If you are wondering how to transplant seeds from an aerogarden, then this post will be your guide. We’ll show you some things you’ll need to know before starting.
If you have been using an AeroGarden Seed Starting Kit, then you might know that it does a great job of getting plants germinating a lot faster than the old-fashioned, sowing in the dirt kind of way. Under the bright grow lights and the domes to contain moisture, those seedlings you sow will be healthy and strong. Usually within 1 to 3 weeks, they are ready to be transplanted.
But how do you do that, you might ask? Can’t we just leave them in the seed starting tray? Sadly, the seedlings will grow too big for your system. The good news is that, whether you are planning to grow those seedlings outside, in a pot, or in another hydroponic garden, the process is fairly straightforward.
Just as when you would normally harden off seedlings for outdoor living, moving seedlings from a hydroponic system to soil requires a transition period. We need to give the seedlings some time for their roots to adapt to the living conditions of soil.
If you pull a hydroponic plant out and examine the roots, you might notice that they look very different from roots grown in dirt. Roots grown in a clean, nutritionally dense environment like water only need to worry about absorbing water. The roots are thin, almost translucent, and often grow long.
Roots grown in soil, on the other hand, are much stockier. Since they aren’t suspended in a water solution, the roots have to branch out to ensure the plant grows structurally sound, and they also feel tough and stiff. I guess you could say that the outdoor plants have “calluses” on their roots!
Sadly, transplanting can be risky. When a plant switches from one growing medium to another, they can be stressed. The worst case is a mature plant could even die from the shock of switching to soil! This might explain how I once failed to grow Boston living lettuce in soil, but that’s a story for another day.
The good news is that seedlings are very adaptable. Just as nature intended, if a new plant is exposed to a different environment, it will grow to adapt to the new living conditions, whether that be in another water solution, a flower pot on your window sill, or a spot in the ground.
When is a good time to transplant?
The earlier, the better, but it can depend on your plants. Typically, the best time for any seedling to be transplanted is when it starts to develop its first set of true leaves. Usually around this time, the roots of the seedling should be sticking out of the grow sponge, but they should be just short enough that they can’t tangle with any other roots.
Option 1: Transplanting back into an AeroGarden
If you’re like me and you have two AeroGardens working side by side, you might have one saved for seed starting, and the other to grow your garden. Transplanting is easy, because all you have to do is to stick the seedling into a plastic growing cage, label it, and place it into an empty spot in your AeroGarden. Did you know you can prune roots? If a seedling happens to have very long roots, you can trim it down if you like, which can ensure that the roots don’t get too long before having to clean out the water bowl.
Option 2: Transplanting into a Container
If you’re growing a houseplant, or you’re planning on growing herbs in a pot, the easiest thing to do would be to transplant it right into the container you desire. As with any houseplants, make sure that the pot has good drainage, because the last thing you want is waterlogged roots and the risk of root rot!
The good news about the grow sponges is that they are made out of an organic material called sphagnum peat, so they will decompose naturally on their own. When it comes to potting a plant into a container, I like to use your standard potting soil, filling it about a third of the way before I position the grow sponge, and then fill up the rest of the container. I like to keep the top of the grow sponge level with the pot rim, or at least a little above the soil level. Things will settle a bit when you water it, so you can add more soil as needed.
Option 3: Transplanting Seedlings Outdoors
If you plan on bringing your green babies outdoors, there will be a little bit more work that you’ll need to do to get them properly settled.
As I mentioned earlier, your seedlings need time to adapt to soil, so you’ll need to transplant them into a pot before they actually go outdoors. Furthermore, indoor plants need to be hardened off, so once they are happy with growing in dirt, you can then gradually ease them into the outside world.
In other words, you may have to transplant them twice; first into a pot for soil hardening, and finally, into your garden.
Keep in mind that if the weather isn’t quite warm yet, or not past the point of last frost, you can still keep your seedlings growing indoors. I actually like using those compostable pots for this reason, because it makes things a lot easier when transplanting them outdoors.
Depending on the size of the plant, I typically like using 3” pots, but if the plant is going to be huge, you may want to consider a 4” pot. As with any transplanting, it is a good idea to use all purpose soil; it’s a nice soil that makes it easy for the seedling to adapt, and it provides enough nutrients to get it started down the road to maturity.
I like to fill the pot partway with soil, before positioning the grow sponge just slightly above the rim of the pot, and then filling it up. I like to pack the soil as I go, so that things stay just a little firm. It often settles during watering and the soil goes down quite a bit if you don’t pack it in.
Once you have all of your seedlings in pots, it’s time to gently water them. I like to keep the pots in a plastic tray while I water them, that way it allows for easy cleanup. If you are using compostable pots, these often absorb water, so if using a tray, you can leave some water in the tray and wait a while for everything to soak it up.
Now that we have seedlings in pots, you’ll want to keep them indoors for at least a week, to ensure the roots get used to soil. During this time, try to keep the soil relatively moist; after all, the seedlings are still used to growing in water. I like to use the bottom watering technique for keeping them moist, that way things aren’t too soggy.
I should mention that while your seedlings are getting used to their new growing conditions, they should be in a well lit area, or under grow lights. You can even use your AeroGarden lights!
Finally, once your seedlings are used to the soil, it will be time to harden them off outdoors, assuming the weather is right. Some plants are better than others when it comes to hardening off, so I would suggest checking into a growing guide for your given seedlings.
Anyways, that is about all I have for today. I hope this helps you out in your gardening endeavors.
Until next time, wherever you live in the world, enjoy life and happy homesteading!