Transplanting from coco - help! What a mess!

[giggletwig]

I just transplanted a little seedling to a larger cup (coco to coco) and mercy Matilda what a mess! The coco falls apart if it's dry, if its wet... it just plain falls apart. I hope my little seedling's roots are okay. Here I am trying not to touch the actual plant at all and - poof - the dirt dissolves. Is there a better way to do this, oh honorable master growers?

giggletwig Reviewed by giggletwig on 05-05-2013. Transplanting from coco - help! What a mess! I just transplanted a little seedling to a larger cup (coco to coco) and mercy Matilda what a mess! The coco falls apart if it's dry, if its wet... it just plain falls apart. I hope my little seedling's roots are okay. Here I am trying not to touch the actual plant at all and - poof - the dirt dissolves. Is there a better way to do this, oh honorable master growers? Rating: 5

[Weezard]

Yes, there is.

The problem here is impatience
If you wait until the roots fill the pot, and let it get dry, the coco lifts out like a huge cork.
Until then, well, you see what happens.

For a low trauma transplant.

I fill the new pot up to the proper level with moist coco.
Then pop the debutante out of her girdle and set her, gently on the surface.
Fill in around her and you are done.

They notice right away, but there's no sulking or moping.
They just perk up and take off.

Aloha,
Weeze

[giggletwig]

Thank you, Weezard. I had a good reason to move the little gal. Had to put her in the same size pot as my other babies so the light could be the correct height above them all. There was a considerable difference in size. I'm glad the roots will hold the whole mass once the plants are big enough. At least I got them all to come up this time! Yay, making progress!

[Weezard]

Ah, I see.

Lesson learned then.
Pain keeps good notes.

I even my gals out by sitting the short ones on wooden blocks to bring the tops level.
And I keep 3 tiers of shelf in the veg room to accommodate all sizes and growth speeds.
As long as da cat get's skinned, it's all good, yah?

Hawaiian engineering: "If no fit, put spit"

Aloha,
Weeze