Hi!
I'm sorry I have missed this thread and there were people waiting for me to comment.
I let the seedlings develop at least several sets of true leaves before trying to row them out. When I approach rowing out a pot, I find that I can pull out small portions of the encrusted surface of the potting mix and then begin teasing out the seedlings from it, sometimes breaking potting mix crust into sections and then placing that semp + crust right in the rows in the seedling bed. In that way, the seedlings are not totally bare-root when they go into their new home. I generally start with the seedlings that are most separated from their neighbors in a pot and that work my way into the more congested clumps. The best time to do this is when it is drizzling rain as the seedlings never miss a beat and start growing rapidly. The neighbors I'm sure think I'm crazy as I'm leaning over the bed getting soaked and doing what seems to be doing nothing as you can't see that ANYTHING has been rowed out from 5' away! I also water the seedlings even if it is raining. That also causes the neighbors to shae their head. The soil in which they are transplanted should be wet but not soupy/ muddy.
I give the seedlings some Quick Start fertilizer every two weeks for the first several months. That treatment seems to get the seedlings off and growing well. Many of the plants produce increase by the end of the season. I use some gravel between the rows of seedlings to suppress weed growth and prevent splashing of soil onto the seedlings.
If you are a bit scared about tackling the transplanting of seedlings, don't do the whole pot at once, especially if there are LOTS in that pot. In the special crosses I'm really careful as to how I row them out. I'll be extra careful of the 'Fuego' x 'Killer' group, for example.
Good luck all. It's so great to have people crossing semps again! I think Greg may be the next one to start. it is such fun to see how each cross develops. Yesterday I discovered a new 'Weirdo' type in one of my crosses. Hadn't seen one in many years!
Kevin
