So I thought I read somewhere that if you have multiple seedlings come up close together than you are suposed to trim the weak ones, leaving only one.
I am using peat pots some of the plants I was thinking of growing as a clump (mint and basil) is this a bad idea?
Should I clip? Why and How? very specific please, im totally new :) Thanks!
The reason you kill the weak ones is to eliminate competition and give the healthiest seedling the best chance of growing into a tasty plant without having to compete for limited nutrients and space. You can try to let nature take it's course, but eventually some will die and all will potentially suffer as they fight to survive. Usually you want them to grow, not struggle, that's why you weed out the weak. I usually just clip mine with a pair of scissors...the idea is to remove them without disturbing the ones I'm going to keep.
Good advice from Dorkasaurus. The other thing to consider is that if you allow your seedlings to develop without thinning, your plants are at much greater risk of developing problems with fungus due to poor air circulation. I'd clip out the weakest ones too.
I've always used tweezers to thin my seedlings. It's easier than a pair of scissors and I don't have to worry about snipping the wrong thing. When I first started, I wanted to keep every seedling. I usually ended up with none or only a few week ones. I still want to keep all of them but I know I can't. I thin down to two per section (as long as they are spaced away from each other) This allows for circulation and they don't have to fight for nutrients. I like to keep two just in case one doesn't make it. When you take them outside make sure you acclimate them to the outdoors. Wait about a week and just keep the larger, healthier plant. I end up keeping my seeds in trays outside for a couple weeks. Somedays the temps are good, but I can't usually plant them until at least May 1. I'm not sure of your weather, but here it can be 70 one day and almost freeze the next. I usually only carry them in when the temp drops below 40.
I don't have a problem trimming with scissors since I use the tiny little "sewing" or "nail" scissors. Using scissors vs. pulling seedlings out with tweezers eliminates the problem of disturbing the roots of the ones I want to keep.
I agree that thinning is really important. You'll probably be happier with fewer strong and healthy plants than lots of weak ones. In my experiance, seedling grow faster when they are properly spaced as well.
