When you are growing your garden one of the easiest ways to get a jump on spring is to grow your own seedlings or purchase them from the store.
Usually you can pick up a pack of 6 vegetables in a plastic divider tray and bring them home for quick planting. Plants of this type are available in a wide variety from Tomatoes and Peppers to squash, water melon and lettuces.
But what is the best way to plant these starter plants?
Planting Starter Packs
When you get your plants home from the store you should examine the moisture in the pack.
Some garden centers or regular stores don’t take the best care of these plants and they may only get water a few times before they are sold.
If the soil in the starter pack is very dry then you risk that the roots of the plant will be exposed and possibly damaged during the transplanting process. If they are too wet the same can happen. What you are looking for is firm slightly moist soil that will hold its shape as you remove the plant from the starter pack.
If necessary water the plants and allow them to sit overnight before planting. Actually this is probably a good idea for everyone and every plant type.
How Deep do you plant the Starter Plants?
Most plants whether they are trees or vegetables should be planted at the same level as it was harvested.
Planting with exposed roots will probably kill the plant and planting too deep is not good for the plants stem.
There is one exception to this rule. Tomato plants enjoy being planted slightly deeper then they were harvested.
The stems on Tomato plants will grow root systems unlike almost every other plant.
Some people say that Pepper Plants are also able to grow roots from their stems if you plant them slightly deeper but try this at your own risk.