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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Transplanting tips: TIME OF DAY MATTERS!

Yesterday during a visit to take some photos Arlene pointed out to me that some of our amaranth seedlings weren't doing so well. (See photo below.)

The amaranth was originally planted in one bed, but needed to move to another. Some Arlene transplanted mid-day when it was very sunny day and warm out. Those seedlings, as you can see from the photo above, are distressed and wilted. On the other hand, the seedlings which she transplanted on a cool and cloudy day are thriving. (See photo below.)

When I asked her why this was she explained that in her experience strong sun and wind can be very hard on new transplants, and, despite her careful and plentiful watering, they could not recover from the stress. However, those amaranth plants that she had re-planted during a cooler, cloudier day were looking much healthier.


I tried to find some information online and there wasn’t much about this the best times of day to perform your garden transplants, though there were plenty of resources on how to reduce transplant shock in general.

For an article courtesy of the University of California division of Agriculture and Natural Resources titled, 'Using Transplants in Vegetable Production,' click here.

What do you think? Post a comment to let us know about your preferred planting weather!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

What if you were to place a plastic bag over the transplants to keep up the humidity until it adjusts? I normally do this to avoid complications, and it allows me to transplant at any point during the day.

UC Davis Good Life Garden said...

Really good point and something that we should have mentioned! If the timing and the weather don't allow you to transplant late in the day, shelter your transplants from the sun and wind with a plastic bag like the previous comment suggests! You can also use boxes, baskets, flower pots or milk containers for protection. Mulching around the new transplant will also help keep the soil from getting too dry and regulate the temperature.

Thanks for that great comment pinknezumi!