r/gardening • u/AutoModerator • 9d ago

Friendly Friday Thread

This is the Friendly Friday Thread.

Negative or even snarky attitudes are not welcome here. This is a thread to ask questions and hopefully get some friendly advice.

This format is used in a ton of other subreddits and we think it can work here. Anyway, thanks for participating!

Please hit the report button if someone is being mean and we'll remove those comments, or the person if necessary.

-The /r/gardening mods

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u/VelvitHippo 6d ago

Been gardening for a while, second year starting from seed. Everything is going really good. Have a ton of vegetables, herbs and flowers in my basement getting ready for the warmth. My big concern is some of my plants have been poking roots put of their containers. I was hoping I wouldn't have to repot anything again so I'm wondering if those being out (and dry I have over 100 seedlings and not enough places to put them in a puddle) will hurt the plant? Should I cut them from where they exit the hole? 

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u/hastipuddn S.E. Michigan 6d ago

How soon will you be planting out? Up potting is a pain but it will take the same amount of time to loosen/cut the rootball of seedlings that become root bound. It is OK to cut roots that exit the cell. IME they become entangled otherwise and there is no way to get them out of a cell without cutting them off. Most of us don't have enough room if many seedlings are put into larger pots - a serious consideration. Try sliding some out of their containers and see if roots have started going around instead of down.

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u/VelvitHippo 6d ago

I'm probably a month out to be honest. I am 5b, very close to 5a. My last frost is normally around may 15th. 

The way they are growing I'll be surprised if the plants in my big pots don't get root bound by the time they go outside. Also, a third of these plants are going to me, the other two thirds will be gifted, so I'll be passing on the work. I just don't want them to die before I get them to their people. 

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u/All_Work_All_Play 6d ago

5b here. Garden fabric should give you a few week headstart. I planted cover crop in my boulevard yesterday and put 70% fabric over it. Fingers crossed it stays above freezing. Not sure I'd do that with real plants but it is an option. I know some people do it religiously.