Transplanting Vegetable Plants

It is often more convenient and more satisfactory to sow certain vegetables in one place and to; sow the plants up to a stage or size when they can be safely moved from their pots or seedbed to be transplanted into their final growing positions. Basic plants, for example, can be grown in small seed-beds if there are no vacant spaces available on the main vegetable plot. Indeed, more often than not, brassicas benefit from a move; the tap foots are broken and this encourages the development of more and more fibrous roots, giving the plants extra vigor and better anchorage. Do not, however, transplant brassicas until they measure about 5-6 inches. Water the seed-bed generously, especially in dry weather, before lifting the plants with a fork so as to ease them out with the maximum amount of root. For brassicas to settle down well after transplanting the ground should be fairly firm, not recently dug; and for planting, a dibber is better than a trowel.

The planting distances between the plants and between the rows vary according to the ultimate size of the plants. For brussels sprouts, sprouting broccoli, etc., 30 inches each way will not be too much; for cauliflowers it should be slightly less, and for small to medium-size cabbages 20 inches each way may be sufficient. A distance of 12 inches is often recommended for small calabrese spears intended for freezing, but they are better given more room. The distance can he gauged by making knots in the garden line; then it is just a dibber hole at each knot. If the ground is dry, place a little water in each dibber hole, and after this has soaked in, set the plants just a fraction deeper than previously in the seed-bed. Finally, use the heel of the gardener's boot to firm the soil carefully around the stem, and for good measure add some extra water in the heel mark.

Plants grown in peat pots should he planted without the removal of the pots, but in most cases the rims of the pots must be below ground level, otherwise the enclosed compost quickly dries out. Lettuce thinning can be transplanted up to midsummer. Since the lettuce will mature three or four weeks later, this will help to maintain continuity of supply. When transplanting pot-grown plants such as tomatoes, marrows, etc., outside, it is wise to add some well rotted compost to the planting hole; this will ensure that they are less likely to suffer a shortage of water until they are well established