At the North, where the growing season is short, it is necessary to
transplant several of the garden crops in order to secure strong
plants that will mature within the limits of the growing season. In
the Southern States the season is longer, and transplanting, while
desirable, may not be necessary, as many crops that must be started
indoors at the North can be planted in the garden where they are to
remain. Transplanting should be done as soon as the seedlings are large
enough to handle, and again when the plants begin to crowd one another.
Aside from producing more uniform and hardy plants, the transplanting
process has several other very marked influences. Certain crops which
are grown for their straight roots are often injured by having
their roots bent or broken in transplanting. On the other hand, such
plants as celery, which at first have a straight root and are grown
for their tops, are greatly benefited by transplanting. In all cases
transplanting has a tendency to increase the number of small roots, and
these are the main dependence of the plant at the time it is set in the
open ground.
A large number of garden crops, including melons, cucumbers, and beans,
do not transplant readily from the seed bed to the open ground, and
some special means for handling the plants must be employed where extra
early planting is desired. A common practice among gardeners is to fill
pint or quart berry boxes with good soil and plant a single hill in
each box.
Another method is to cut sods into pieces about 2 inches thick and 6
inches square and place them, root side upward, on the greenhouse bench
or in the hotbed, the hills being planted in the loamy soil held in
place by the roots of the grass. When the weather becomes sufficiently
warm, and it is desired to set the plants in the garden, the berry
boxes or pieces of sod are placed on a flat tray and carried to the
place where the planting is to be done. Holes of sufficient size and
depth are dug and the boxes or sods are simply buried at the points
where it is desired to have the hills of plants. The boxes should be
placed a little below the surface and fine earth worked in around the
plants. If it is thought desirable, the bottoms of the boxes may be cut
away when set in the garden.