Question
Thyme Seedlings
Good Morning!
I've just started planting creeping thyme seeds in starter trays, and they're all doing well. It was hard to control the number of tiny seeds distributed, until I discovered that a salt shaker does a very nice job of evenly distributing them.
I've attached photos of our "plant nursery," which is in our storage room until we can get a real greenhouse. Any suggestions or recommendations you can make will be greatly appreciated!
My questions are: What's the next step? Do we separate the plants, or plug the entire clump from the tray into the ground? If you recommend separating each seedling, is there a step-by-step instruction, or a video that will help?
Thank you!
Diane
AnswerYou definitely want to separate them. Clumping them together will cause them to compete for water and nutrients, and will stunt their growth. Personally, I would thin them to one seedling per cell, but if you're intent on saving all of them, you will have to transplant them into another tray.
You just need to wait until they develop their second set of leaves and then carefully remove the seedlings from their trays. Gently shake the soil from the roots. Fill another tray with separate cells. With an unsharpened pencil, poke a hole in the middle of the soil in each cell. You then place the seedling in the hole keeping the roots as straight as possible. Water each cell thoroughly. You can then plant the seedlings in the garden in early fall.
I hope this answered your question. Please write again if I can ever provide assistance.
Regards,
Mike
