Blossoms on plant stars not yet in the ground

[llnmaw]

Is this okay? My zukes and cukes have large blossoms and will not get planted in the garden for another week, maybe two. Our safe plant day is usually Mother's Day or when the snow cap is gone from the mountain...I was planning to hold out for the snow cap melt...

Should I pinch these blossoms off or let them go? Or does it really even matter? They are in little peat pots, being hardened off.

[JamieCatheryn]

If it will be a while more I wonder if you might move them to larger pots since they are getting more mature now. They sell bigger plants with blossoms already in larger pots and charge an arm and a leg for them, I'm sure they'll do fine.

[lunarlady]

You should pinch them off. Otherwise they will be working at flowering and setting fruit when you want them to work at root expansion and growing larger. Flowering when too small is a sign of the plants being root bound, and the plant is trying to reproduce before it runs out of food and dies. So fertilize your starts, pinch of the flowers, and plant next week like you planned.

[llnmaw]

Originally Posted by lunarlady

You should pinch them off. Otherwise they will be working at flowering and setting fruit when you want them to work at root expansion and growing larger. Flowering when too small is a sign of the plants being root bound, and the plant is trying to reproduce before it runs out of food and dies. So fertilize your starts, pinch of the flowers, and plant next week like you planned.

This seems to makes sense...I'll pinch them off and keep on as planned!

In your opinion (or anyone else who has one) if I hold off on planting for 2 more weeks, possibly 3, would it to be my advantage to re-pot since my plants are getting root bound? Or is two-three weeks not worth the room the plants will gain for such a short time?

This is the first time I've started my whole garden from seed...it's exciting and challenging at the same time. I don't want to screw it up and at the end of it all go and pay $$ for our garden plants!

Thanks.

~L.

[lunarlady]

If you repot them after you pinch them, they will start growing new roots. Otherwise, they will stay pretty much like they are right now (about the same size, etc.). So it is up to you. If you have a short growing season, you might want to repot them since the bigger they are are when you put them in the ground, the sooner they will fruit. But if you don't they will be fine (they won't die) as long as you water and fertilize them. If you wait a long time to plant them, they might never end up quite as large as if you had repotted them, but depending on the size of your family and how much you hope to harvest, this isn't always a bad thing.

[llnmaw]

Thanks lunarlady! We do have a pretty short growing season and I have high hopes (and expectations!!) for my garden this year so I think I'll re-pot those that I might hold off on planting. I had not really even paid attention but it does seem as though everything has quit growing and is just existing. I guess they have outgrown their pots. (if only my kids feet would do the same in too small of a shoe! )

I'll do it different next year.

~L.

[lunarlady]

Check the bottoms. Anybody with roots poking out the drainage holes needs a new pot, while those who's roots are still contained can wait a bit longer. I know what you mean about shoes.

[lotus.blossom]

Good info!! I had just posted on another thread about how my pumpkins are flowering. I will pinch them for sure!! I have them in large yogurt containers and don't have anything else to replant them in, but I think I will plant them soon. Our safe date is usually memorial day but......I might risk it early.

I guess it doesn't pay to start your seeds too early!