Growing at the Speed of Life - A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden

7. Transplanting

Once I have a greenhouse or a sunny indoor window ledge, I can program my

seed-starting schedule backward from the approximate date that a seedling can

be put out in the raised bed. I say approximate because so much depends on lo­

cal conditions that hard and fast dates don’t always work. Take Swiss chard, for

example:

Plant in raised bed: May 20–30

Harden off (discussed in a bit): May 13–17

Early growth (about 6 weeks): April 15–20

Germinate seeds: early March indoors, in a greenhouse, in a heated cold

frame, or on a sunny windowsill

My good friends advised me to always wait for the first true leaves aft er the

cotyledons drop before attempting any transplant. “The what?” I questioned, as if

those “coties” (as I called them) were some kind of elfin brigade that shelter under

toadstools in a downpour and function like helpful bacteria.

I learned that these are the very first, purely altruistic leaves, which are used

as food by the emerging, growing plant. Th ey often turn yellow and fall off aft er

giving their lives for the true leaves that follow.

Having just enough space in their 2-inch-square plastic pots, the seedlings

begin their 4–12 weeks of growth. Some of the larger species may need a second

home in a 4-inch pot. If so, grab the

seedling by its leaf, never by the stalk

(a crushed stalk is often terminal; a

crushed leaf is expendable). Ease it

out of moist soil and very carefully

tease the roots away from a close

neighbor’s roots, and make a suitable

hole (about the size of a medium

cigar) for the roots and the soil cling­

32 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE