Is it normal for transplants to sulk for two weeks after going in the bed Planning
Put out a tray of lettuce, chard and kale seedlings ten days ago, all hardened off over a week of increasing outdoor time. They have not died and they have not grown. A few outer leaves went pale and papery. The kale looks slightly bluish and hunched. Bed was prepared with compost, watered daily since planting, weather has been mild and overcast. Every guide implies they should be away and growing by now. Should I be worried?
@metronome_mel · 5mo ago · 3 replies
Ten days to three weeks of apparent nothing is the normal transplant response and it has a boring cause: the root ball was a dense little cylinder of seed compost and the roots have to grow out of it into a completely different soil texture before the plant will spend anything on leaves. Until that bridge is built, it lives on what is in the pot. The pale outer leaves are the plant recycling nutrients out of old tissue to fund the new roots. Keep watering, do not feed heavily, and around day 14 to 20 you will see a new leaf appear in the centre and then it goes fast.
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@repot_ren · 6mo ago
Day 17 and there is new growth in the centre of every one of them. The chard has visibly doubled since Tuesday.
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@batch_bea · 5mo ago
This is why I loosen the bottom third of the root ball when planting now. It looks brutal but it cuts the sulk in half in my beds.
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