Transplanting Your Seedlings

If you started vegetable plants indoors from seeds, here is advice on transplanting your seedlings.

• Check our Best Planting Dates for Transplants by Region charts.
• Be sure the plants harden off; that is, gradually get used to unsheltered life outdoors.
• During their last week indoors, withhold fertilizer and water less often.
• 7 to 10 days before transplanting, set the seedlings outdoors in dappled shade that is protected from winds for a few hours each day, gradually increasing their exposure to full sun and windy conditions.
• Keep the soil moist at all times during the hardening-off period. Dry air and spring breezes can result in rapid transpiration.
• If possible, transplant on overcast days or in the early morning.
• Set transplants into loose, well-aerated soil that will capture and retain moisture, drain well, and allow easy penetration by seedling roots. See when soil is ready for planting.
• Soak the soil around new seedlings immediately after transplanting.
• Spread mulch to reduce soil-moisture loss.
• To ensure that phosphorus—which promotes strong root development—is available in the root zone of new transplants, mix two tablespoons of a 15-30-15 starter fertilizer into a gallon of water (one tablespoon for vining crops such as melons and cucumbers), and give each seedling a cup of the solution after transplanting.
• Anything that raises soil temperature will help plants adjust to the shock of cold ground. Try raised planting beds and plastic mulch to boost soil temperature.