Oldtimers! Please speak to us newbies of thinning our seedlings

[NMDemDist2]

when do you thin? how big should we let the babies get? as soon as the true leaves show?

I have to thin out some carrots and maters and am loathe to do it at all, but know it needs to be done :cry:

[wildeyed]

1. I do it early and often.

Not that I'm an oldtimer or anything, but I have found it is better to do it early. If you wait too long, the roots get tangled up, then when you pull up the extras, they pull up your main plant, too.

You can trim the extras at the dirt line with a pair of manicure scissors if the seedlings are too big to pull up without dislodging their pot-mates.

I have begun to use far fewer seeds initially. If the seeds have been stored properly, most will sprout. I use fewer seeds which saves money, and I do less thinning, which saves time.

[Rowdyboy]

2. Its the hardest thing I've found about gardening....pulling up innocent seedlings just because

they grow too close together. It hurts and I hate to do it but it pays off big time.

I have a bed 4"X4" where I grow poppies in the spring. If I don't thin them severly I get stunted plants and little or no bloom and very few come back the next year. If I thin them hard I get plenty of GLORIOUS flowers that reseed plenty for the next year.

Thinning is the kindest thing you can do for the health of your plants.