Todd wrote:
On 06/14/2013 09:50 PM, Billy wrote:
In article , Todd
wrote:

On 06/14/2013 04:23 PM, Billy wrote:
In article , Todd
wrote:

Hi All,

I have a black thumb. So if anything actually grows, I am
tickled. It hurts my heart to prune anything. But ...

This years in my garden, I planted both zucchini and Japanese
cucumbers: three seeds to a hole. To my "astonishment" ALL
three seeds now have seedlings. Big ones too!

Question for those wiser and with a green thumb: do I prune
the seedlings back to the largest one? Do I leave them
alone? Any words of wisdom?

If I prune, how do I do that? Just pull them up? Cut them with
scissors close to the ground so as to not disturb the remaining
one's roots?

Many thanks,
-T

Probably best to just keep your biggest plant. Cut or pinch. Do not
disturb roots.

OR (if you have the room)

Dig the whole damn thing up, hose the dirt off the roots, gently
separate the roots, and replant.

"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments."
- Janet Kilburn Phillips


Hi Billy,

Thank you! I will just snip them. I have no more room
to transplant.

I feel like the oldest hatchling pushing his younger brother
out of the nest!

Just out of curiosity, when you transplant one, why do you
hose off the dirt?

-T

I only hose the dirt off the roots when i'm trying to separate
multiple plants. Hold the roots in the palm of your hand, and hold
the stalks with your thumb. Once most of the dirt is off, try to
teases the plants roots apart. Pull gently one one, and then
another, until they separate. "The best fertilizer is the gardener's
shadow."
- Anon



Thank you!

-T

Not my shadow!

Keep in mind that cucurbits often don't take to transplanting well so even
with all the care in the world they may not prosper. If you are setting out
to start them early use tubes and put in one seed per tube. If you are
concerned that you won't get 100% germination do a few extra tubes and
choose the best looking seedlings if you end up with too many. When you
plant out do not disturb the roots at all by sliding the root ball and soil
out of the tube and planting it in one piece.

D