting. I have not used the product in >15 years but 10 drops to 1 gallon of water seems vaguely familiar. If you don't have Superthrive, give the seedlings a weak solution (1/10th strength) of a balanced fertilizer.

As long as it is not too cold, they should be fully recovered & making new roots within a week.

Thanks for all the replies its all new to me so any advice is welcome

typically you want to avoid clear cups as it'll encourage algae growth....not a big deal,but you might want cover them up with tape or something

I had to use clear cups once a couple years ago and they were fine. I was traveling and
that was all I could find. Just a dozen tomato starts but produced nice fruit once the
seedlings recovered from being hit by frost in their 1010 tray.

I prefer my tall 4" pots.

There now back under the grow lights and looking just fine, I have to ask why some here are against using clear Solo cups? Why would a clear cup be bad?

There is a thread about using clear cups somewhere here - it has been a while. They work fine. I use red ones because I like the color red.

[QUOTE=Jetstar;692987]There now back under the grow lights and looking just fine, I have to ask why some here are against using clear Solo cups? Why would a clear cup be bad?[/QUOTE]

[B][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=3]Algae, for one.

Roots also don't like to be exposed to light.

And some of the light passing through the clear plastic will heat up the root-zone... which also could be bad (depending on the ambient temperature).[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

Okay I can just slip a colored cup over the clear cup thanks for the heads up.