the bed. Some compaction will have occurred by the
time the seed is a “child” a month later and, in some
cases, so much so after 2 months, when it is likely to be
an “adolescent,” that its “adulthood” may be seriously
a<ected. If, instead, you transplant the 1-month-old
“child” into the growing bed, a strong adult root system
can develop during the next 2 months, and a good adult
life is likely. In fact, a study at the University of
California at Berkeley in the 1950s indicated that a 2%
to 4% increase in root health can increase yields 2 to 4
times.^2
Spotting
Some newly transplanted seedlings may die for various
reasons or be eaten by animals or insects. Therefore, we
usually save the surplus seedlings left in the ats after
transplanting. We use these seedlings during the next 10
days to 9ll in the holes or “spots” in the mini-climate.
This process has been named “spotting.”
Planting by the Phases of the Moon
One of the most controversial aspects of the GROW
BIOINTENSIVE method is Alan Chadwick’s method of
planting seeds and transplanting seedlings according to
the phases of the moon. Short-germinating and extra-
long-germinating seeds (which take approximately 1