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To Thin or Not to Thin - That is the Question

Seedling thinning is causing great strife in my household lately.  It goes something like this:

Hubby: We need to thin the seedlings.

Me: I did!

Hubby:  Not enough!

Me: They'll be fine!

And thinning is stressing me out.  I decided to take a moment today and reflect on why.  I think the heart of the issue is that I've grown seedlings before, and most kinda just stop growing.

Now, I've never put quite so much effort into my seedlings before.  We have lights, seed soil, I need to run and get some kelp fertilizer (watered down mind you!).  I see the patches of carrots and it breaks my heart to thin them down to two or three per square.

Alas, it has to be done.  Here are some pictures of our recently groomed seedlings.

Before thinning:




After thinning:

 


I know I could/should remove more.  But I'm kinda refusing until they get bigger.  We've recently experienced some little guys falling over which could mean:

1. Too much water
2. Too much fertilizer (we've haven't used any yet)
3. Too little light (hello, they have their own florescent bulbs!)

So I'm hoping the recent thin, and backing off the water a bit well help everyone stay happy and healthy.



Comments

  1. Jessica McMullenMarch 18, 2013 at 4:56 PM

    From seedling experience. Thin more. Do it now. When the plants are bigger you can damage the ones you want to keep by pulling them. And thinning when bigger is more heartbreaking because you can SEE it as the plant, not just a little sprout.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Adrienne JonesMarch 21, 2013 at 3:05 PM

    I thinned more the day you said this. I'm slightly worried that despite the thinning, the carrots might be dampening-off.

    Everyone else looks great. The lettuce, kale, and spinach especially. Gonna have to get them outside soon.

    ReplyDelete

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