How to Thin Vegetable Seedlings

One of the hardest things for a gardener to do is willfully kill a plant-but sometimes it is completely necessary. When you sow vegetable seeds, especially small ones like basil, carrots and salad greens, it is nearly impossible to space the seeds at the exact distance recommended on the seed packet-so you often end up with rows of seedlings growing very close together. This isn't a problem at first, but as the seedlings mature, they will be in fierce competition for water, nutrients and space. Selectively removing-or thinning-a few of the seedlings gives them room to grow and prevents stunted, malformed crops and disease. Here's the best way to thin.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors

Instructions

1. When seeds germinate they send up two small leaves called cotyledons, which are typically small and round or thin and strap-like and bear no resemblance to the mature plant's leaves. Next, the seedling develops what are called "true leaves." These leaves are simply baby versions of the plant's mature leaves. Wait to thin until the seedlings have one set of true leaves and are just beginning to put out their second set.

2. Hand-pulling the seedlings that you'd like to thin out can disturb the roots of the seedlings that you'd like to keep. So, instead of pulling, simply use scissors to snip off the seedlings you don't want at the soil line. I like to use needle nose kitchen scissors, because they are easier to maneuver in small spaces. Exact thinning distances vary by crop, so it's best to follow the thinning recommendations on the back of the seed packet.

3. Many, many thinnings are edible and tasty, so don't throw them in the compost bin! Try adding thinnings of radishes, beets, spinach, Swiss chard, arugula and onions to your salad bowl. Thinning from herbs, especially basil, dill, fennel, parsley and cilantro are delicious too!

Tips & Warnings

• I often thin my crops to about 2 inches apart when the seedlings have one or two sets of true leaves, and then to the final distance recommended on the seed packet a couple of weeks later. This keeps the row looking lush and my salad bowl full of thinnings.

Resources

• DigginFood