Thinning sprouted plants

hitchhiker90 5/17/2019, 6:31 pm

I need some advice on thinning plants. Mel's book said to put 2 or 3 seeds per hole when planting so I did, maybe 1 or 2 more. Now on 2 separate squares with separate plants I have 3 of each crop. Should I just snip the other 2 just above soil level so they don't grow or try to pull them out with roots and all? I tried thumbing through the book on thinning and I thought it said to snip them so the strongest plant can grow but I couldn't find that particular statement.

Additional info: It's 3 melons sprouting in a 2 square space out of the same hole and 3 bush beans sprouting in one square out of the same hole so it will be overcrowded unless I thin it out.

OhioGardener 5/17/2019, 7:38 pm

hitchhiker90 wrote: Should I just snip the other 2 just above soil level so they don't grow or try to pull them out with roots and all?

I much prefer snipping them off rather than pulling them. Pulling them tends to damage the roots of the plant that you want to keep. Additionally, snipping off the plants leaves the roots in the soil to decompose and feed the microbes.

CapeCoddess 5/20/2019, 6:10 pm

This is one of the hardest things about gardening for me. The answer is snip but I have to admit I can't always do it. Sometimes I divide and end up with more plants in pots than I planned on.
Embarassed

yolos 5/21/2019, 12:21 am

CapeCoddess wrote:This is one of the hardest things about gardening for me. The answer is snip but I have to admit I can't always do it. Sometimes I divide and end up with more plants in pots than I planned on.

+1

**sanderson** 5/21/2019, 1:15 am

yolos wrote:
CapeCoddess wrote:This is one of the hardest things about gardening for me. The answer is snip but I have to admit I can't always do it. Sometimes I divide and end up with more plants in pots than I planned on.
+1

+2

countrynaturals 5/21/2019, 9:50 am

sanderson wrote:
yolos wrote:
CapeCoddess wrote:This is one of the hardest things about gardening for me. The answer is snip but I have to admit I can't always do it. Sometimes I divide and end up with more plants in pots than I planned on.
+1
+2

+3

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Thinning sprouted plants

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