Clearly from the pictures, you can see that sterile soil is not necessary...and probably is conducive the superior growth later on. Malcolm always taught me to listen to nature...and then do what she says.
So back to transplanting... My 4 week old plants are around 4 inches tall and the roots fill the cells. If you are using self-watering propogation kits like me, you do not want to leave the plants much longer as the wicking mat will be filled with roots.
Transplant Mix. I make my own and, of course it is full of organic and natural materials. I spare not expense because it is much easier to splurge on my 4 in. pot than in the garden. so here's my recipe I used this time:
- 3 parts potting soil
- 3 parts cotton burr compost
- 3 parts horse manure
- 1 part earthworm castings
- 1 part Texas greensand
- (sprinkling of some mined minerals - azomite, zeolite, and desert peat)
This time, I also spiked the mix with Rabbit Hill's Buds N Blooms 6-8-4. Usually, I use Gardenville's Rocket Fuel but the BnB was handier. In both cases, they contain a high amount of soft rock phosphate that Malcolm Beck reported adding an additional 20% of fruit production. It must be place near the roots as it gets bound up in the soil pretty fast and the plants take up the majority of their needed amount in the first two weeks.
I keep them in the green house until they are ready to sell or I'm ready to transplant. They will need a minimum of 2 additional weeks before transplanting but more is probably better. If you plan to keep them in the green house until April, a second transplant will be needed.
Heirloom Tomatoes Next. My heirloom tomato varieties will be ready next week (plant date was February 7th). I follow the same general practices as this week but I add a few tricks which I learned from the best tomato growing book I know, Giant Tomatoes, giant yields - giant weights. The author interviews the world record holders to uncover their secrets for success.
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