By transplanting you should be really careful not to damage your plants in the process. If you do, the whole thing might just end up as a huge waste of your time. Another thing to pay attention to is the new environment that your plant is going to be in. You should check the instructions for every single plant. How much moisture does it need? How much light? Does it need any nutrients or fertilizers?

If you want to transplant your pods, you are going to need some soil (preferably pre-fertilized) which you can find HERE and some planting pots that you can find HERE.

When to transplant AeroGarden plants or seedlings?

Like I have mentioned before, you do not want to transplant your seedlings in the winter. If you do, your plants are doomed for sure. The earliest time to transplant is, when there is no more danger of frost outside. I do suggest that you check the weather forecast for your region (at least 14 days in advance). If the temperatures do not indicate any danger of frost you are good to go, but if they do you should wait a little bit longer.

 As far as the plant requirements go, you should wait for it to have at least four leaves. I would not recommend transplanting your plant during the pollination period (if your plant has it). One of the plants that does not require it is lettuce. Pollination is required mostly by plants that develop fruits. For example tomatoes.

Where to transplant AeroGarden plants or seedlings?

For the best results you should look for information about the plant that you are trying to transplant. Some of the plants, like tomatoes will require a lot of sunlight, while others like lettuce will prefer growing in shadows away from the sunlight. I am not saying that your plant will not make it if it requires shadow but is in the sun. I am saying that you should follow the rules for the best possible results.

Important!

You should always acclimate your seedlings for them to accept the new environment. This is also known as hardening off and means that you are going to expose them to temperature and wind changes of their new environment (e.g. your garden)  This means that when your plants will be transplanted to a pot, you should move them on a daily basis. From the sunlight to the shadow, depending on the plants requirements.

What will you need?

-Potting soil (preferably the one that is already fertilized)

-Flower pots

-Gardening shears or scissors

-Water (lots of it)

-Nutrients (if you are using unfertilized soil)

How to transplant AeroGarden seed pod seedlings?

STEP 1: Prepare your new pots

Before taking your plants out of your AeroGarden, you should have new pots filled with potting soil. I would recommend using some soil that already has fertilizers inside, like Miracle gro potting mix. The size of your pot should always be big enough for the roots to spread even more. I always recommend going bigger. Never use pots that are too small for the roots that your plant already has! Another thing to be careful about is the moisture of your soil. Make sure that it is not dry.

Your flower pot should be about 75% filled with soil. You will have to add a little bit extra later.

Make a hole in your soil. The hole should be big enough to fit one seed pod.

STEP 2: Take out your seed pods

This step might get a bit tricky. If your plants are not so young anymore, the roots might be interwined with the roots of other plants. If you try taking a seed pod out and it just won’t go, I do suggest that you try another one before using any unnecessairy force. If by the end the roots are still not letting go, you can cut them with scissors but try to preserve as much roots as possible.

The roots that you will get will probably end up being very long but not very wide. This is because your grow baskets do not allow them to grow horizontally.

STEP 3: Remove the plants from the grow baskets

The grow baskets are the plastic things on the bottom of your seed pod. If you can, you will want to just take the plants out by wiggling them around for a bit and then pulling the baskets down. This way you will be able to reuse the grow baskets and will that way save some money.

If you are unable to do this, there is always another option. Just take either your scissors or gardening shears and cut the baskets off. Do this with extreme caution, because you can easily either hurt yourself or the roots with just one small wrong move.

Do not worry about the grow sponges. You can leave them on because they are 100% organic and will not in any way harm your seedlings. They are made from Canadian peat moss.

STEP 4: Plant into soil

Now this is where you should be really careful about a few things. First of all, your plant should always be planted as straight as possible. When you are putting it inside your moisturized soil, spread the roots around as much as you can to enable spreading horizontally and also to “wake them up”.

When you are doing this also make sure to plant your seedling deep enough. At least one inch of the stem should be inside the soil. This will stabilize your plant. If you have planted it too shallow into the soil, you are risking the plant falling over. Remember that there will be other factors outside (wind, animals,…) that can tip your plant over.

STEP 5: Fill the rest of the 25% of your pot with soil

By now you are almost done. When your pot is filled, make sure to give your plant enough water and food that it needs. It is going to need a lot more nutrients if you went with unfertilized soil. The nutrients for your aerogarden should work just as well on the outside as they do inside. The only con is that when your plants are in the pot, no one will remind you to add nutrients or water.

Another important factor is the sunlight. Your plants should always have enough of it. That is why you had to transplant them into pots. It makes it really easy for you to move them on and off of sunlight.

When your plants are finally transplant them from your pot to your garden. The process is really similar and will also require a lot of water.

STEP 6: Cleaning

Look at the transplantation process as if it is the final harvest. No matter how long your seed pods have been inside, I highly recommend that you clean AND sanitize your system when you are done.

You can do this with either distilled white vinegar or with chlorine bleach. First empty four bowl and pour your sanitizer inside. If you went with chlorine bleach then you will need ¼ of a cup mixed with water, but for those of you that will go with vinegar the right amount is about 5 cups mixed with water. Turn the pump on for 5 minutes, then pour the sanitizer out and then repeat the process with just clear water and let your system dry out for about 48 hours.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

If you made a mistake and cut off too much of your roots, you can even it out with trimming your plant. This way your plant will not need as much food and will be simulated to grow. If the roots are too small for the size of your plant, that will result in a failure from roots to provide enough food for the plant.

TIPS:

-Acomodating to the sunlight; You should put your pots outside in a shady location every day for at least 3 hours. On the first day put them outside for 3 hours, on the second day 5, increasing the time by 2 hours every day. At the end your plants will be able to stay outside all the time. Make sure to pick a shady spot, because too much sun can kill your seedlings.

-Temperature; The absolute minimum for your plants to be safe outside is 7.2 degrees Celsius (45 degrees Fahrenheit)

-Once your plants are accommodated to the new environment you can transplant them from the pots to your garden.

-When you are buying planting pots, I would recommend that you purchase the ones that have drainage holes on the bottom.

 DISCLOSURE:

You can transplant your seedlings outside, but first you will have to transplant them into a pot so you can move them on and off of sunlight. Make sure to transplant only when you plant has at least 3-4 leaves and the danger of frost outside is over. The minimal acceptable temperature is 7.2 degrees Celsius (45 degrees Fahrenheit). First prepare your pots with ¾ of potting soil and make a hole in it. Take out your seed pods and cut off the grow basket. Plant your seedling in the pot and fill the remaining ¼ with soil. Make sure at least one inch of your stem is inside the soil for more stability. Accommodate your seedlings to the new environment and only when they can be outside 24/7 you can transplant them to your garden.

I do hope that you enjoyed reading this article. Have you ever transplanted anything from your AeroGarden? Please let me know in the comments below and share your success/failure with the rest of us. Have a nice day!