Move them to their final pots?

Kmeh · May 2021

I have tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies, aubergines etc which are all still in their seed trays or small pots. They range in size from 10 to 20 cm, more towards 10. Given how late in the season this is, could I transfer the all directly to their final pots?

Pete.8 · May 2021

It's usually not best to move a small plant into a big pot - there's too much wet compost for the little roots and thy'll be sitting in wet compost for a long time which is not good.
I pot mine into 3" pots then 2L pots then 5L pots - and I've just potted mine into 2L pots yesterday.
They'll go into 5L pots when there are enough roots

Fairygirl · May 2021

Out of those, I only grow tomatoes, and they really should have been in bigger pots at this stage. They'll be short of nutrients by now. It's been too cold for putting them out, and they may take a while to catch up, but if you get them potted on they should be ok, albeit flowering/fruiting a lot later than they normally would. I'm assuming you sowed very late?
Unless they're one of those basket varieties, they should be around 3 or 4 times that size by now, and in a pot with enough depth to accommodate the developing roots.
I'm guessing the others are in a similar position. Have you got them all undercover - house or greenhouse?

Kmeh · May 2021

I did feel like they were a bit slow! Particularly the aubergines. They are so tiny still - barely 10cm. I planted them late April from memory and they've either been on a sunny windowsill or in the unheated greenhouse, which is no different to what I did last year other than start them much earlier. Sounds like I need to make time to pot them up asap!

Out of curiosity - do you think the compost could have made a difference? I used black gold compost (which is a very rich looking compost from compost direct) mixed with vermiculite. My cosmos had barely any root system, just single strand generally. Everything else seems healthy enough, just on the small side.

Fairygirl · May 2021

I can't see that the compost would make a huge difference, and the vermiculite would aid drainage if that's a heftier compost. Late April is quite late for sowing seed though, even in a normal spring, so I think that's all that's happened.
Indoor ones should have grown fairly steadily, but a cold greenhouse probably wasn't warm enough, though Cosmos should have been ok depending on how mild an area you're in. It's been a colder spring in all areas this year though, so many people have found their plants have been slower.
Any plants that need warmer conditions will have struggled a bit this year unless they're in heated conditions. As long as they're healthy, they should catch up quite well once temps improve.

Kmeh · May 2021

Thank you Fairygirl!

Fairygirl · May 2021

I see @Pete.8 is saying the same - they should have been in a slightly bigger pot by now. Too soon for tiny plants to go in a great big container.

I do the same as he says - they're pricked out into 3 inch pots [I use coffee cups as my daughter buys me one each week!] then into something around 6 or 7 inch [which I think is about 2 litre], then into the final ones. The tiny roots can't cope otherwise

The coffee cups are excellent as they're deeper, so you get a good sturdy root system on them before potting on, and it takes them a bit longer to fill the pot. I use those for my sweet peas too.

Kitty52 · May 2021

Oh help I've just put my cucumbers into their big pots. Root system was quite good and they were getting quite tall in ones they were in but should I have gone to a 2 litre pot instead? Should I take them out and repot into smaller? I thought they would maybe be okay in the greenhouse now.

Move them to their final pots?

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