AeroGarden 507140-0000 AD manual Planning Your Outdoor Garden, Thin Plants, Prepare Your Soil

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Tending Your Seedlings (Continued)

Thin Plants

We recommended earlier in this Guide that you plant multiple seeds in each Grow Sponge. Often times this results in more than one plant growing in a Grow Sponge. Herbs, lettuces, and plants that grow in bunches (such as chives) do not require thinning. However, with broad- stemmed varieties, such as fruiting plants, it is best to thin plants as described below.

•When plants are about 2” (5cm) tall, check each Grow Sponge for multiple plants. Using scissors, gently snip the smallest plants at the base of stem, leaving ONE healthy plant in each Grow Sponge.

•Thinning seedlings ensures that the remaining plant in each Grow Sponge will have room to grow, get enough nutrients.

!Be sure to cut, not pull, the extra seedlings to avoid damaging the roots of the strongest plant in each Grow Sponge.

Planning Your Outdoor Garden

A good time to plan and prepare for your outdoor garden is while seedlings are growing.

Prepare Your Soil

For seedlings to thrive, they’ll need to be trans- planted into soil that is amended with organic matter so it has good drainage, can retain water, is aerated and has an ample supply of nutrients.

Make sure soil is not too wet before you begin working it or transplanting seedlings outdoors. To check for moisture, pick up a small handful of soil and squeeze it into a ball. If soil clumps together, then soil is still too wet to work. Let it dry out some more before working it. If the ball of soil can be easily broken apart by pressing it between your thumb and index finger, then soil is ready to be worked.

Plant Size

Though seedlings are small – mature plants can be quite large. Consider how much space each mature plant requires and make sure you

have room in your garden. See seed packets for minimum space requirements between plants and rows. (Raised beds, intensive and container gardening methods allow for closer plant spacing.)

Garden Plans

It is helpful to know where you want to place each plant in your outdoor garden before you begin transplanting. Pre-planning makes transplanting go quickly, which means less stress on your young seedlings. Here are a few basic rules to follow when planning your outdoor garden:

•If possible, orient the long axis of your garden in an east-west direction, to maximize the amount of sun each plant receives.

•Refer to seed packets for recommended plant and row spacing, as well as light, water, and fertilizer requirements.

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Contents Garden Starter Tray Contents Introduction What’s Inside 66 Seedling Garden Starter Tray shownSample Gardens Planning Your Garden Seed SelectionAdditional Supplies There are a few additional items that you will needRate of Growth When to TransplantLast Frost Date Putting It All Together Creating a StaggeredYour Seed Planting Schedule Planting ScheduleTray Layout Seeding LogNumber of Seeds Recommended Number of Seeds per Grow Sponge and Dibble SizeSeed Depth Changing Dibble SizePlace Seeds in Grow Sponge Helpful Hints AeroGarden 6 and all 7-Pod models Garden Starter Tray SpaceSaver 6 model Garden Starter TraySetting Up Your AeroGarden Place Tray in AeroGardenAdd Nutrients Tending Your SeedlingsAdd Water Prepare Your Soil Planning Your Outdoor GardenThin Plants Plant SizeHardening Off When to PlantMoving Seedlings to Your Outdoor Garden Sample Hardening Off ScheduleDig Hole Transplant SeedlingsRemove Seedling from Tray Place Seedling in Hole and FillDaily Watering TroubleshootingCaring for Young Seedlings FrostCan I move my AeroGarden to another location? How do I take care of my garden when I go out of town?What do I do if one of my seedlings die? My seedlings don’t look healthy What can I do?Prepare for Your Next Garden Starter Tray Clean AeroGardenClean Tray before reusing Sanitize Seed Starter TrayPlanting Schedule Last Frost DatePlanting Schedule Models Blank Tray Layouts SpaceSaver 6 AeroGarden models Seeding Log Seeding Log AeroGrow International, Inc
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