From Egg Carton to Pot

Ready to re-pot as of a week ago, to be honest.

Remember my fantastic tutorial on egg carton gardening?  Well, all three types of seeds sprouted.  The cilantro grew fast and furiously, overcrowding and killing off several stalks, despite the fact that I only put one seed per segment.  Two of the three basil seeds sprouted healthy plants, although one took off for absolutely no reason.  Two of the three serrano chilies sprouted, one section sprouting three plants. 

You can tell it's time to re-pot your plants when any of the following occur:

• Your plant reaches a height that is wider than its container
• The roots of your plant attempt to get out of the bottom of the container either by cracking it or finding a hole to crawl out of
• Your plant, after happily growing for a few weeks stops growing abruptly
• Leaves from one plant begin to cover leaves from another plant
• Your plant suddenly wilts over, depressed with his current living situation

All of the above happened for me (sorry, plants) and it was high time to re-pot.

Re-potting is a pretty straight-forward endeavor. Before removing your plant from its cramped abode, prepare the new pot.  I opted for my old standby pots- plastic bottom-watering pots I got from Walmart back in the day.  I used Scott's brand gardening soil and filled the new pots up with soil, lightly patting it down.  I then used the back of a plastic spoon to create holes for the new plants.  I used the front of the plastic spoon to scoop out the sprouts from the egg carton.

A serrano chili in transit.

The plastic spoon technique only works if the plant has not tried to eat his way through the egg carton, which was the case with several of the chilis.  In that case, water the plants and then, when the egg carton has absorbed the water and become soggy, you'll be able to gently tear the carton apart. 

If you plants are intertwined at the root, gently tease them apart.  The more roots snap, the sadder your plant will be.  You want to stress the plants out as little as possible.  Tearing off their limbs is a sure way to stress them out. 

I planted 5-6 sprouts per 6 inch diameter pot.  Any more and I'd have to worry about the leaves blocking out sunlight for other plants.

Serrano chilies in their new home.

Sweet basil will have plenty of room to grow.

Once you've re-potted the plants, be sure to water them right away, or they may wilt and sulk.  I returned the plants to the same window sill I had them on before, though I'll probably take them outside to get morning sun on the weekends when I remember to. 

The cilantro is a little wilty but I expect will be better in an hour or two.

The unmarked plant on the left has the serrano chilies.  But wait.. how are there four pots? Parsley? See my next post for an explanation.