question from newbie: how to get out of the container?

Hello, I am trying wintersowing for the first time this year. I've been looking through all the posts here to learn how to do it (thanks for all the great info everybody!) But I have a question that I can't find an answer to - once your seedlings are up and you're ready to transplant, how do you get them out of the container? It's so deep (I'm using mostly soda bottles, filled with 6" soil), it seems like it will be hard to get the soil out in one piece. Do you use a really long knife or spatula and cut out sections? Or do you need to cut away the container, then divide into hunks to plant? If so, what do you use to cut it? (I used a heated knife to make the containers originally, but I don't see how that would work with the seedlings already in there...)

I am not nearly at this stage yet - just getting anxious about it in advance! :-)

Hi Rebecca and welcome to the Winter Sowing forum!

I end up cutting up most of my containers with sharp scissors. The tops are cut back & off as the seedlings get bigger and the weather gets warmer. To get them out of the bottom of your containers, you'll need to use scissors. I then gently "tease" apart the hunk of seedlings and plant them in the garden. It really quite easy! No need to get anxious, as you still have a ways to go before you'll see your garden. Isn't it still covered with snow? Mother Nature is protecting all your winter sown containers with a nice insulating blanket. When the time is right, the blanket will melt and nourish your sprouts. Then it's up to you to plant them out, step back and admire your handy work. One day they will reward you with lots of greenery & flowers.

I too just cut mine out.
some were easier to get out than others .... a few i was able to turn sideways, loosen the seedlings and it would just pop out while it was on it's side ... but yes, cutting is the best way to get it out in one hunk.

and -- i hope some of your snow is melting .... you guys just got hammered this year.

OK, that makes sense. I think I am going to need to get a heftier pair of scissors though - some of the seeds are in juice containers with pretty heavy plastic. I can just see myself demolishing the seedlings in my frantic attempt to get them out of there! :-)

Yes, everything is still covered in snow - in fact it is snowing (again) as I type! This winter just does not want to let go. But I will have faith and dream of green seedlings...

You can also use a box cutter, but I hesitate to suggest that for safety reasons... if you do, put the container down (on the deck, on the grass), steady the top with one hand and cut down (away from your hand, not toward your leg, etc) with the other. And if you've never used a box cutter before, this probably isn't the project to start with (curved containers, wet soil, etc).

Since I generally have the tops cut off of the containers before I'm planting out, and since the roots have usually formed a pretty solid network holding the potting mix together, I can generally slide out the whole big thing just like popping any other plant out of its pot... but cutting may mean less chance of damaging little seedlings by trying to upend them into your hand.

Thanks critterologist, that is very helpful. I am a klutz even with scissors so I think a box cutter would definitely not be a safe choice for me... I will probably experiment with scissors and just sliding the whole thing out and see what works best. There are so many seedlings in the jugs -- I don't think I'll be able to kill them all! :-)

Thanks for putting your safety above that of the seedlings... you're right, one of the great things about the WS method is that containers tend to end up with an abundance of seedlings in them! If I want to maximize my results, I sometimes clump transplant from my WS container to get an entirely flat of plants (especially nice with something you'd like to have all along the edge of a border, like Dianthus).

The best and fastest method I've found is this:

I cut both front corners of a milk jug vertically, top to bottom, and slide the whole blob out into an empty nursery flat. I use a kitchen knife to slice into squares like a pan of brownies. Then I plant each square using a kitchen knife. The size of the square hunks is determined by how thick the seedlings are and how much time I have.

Karen

Karen -- psssst -- that sounds like a Lesson Learned!! ;-)

pretty nifty idea.