![]() *sigh* Sometimes when I get excited I get careless, but thank goodness for Katie who’s keeping me on track! She pointed out in the comments below (very nicely, I might add) that perhaps the dill and basil labels were switched in my original photograph □ And of course, she was right! I don’t have any experience with dill, but I know what basil looks like and I kept thinking to myself “I wonder when these leaves are going to broaden and thicken up a bit…” Well, turns out they aren’t going to. Have you ever grown plants from seeds and had to thin them before? Did you feel bad like I did? It was kind of a bummer to cut down seedlings that had been growing so well, but it will be worth it in the end. It will decompose and become like fertilizer for the surviving seedling.Ĭut the seedling at the base of the stem, right above the soil line You can grab the cut seedling and toss it, or it’s fine to just leave it in the pot. Instead, take a pair of kitchen scissors or garden shears and cut the seedling’s stem right at the soil level. Most people are tempted to pull the extra seedlings up out of the ground, like you would with a weed, but DON’T! The root systems of your seedlings are still very fragile and you could severely damage them by doing this. I thinned the basil and dill because they’ve been growing like gangbusters for about two weeks now, but I left the others alone because they are only about a week old and still fairly new. This past weekend is the three-week mark from when we planted our herbs. It’s really up to you to decide when to do it, but somewhere in there is recommended. But you also don’t want to wait until you can see visible signs that some in a pot or clump are struggling to grow. You don’t want to thin your seedlings as soon as they’ve germinated because they will still be very young and tender. Thinning gives them a chance to flourish! Ok, so when do I need to thin my seedlings? They may still grow if you don’t thin them, but they will probably be pretty scraggly. Time to thin these dill seedlings they are growing well but there are too many in each little podīy thinning your seedlings you give your plants the proper space and nutrients they need to grow larger and faster. “Thinning” just means removing the extra seedlings from each pot or clump so that only one is left. ![]() But if you have a green thumb and they all grow, then they will be competing with each other for water, soil nutrients, sunlight, and space to grow. Usually when you grow plants from seed you place two or three seeds in each hole in the ground in case a few don’t grow. What is thinning seedlings, and why do I have to do it? Here’s a few tips on how to thin seedlings. And finally they sprout! You’re thrilled.Īnd now you have to kill half of them so the rest have a better chance to survive. You plant a bunch of seeds, nurture them with care, water, love, and maybe a few encouraging stories (“The Little Engine That Could”, or “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”). This can definitely be one of the harder parts about starting plants from seeds. If you are growing plants from seeds, thinning them out is absolutely necessary. One thing I had to do this weekend was thin my seedlings.
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