On 06/09/2015 04:42 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
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.


Thank you!