View Single Post
Old August 2, 2017   #799
Father'sDaughter
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MA/NH Border
Posts: 4,917
Default

Given the root development, I think DE definitely works better when you do a single seed in a separate cell. I started mine in egg cartons with the fine DE this year, then moved them to small pots with the course DE after they had their first true leaves. I found the course DE so much easier to work with than the fine stuff, and it stays cleaner which makes reusing it easier as well.

While I did up-pot most with Wondersoil, I had a few extras that I was not intending to plant. They got left in their small pots of course DE, fed and watered regularly, for an extra four weeks. Then after I pulled the garlic at the end of June, I decided to plant them -- five dwarf project plants, one pepper, and two eggplants.

They had super dense root systems which I loosened up by gently shaking out the DE (easier to do with the course type), and they practically tripled in size within a week! They have all caught up to my earlier plant outs in both size and fruit set.

I'm seriously considering skipping the Wondersoil up-potting step for all of them next year.
Father'sDaughter is offline   Reply With Quote