11 May 2007
Potting on – a necessary evil
I’m taking it easy again today as I have a long working day tomorrow, heading up to York for a conference. I have been adding links to my blogroll, playing with photographs in my picture editor and pootling outside potting on my seedlings.
Potting on has to be my least favourite garden job, so it has been with a somewhat sulky and begrudging demeanour that my rainbow chard and sweetcorn seedlings have received this treatment today. The various beans I have sown will probably be fine in the pots that I sowed them in – although the heritage beans are proving very popular with the local slugs.
Why the dislike of potting on? It’s so boring. Clearing out the wormery is not nearly so bad – it’s disgusting, but not dull. Weeding? Well, OK, that can be pretty soul-destroying, but at least there’s a sense of achievement when it’s done. With potting on all you’ve done is move things from small pots to larger ones. The only thing that looks different is the pots are more crowded on their staging and the seedlings look tiddly and pathetic with more space around them.
Still, round here it’s absolutely vital – I daren’t plant anything out until it is very well established or the slugs will have a field day. So it’s their fault.
Filed under: Baby plants — Clare @ 11:32 am
I feel exactly the same about potting on. I don’t mind sowing the seeds but when it comes to putting them into another pot, I’ll find any excuse not to do it!
Sara from farmingfriends in Yorkshire
(13.05.07 @ 1:30 pm)
Maybe I should invent a special pot that expands as your seeds germinate and the seedlings grow. Something that automatically increases the amount of compost in itself and therefore cuts out teh need for potting on!
(13.05.07 @ 2:49 pm)
Hey! It’s taken me yonks to get around all the blogs after such a long time removed from them, but I think what you’re doing with turning your garden into raised beds is a great idea. My folks have just done the same, dug up their lawn and put in beds, and although I got roped into digging, it makes a lot of sense. You’ll be much happier, and getting rid of those snail attackers will be a lot easier! Besides, vegetable plants are much more interesting to look at than boring grass!
(14.05.07 @ 10:15 am)
Al – Glad you made it round to me in your big catch up – good to have you back! We’ll just have to wait and see how the garden turns out. I’m hoping to persuade my brother to help with all the digging. he’s young and strng so ideally suited to it. It might take a fair bit of beer bribery to get him to help out though!
(14.05.07 @ 11:32 am)
I wish i had a brother to dig for me… well i do but he’s in oz, so isn’t terribly helpful. it’s always nice to read your blog by the way. It looks so lovely too
(15.05.07 @ 10:16 am)
I set my first slug trap yesterday. Beer in a yoghurt pot. As for potting up.. I never quite seem to have enough compost – all year round!
(21.05.07 @ 1:01 pm)
Hi Matron – Welcome to P’soup. Good luck with your beer traps. Just don’t look too closely inside when you come to empty them – yeurch!
(21.05.07 @ 6:35 pm)
I also hate potting on – you fill the windowsils to capacity with little pots when you sow and then its panic stations because when you look at your hard work of repotting you think – where the hell are all these going to go ?
(23.05.07 @ 6:47 pm)
WGA – It’s all mucky hands and not much to show for it!
(23.05.07 @ 7:15 pm)