Thinning Started Plants- Especially Lettuce

[GreenGoddess]

Hey Y'all,

I have another question I am having problems finding a definitive answer to. I have started several plants including several lettuces. I started them in an Aerogarden seed tray. The directions said to start six seeds per hole and then thin the plants down to the strongest.

The problem is, ALL of them appear to have several plants growing. Am I really supposed to remove all but one little sprout in each station/plug? Isn't that quite a waste of seeds?

Please let me know and thanks again for all the advice!

 

[lesa]

Yeah, I know I hate thinning- it seems like such a waste...I guess if you are growing "head" type lettuce, you would have to thin, so they have room to develop. However, for non-heading lettuce, it has been my experience that close together doesn't matter. If any look really weak, you can pinch them off- otherwise, I would let them go. I am going to thin my carrots this year, by harvesting the tiny ones and cooking them up. This way, I won't feel bad about killing them. LOL

 

[Purple Strawberry]

I was going to start a topic about this. My question is, Why thin the seeds to a certain distance between each plant? Why not just plant them the correct distance to start with? My DH said what if every seed doesn't germinate, I replyed by saying in each hole you could plant 2 to 3 seeds.

Why is this and what do you do or think about it?

GreenGoddess I hope I am not taking over your post and that you will still get your answer. I direct planted my lettuce in the beds so can't help much.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know if you plan on growing them in your Aerogarden or transplant them outside. If the seeds are not thinned, the plants compete for nutrients, hence they do not grow as well. If you are growing them out in your Aerogarden, that may not be all that important as you can just add nutrients but it is obviously important in the ground. They will also compete for light, whether they are inside or out. They just physically do not have room to grow and develop as they should. The leaf lettuce will not develop those nice big leaves when they are crowded that they will if they have some room to spread out and greet the light. You'll harvest more lettuce if they are thinned out. Thinning also keeps the moisture down some so a few less slugs.

With certain crops, beets and lettuce being prime examples, when I sow them outside I sow them fairly thick with the plan to thin them. I take out the smaller plants and use those as my first harvest. The reason I sow them fairly thick is I don't know what germination rate I'll get. Last night was thin the beets night. Saute some garlic in olive oil, then steam the baby beet greens in a little red wine from one of those small bottles that had been in the fridge for a few days. Salt and pepper. Tasty!

With some crops like radishes, the seeds are bigger so I can sow them thinner. They mature so fast I am sowing small plots regularly so an occasional low germination rate does not bother me. I know some people use radish tops as greens but I dont. That texture just does not appeal to me.

Carrots are probably my biggest challenge. The seeds are tiny so it is harder for me to control how thick I sow them. Mixing with sand helps spread them more evenly but I still often get them too thick. I don't like to thin carrots when they are small as I have heard a disturbed carrot root will cause the carrot to be crooked.

My answer to Purple Strawberry is germination rate. I consider these seeds cheap compared to the work involved, so sowing them thicker to get better germination is worth it to me. Also, some of these crops require a certain time of year to do best. Replanting after a bad germination rate is not always a good option.

I will admit proper thinning is sometimes a test of my character. I don't like pulling a healthy plant I wanted to grow there to start with. Those beet greens last night makes it worth it though.

All my opinion with no real science but a little experience to back it up.

 

[bills]

It may be possible that you could transplant the thinnings, to larger pots, or the garden if you have one. Sometimes the roots get intermixed, and they can be hard to seperate, but try dipping them in a bowl of water to wash the dirt off, then they seem to seperate easier.

When seeding directly to the garden I try to plant the seeds the proper distance apart, right from the get go. If some don't sprout, I just re-seed in those blank spots. Now this is with the larger veggie seeds, lettuce is another matter, like carrots. The seeds are pretty darn small to seed one at a time..

If you let the lettuce grow a little bigger before thinning, you can have a "baby" green salad.

 

[Texan]

I have okra that I need to thin but I can not bring myself to do it because they are all growing so well. I know I need to and am gonna have to but I dont wanna

 

[wifezilla]

It may be possible that you could transplant the thinnings, to larger pots, or the garden if you have one. Sometimes the roots get intermixed, and they can be hard to seperate, but try dipping them in a bowl of water to wash the dirt off, then they seem to seperate easier.

I have great success doing this. I always try to transplant the thinnings. More often then not, they grow just fine!

 

[GreenGoddess]

Wow! Thanks for all of the great info! I think I will try a combination of all that. I am transplanting them outside. I might try transplanting some that I thin off the main pods into a different container to see if they grow. The rest I may just try thinning some and leaving some as is.

 

[patandchickens]

I try not to oversow too much, but usually do *somewhat* (on the theory that too many plants coming up is better than too few). I usually try to transplant the ones that are more-isolated from others and can thus be picked up with the point of a knife with no disturbance to others' root systems -- I'd guess that with lettuce probably 85% or more of them survive being transferred to a new pot.

But when there's a couple right in each others' laps, I virtually always pinch or snip off all but one. Just cuz I've had better luck with larger plants, larger leaves, and later bolting when they are grown singly rather than several in the same hole as it were.

When you thin, don't pull up the ones you're getting rid of, just chop them off with a thumbnail or fine scissors - you don't want to disturb the root systems of the ones you're leaving.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat, hoping it is maybe finally dry enough to plant somewhat-belated peas and beets this afternoon

 

[desertgirl]

It may be possible that you could transplant the thinnings, to larger pots, or the garden if you have one. Sometimes the roots get intermixed, and they can be hard to seperate, but try dipping them in a bowl of water to wash the dirt off, then they seem to seperate easier.

I have great success doing this. I always try to transplant the thinnings. More often then not, they grow just fine!

What a greta idea! I have some cantaloupe and watermelons...would they do ok in a (big) container?