So, for my first grow, I foolishly started out the seedling in a 12oz cup. I know I should have gone bigger, but what's done is done. So now I'm looking to transplant it. Only thing is, I dunno a darn thing about moving plants from one container to another. So...it's 2 days after my seedling has sprouted, and I just need to know if now is a good time to move it, and if it is, how I should do this. Thanks!
Wait a couple of weeks, a baby sprout should be fine in 12 oz of soil as long as the soil is decent. Be sure to have drainage holes in the bottom. To transplant, make sure the soil in the existing cup is slightly moist, but not wet and not dry. Fill the larger container with soil and scoop out a hole in the center. Put the cup with the plant in it into this hole, then fill soil in the larger pot around it. Remove the cup, leaving a hole that is the perfect size and shape of the cup. Then, gently squeeze the cup on the sides so that the soil is loosened from it. Next, spread the fingers of one hand over the top of the cup, so that your sprout extends between the middle fingers, and put your other hand on the bottom of the cup. In one smooth motion, flip the cup over. If the plant and soil do not slide out into your hand then gently spank the bottom of the cup. You want all the soil in the cup to slide out (with the plant in it of course) in one clump. Once you have that, flip it back right side up and it will fit right into the hold you molded. Water and voila, transplant done.
if you wait long enough, the roots will grow out of the soil and push against the side of the cup, and when you pull out the soil, it will be a massive clump of roots. This happened to me when I transplanted from a half gallon pot into a gallon pot. then I got arrested 3 days later, and when I chopped it the next day, the roots had already grown straight out of the bottom of the soil.
My transplants all went pretty well today I think. Its tricky flipping them over and getting them down in there... my soil may have been a little to moist but i think there all alright. Didnt take the time to really document the root growth but it looked healthy and they were all the way down, all of them were held together pretty good.