Terry Coombs wrote:
T wrote:
Hi All,

I planted zuke seeds in these cute little 3" peat moss
cups. Three per cup. Not all the cups have sprouted
(I know, PATIENCE!).

When I go to plant them in my garden, can I separate
the multiple sprouts from the same cups, or should
I just prune out the two small ones?

Many thanks,
-T

I like to leave the 2 strongest in each hill . You think zukes take
patience ? Try sprouting Anaheim peppers . My record is zero sprouts
for two years effort . Grrr . Which reminds me I need to get the okra
seedlings in the ground .

Unless your seed is old it is common to get very high germination rates for
curcubits so I wouldn't be putting more than one seed per pot anyway. If
you do, chop the weakest and don't disturb the roots of the best, curcubits
resent this and it will tend to set them back. This is the reason that the
traditional planting advice is to sow directly.

My system is to plant them in tubes, the square-section plastic sort that
you buy tubestock in that are about 15cm (6") deep and 5cm (2") across.
These encourage the roots to go down not around and you can get the whole
plug out in one chunk at transplant time so there is no transplant shock.
These are much more effective than shallow jiffy pots. If you want (say) 3
plants you can sow 5 or 6 and plant out only the best. This system costs
almost nothing and invariably produces strong seedlings that take off in the
ground quickly.

--
David

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