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Ontario, Canada.

Caution: Don't let your plants grow to long indoors in small pots. Check out my photo gallery for a couple of problems I discovered in early Oct. I started my seeds in small peat pots in early May and transplanted them directly into the garden on the 24th of May. I did not remove the pots however and the roots continued to turn inside for awhile. This I believe may have been the largest single cause of my poor growth record this year. Next spring I will be using large containers of fried chicken buckets,
turned upside down with the bottom removed and the lids inserted as a bottom to start my seeds. When ready to set out the bucket can be turned over, the lid is removed and the plant can be slid out the large tappered end with undisturbed roots. The buckets can hold approx. 1 to 2 gallons of soil.

12/24/2003 9:37:50 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Same here Kahuna. I found the same thing this year.

Next year I'm using heavy builders paper. You wrap a 5 gallon bucket which become the form. Tape it with Duct tape. Set it on a thin piece of masonite with a few cleats as "keepers". Yank out the bucket & fill with medium & plant on a heated mat.

When the starts are ready, slide the paper pot into the planting hole. Then pull the pre-loosened tape off with the paper.

NO MORE ice cream buckets here. Too small. 7 days isn't worth the effort as far as I'm concerned.

The other option is to just dig a hole & fill it with sterile seed starting medium right in the patch under a cloche.

12/24/2003 11:25:05 AM

Montoursville, PA

What you are herein saying is somewhat true. The bottom line is that the root development within what ever size pot you use "must" roughly fill and hold the ball of soil together as you sit it into the nursery hole. If it falls apart and damages hair roots the pot was to large. If the roots hit the side and turn back into the ball the pot was to small. There is the possiblilty that the transplant was delayed more than to the point of first true leaf showing.
First true leaf usually shows between eight and ten days from seed planting.

Secondly when you go to place it into the nursery can you handle the ball comfortably with out shaking up the root ball and damaging hair roots.

The first five or six inches of a pumpkin plant growing both up and down will be about equal no matter what size pot the seed was started in. The next and much more important growth will be determined by, temperature, moisture, fertilization and wind protection in the actual nursery. How and in what condition the nursery planting is achieved is the more important than any other factor short of putting the seed into the original pot.

A half gallon container will nicely hold a planting for eight to twelve days. That is perfect timing for minimal time in the planting pot. One need not experiment to much with size above or below that which will do the job just about perfectly.

12/24/2003 11:54:27 AM

Indiana

I dont think it is so much getting a week head start as it is getting to control the enviroment for the first week when the plant is at its weakest stage.
Steve

12/24/2003 2:32:15 PM