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grow, cook, eat, arrange with Sarah Raven & friends

Q&A: Should I pinch out tall, leggy seedlings? What are your favourite spring plants?

grow, cook, eat, arrange with Sarah Raven & friends

Sarah Raven

Cook, Arranging, Home, Flower Arranging, Grow, Arrangements, Kitchen, Vegetables, Flowers, Gardener, Veg Garden, Lifestyle, Gardening, Leisure, Home & Garden, Food, Cooking, Arts, Eating, Eat, Growing, Planting, Produce, Garden, Sarah Raven

4.7843 Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2024

⏱️ 8 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Welcome back to the March Q&A podcast episodes, in which Sarah and Josie are once again answering your burning questions. This time around, we’re looking at pinching out seedlings like cosmos, whether they should be pinched out when they’re tall and leggy, and if there are certain seedlings which shouldn’t be pinched. Also in this episode, you’ll discover a short, sweet and stunning selection of Sarah & Josie’s favourite varieties for spring, from Sarah’s beloved amelanchiers to Jos...

Transcript

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0:00.0

So the next question is about pinching out seedlings. And the question is about cosmos. If they're very

0:11.4

tall and leggy, will this still work? And how far back should you pinch out? Are there any

0:16.5

seedlings that shouldn't be pinched? Do you want to go on that one, Josie, as I did the sweet peas in January or February?

0:23.1

Okay, yes.

0:24.5

So if any seedling is getting tall and leggy, it's because they haven't got enough light.

0:29.7

So what they're doing is searching for light.

0:32.1

So it's telling you that it's too dark and it needs to get out and be treated a bit more harshly, really.

0:40.5

So do, obviously not if it's frosty weather for a cosmos, but do pinch them back.

0:47.0

If they've got two or three sets of true leaves, once the seed leaves, the seed leaves are the first ones,

0:53.1

and then two or three sets of true leaves,

0:56.0

and then pinch out the tops. So that'll bush out each of those nodes or send out new shoots,

1:03.0

so you'll get twice as many shoots as you would leaving it as a single stem. So definitely worth

1:09.0

pinching out. And you might be pinching out quite a few, if it's out. And you know, you might be pinching out quite a

1:13.0

if it's very tall and legged, you might be pinching out quite quite a bit of plant, but that's fine.

1:19.3

And if they're still in their pots and they've been in them for a while, then do give them a

1:23.2

feed, give them some liquid seaweed feed just to help give them a boost.

1:29.8

Great. So yes, give the rhyme, Josie.

1:32.7

If in doubt, pinch it out.

1:35.1

Don't forget it.

1:37.1

And is it any seedlings you can think of that shouldn't be pinched?

1:41.9

I was trying to think of this.

1:43.0

I can only think really of

...

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