Pricking out: & simply explained

The term transplanting may not be familiar to every hobby gardener. This is a step that is carried out more or less often, depending on the plant.

Pitting comes from the French "piquer" and means "to prick", which describes the activity carried out quite well. If a lot is sown, the plants are getting bigger and are slowly becoming too dense, then it's time to prick out. Learn more about the procedure below.

What is pricking?

In horticulture, the term pricking out means separating seedlings or young plants that are too close together. In the course of the process, weaker plants are usually also sorted out. This term is also used for food, but has a different meaning.
The purpose of separating the small plants is to give them enough space to grow, since the seedlings need water, light and nutrients from a certain size compete. When pricking out, they are carefully removed from the substrate with the appropriate tool and put back into individual pots at a greater distance or straight away. For larger nurseries, this step is usually too time-consuming, which is why they avoid pricking out with appropriate seeds and seeding techniques. However, pricking out is quite common among hobby gardeners and in smaller, less automated nurseries.

When should plants be transplanted?

The optimal time for pricking out is when the plants have passed the cotyledon stage and the first real pair of leaves are already showing. Then the seedlings will be big enough to withstand being singulated.

Pricking out plants: Instructions

Pricking out requires some practice and sensitivity, as the seedlings are still very sensitive and can break quickly. You also need a pricking stick, but it also works well through household items such as asmall spoon can be replaced. Here we explain what you should pay attention to and how best to proceed step by step:

1. The substrate can be filled into the pots that will be needed later and pressed down lightly in advance so that the seedlings can then get back into contact with the soil as quickly as possible. The substrate with the plants and that in the new pot should be thoroughly soaked before pricking out so that the seedling can detach more easily and make contact again.
2. For the first step in pricking out, take your professional or improvised pricking stick and poke into the substrate next to a seedling. Now the plant is carefully lifted out of the substrate below the roots. At the same time, you can hold them as deeply as possible, close to the root neck, but you should not exert pressure or pull on them too much. Should the hypocotyl accidentally tear off, regrowth is no longer possible.

3. When the young plant has been removed from the substrate, a hole can be made in the soil of the new pot with the pricking stick. The bare-root seedling is then placed in this hole. If the root system or the plant as a whole is quite long, you can carefully push it in with the pricking stick. It is beneficial for the growth of the young plant if the radicle is straight in the hole. Also, the root neck should be stuck in the ground.
4. Then the soil around the seedling is carefully pressed with the fingers to close the hole.
5. Watering is an important step for good rooting of the freshly transplanted plants, as this restores contact between the substrate and the roots. The pots are watered either from below or from above. If the substrate was thoroughly watered beforehand, this is no longer necessary afterwards.
6. At best, the pots are labeled or provided with labels to identify the type and variety. Because in the seedling or young plant stage, some plants can often not be distinguished so well. To reduce the seedling's water stress, a hood can be temporarily placed over the plants, which increases the humidity and protects the fine roots that have just been injured.

Tip: Plants such as tomatoes can be used up to the cotyledons when pricking out, as they have the ability to grow new roots on their stems,so-called adventitious roots. However, this phenomenon is only to be expected with some plants, so you should research this beforehand.

The right tool for pricking out

The tool of the same name, namely the pricking stick, is usually used for pricking. This stick is made of plastic, wood or metal, is about 18 centimeters long and tapers to a point. You can also replace the pricking stick with a thicker stick, a wooden popsicle stick or spatula, or a small spoon.

What kind of soil is used after transplanting?

Since the fine roots of the plantlets are still very sensitive, a low-nutrient seed or propagation soil is usually used after pricking out. This also ensures that the plants become strong and robust as they form powerful roots in their search for nutrients. As a result, the plant can also take better care of itself later, for example in dry periods, because the roots reach deeper into the earth for the water supplies. An example of such a substrate for pricking out is our Plantura organic herb and seed soil. It has a loose and airy structure due to perlite and is low in nutrients, which stimulates the root growth of the young plants.
Heavy feeders, such as tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and peppers ( Capsicum), are plants that have higher nutrient requirements than others. With them it makes sense to mix the potting soil with a nutrient-rich soil in order not to risk undersupply of the young plants. Of course, there are also plants with more specific demands on their soil. For example, succulents need a very mineral substrate.

Which pots are suitable?

The pot size that should ultimately be used for pricking out depends on various factors. These include, among other things, the growth rate, the space required by the plant and the time that your young plant still has to spend in the pot. It also depends on the number of young plants. If a lot of seedlings are pricked out, it is worth using pricking plates. However, if the number of plants is manageable, any pot size can actually be chosen. Usually 9 pots are used. If necessary, several seedlings can be transplanted into one pot, as long as there is enough space for each one.

Pricking out is a method that is often used, especially when growing tomatoes. You can find out everything you need to know about pricking out and planting tomatoes in our article.