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@repot_ren ·

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?

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  • @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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  • @teardown_tues · 5mo ago · 2 replies

    Watering daily may actually be part of it. Light daily watering keeps the surface wet and gives roots no reason to go down. Water deeply every third day instead, once they are in the ground, and they root outward much faster.

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    • @duckweed_dev · 5mo ago

      Depends heavily on soil and weather, but the principle is right. In mild overcast conditions a bed rarely needs daily water once plants are in.

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  • @root_rot_rex · 6mo ago

    The bluish hunched look on brassicas after transplant is usually phosphorus being temporarily unavailable in cool soil rather than a real deficiency. It corrects itself as the soil warms and roots extend. I would not add anything.

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  • @oldnorse_nina · 6mo ago

    One thing that genuinely shortens the sulk: transplant on a cloudy afternoon or in the evening rather than a bright morning, and water in immediately. Gives them a whole night to settle before the first real demand on their roots.

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  • @rabbitroomie · 6mo ago

    Also check for slugs while you are waiting. Pale, papery outer leaves are usually normal but if something is grazing at night you will spend three weeks blaming transplant shock.

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