I always say, never believe everything you hear or read when it comes to gardening. When in doubt, experiment. Heck, experiment anyways, it’s fun, and you learn new/better methods of what does and doesn’t work. Another myth that has been spread through the garden community, is the need to direct sow some types of seeds. Some that are said not to transplant, or transplant well (hence the need to direct sow) are any kind of beans, melons, sunflowers, etc. It is listed that disturbing the roots or trying to transplant these types of plants will cause them to go into shock and die.
Really? Would someone like to explain that to my melons and green beans in the garden? I sprouted all of the in containers and transplanted them out there. Heck, some of them went through several transplants, before being planted in the the garden! The only trick I use to do this, is once I want to transplant something, I wait till the roots are at the bottom of the pot and you can see a few of them. coming out of the pot, or through the holes. This enables the soil to stay in tact, without clumps falling out, taking much needed roots along with it. Using this method, I have not lost a single supposedly “direct seed sow only” plant.
Another rule of thumb in the gardening world, is that the finer the roots are, the more apt they are to damage when separating. WRONG. Take the broccoli I am currently growing, early purple sprouting broccoli. Gorgeous plant, extremely fine root system. I planted a ton of seed in one pot, and let them grow all together, till at least most of them got 2-4 sets of true leaves. I then took it out of the pot, and gently separated each and every one of them, leaving many stray roots behind, lost in the sift. I transplanted most of them into their own individual small pots, to be sold, or transplanted at will. How many of those that were transplanted do you think I lost to shock(some plants go into shock/wilting when roots are disturbed, which can easily kill them)? If you answered none, you are correct!!
Now, I’m not saying that there aren’t some plants whose roots are just so sensitive, you don’t dare touch; of course there. All I’m saying is there is a more exception to the rule then most think or want to experiment with. When in doubt, try it!! I would not suggest trying this on any plant/seeds that are expensive though. Plant a few extra seeds you have plenty of in a separate container, and give it a go! You’ll never know till you try.
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