How to Transplant Vegetable Plants During Full Sun

Vegetable plants can face stress. Plant stress is caused by disease, pests, lack of water, and transplanting. Reducing transplant stress can mean the difference between a garden full of vegetables and a garden full of dead, dying or sulking plants and no vegetables. Ideally transplanting vegetable plants into the garden should take place on overcast days. It is possible, however, to safely transplant vegetable plants on sunny days if you do a little preparation first. Before planting work compost or well-rotted manure into your garden's soil. Keep the plants in a shady spot until you are ready to plant and hydrate them by soaking them in water. Spread organic mulch immediately after planting to keep the soil moist and cool.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Compost or well-rotted manure
• Shovel or rake
• Large plastic tub or container
• Water
• Hand trowel
• Mulch
• Shade cloth or floating row cover
• Floating row cover hoops

1. Work three to four inches of compost or well-rotted manure into the top two to three inches of soil in the planting beds.

2. Keep your vegetable plants in a shady spot until you are ready to work with them.

3. Place a large plastic tub or container outdoors in a shady spot.

4. Fill the container or tub with enough water to submerge the pots in which the vegetable plants are planted.

5. Place the vegetable plants in the container or tub of water. The plants' container should be completely submerged in water. Add more water if necessary.

6. Allow the vegetables to soak for one hour before removing from the water.

7. Immediately plant the vegetable plants in the garden.

8. Water your vegetable plants. Stop when water begins to pool on the soil's surface and it takes more than one minute for the soil to absorb the water.

9. Use two to three inches of organic mulch around your vegetable plants. The mulch keeps the soil moist and cool, allowing the plants to recover more quickly from the transplanting process.

10. Cover the vegetable plants with shade cloth or floating row covers if they start to wilt after planting, watering and mulching. You can drape the shade cloth or floating row cover directly onto the plant or you can use hoops to suspend the material over the plants. Remove the material early the next morning.

Tips & Warnings

• If your vegetable plants are still wilted the day after transplanting, replace the shade cloth or floating row cover and leave in place for several days. To prevent sunburn remove the material in the morning and replace in the afternoon. Do this for several days to acclimate the vegetable plants to full sunlight.
• Only plant healthy vegetable plants that have been properly hardened off in your garden.

References

• The garden primer; Barbara Damrosch; 1988
• Mississippi State University; starting vegetables indoors
• Step by Step Organic Vegetable Gardening; Shepherd Ogden; 1992

Resources

• Harris seeds
• Burpee

[billybadd]

on 11/10/2009 Good idea, well written,perfect for delicate vegtable plants.Like the use of organics...although I like to know why have the shade cloth on all night? If it's used to protect from the sun,Why not remove at sundown?