Expediting Transplants: Plants Leaving the Nest

A little while ago, we had a question from a hydroponics grower that left us a little bit stumped. This hydroponics gardener reported that although everything seemed to be in order, the plants simply weren’t developing roots like they were supposed to. All of the environmental factors seemed right, and there weren’t any of the usual problems with irrigation, temperature or other similar factors.

 What we eventually found is that this individual simply failed to transplant their crop in a sensible period of time. Here are some thoughts on how to correctly bring plants from germination into a full scale hydroponics environment.

Eying Up Plants

Many growers have heard that you should leave plants in their original seedling units until you start to see significant root growth. While this is a common rule of thumb, there are also some exceptions. For example, some plants can develop roots slower than others, and some plants will not show the kind of progress that you expect before they need to be given a wider berth. That means that in some cases, waiting for those capable hydroponic roots is waiting too long.

Timeline Guidelines for Transplants

One basic guideline for most hydroponics plants is that a couple of weeks should be a sufficient time for letting plants develops within a seedling environment. After this point, it makes sense to take a gamble and move plants to the next phase. Most plants that are kept without transplant for a month or more will suffer, and even though they may not show the right kinds of growth right away, effectively transplanting these plants according to their technical maturity can have a positive effect.

For more, take a look at what your hydroponic retailer provides for fine-tuning every aspect of your hydroponic gardening system.