Getting there!
In our last fire escape garden episode, my arugula, Swiss chard, bell pepper, basil and parsley seedlings were thriving in their egg carton seed trays, basking in the glow of their full-spectrum T5 grow light on top of the fridge. And now, the next step in Metro Cheapo’s organic container gardening series:
Step 4: Transplanting seedlings (without expensive home and garden products)
Once all the vegetables reached about two inches in height or had sprouted their second set of true leaves, I began transplanting them into intermediary pots, a.k.a. recycled butter tubs and yogurt cups. Perfect materials for organic container gardening. Yes, I could buy fancy designer pots or biodegradable peat containers at a garden supply store, but my goal with this fire escape garden is robust veggies combined with thrift. So no fancy home and garden products for me (although I can’t resist reading the catalogs).
First, I poked holes in the bottom of a plastic container with an awl, then filled it with some of the Miracle-Gro Moisture-Control potting mix I carted home from Home Depot, leaving a small well in the center for the seedling. I carefully extracted the first seedling from its egg carton cup, having wetted the seed-starting mix slightly to make it less crumbly and easier to lift in one piece. (Almost all of the seedlings had grown enough roots to be visible in a loose ball once I lifted it, and in the case of the cardboard egg cartons, the Swiss chard roots were busily burrowing through the damp paper.) Next, I gently pressed each seedling into the new container and shored it up with damp potting mix around the plant’s crown.
Seedlings on my sunny windowsill, with the fire escape in the background, just waiting for a fire escape garden.
Though it’s a simple process, transplanting seedlings into their permanent home gardens can be nerve-wracking. The tiny plants often experience “transplant shock” as they’re pulled from the only homes they’ve ever known (even if they’re getting cramped) and set down in a much roomier container with a new mix of potting soil. This is true with all transplantation, not just in organic container gardening. I noticed some of the seedlings drooping after transplanting to the fire escape garden, but they soon perked up. Try to make this process as stress-free as possible by keeping the other factors the plants are used to — lighting, room temperature, regular watering — the same. Or, give the seedlings a shot of all-purpose fertilizer from a garden supply store as you root them in the new pots.
The only problem I encountered during the transplanting process was the lack of space in my apartment for the larger pots. Basically every windowsill and shelf was overrun with happy veggies. Every available surface in the apartment was now devoted to organic container gardening!
After the plants had gotten used to their new digs, though, I noticed the peppers starting to flop over as if the robust, healthy leaves were too heavy for the stems. I watered religiously and set them in the sunniest windowsill, but they ended up growing vertically after an inch or so of horizontal growth. I just accepted their specialness and moved on, since they seemed otherwise in perfect health (but if anyone has any advice, let me know!).
Swiss chard seedlings in the Smart Balance tub and Friendship sour cream container, flanked by peppers in coffee cans -- perfect materials for organic container gardening.
An elegant portrait of organic container gardening -- arugula.
Next step, hardening off: a two-week process to get the plants ready for living outdoors permanently in my fire escape garden. So much for organic container gardening indoors. Bring on the warm weather!
More from Metro Cheapo’s Fire Escape Garden Guide
Step 1: Choosing Your Plants
Step 2: Setting Up the Nursery
Step 3: Taking Care of Seedlings
Step 4: Transplanting Seedlings
Step 5: Hardening Off
Step 6: Maintenance (coming soon)
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