do you guys start seedlings in big or smaller pots?

Hey STPB,
I start my seeds in smaller pots because it's more convenient and takes up less space, and because it's easier to control the moisture level in a smaller pot. You can start your seeds in the big pots, however you must be careful not to overwater. 5 gallon pots have a lot of soil, and it's very easy to overwater. Your little seedling can't use anywhere near that much water, so your pot will be pretty wet and will take a long time to dry out. Obviously this is not good for a seedling (a fully watered 5 gallon pot without a bigger plant to drink up the water will take weeks to dry out, which=dead or unhappy seedling).

In a smaller pot, the smaller volume of soil dries out faster thus helping you avoid problems caused by too much moisture. I start about 1,000 tomato, pepper, melon, vegetable, and flower seeds inside every winter and I always use small pots (same thing for canna seeds).

So, while you can start them in 5 gallon pots, the safer bet is to use a smaller pot and then transplant into the 5 gallon pot. (There's a reason that most nurseries and people who start a lot of seeds do it this way.)

Also, do not fertilize your seedling! I'm not sure what kind of nutrients/fertilizers you are using, but your seedling has all the nutrients it needs to grow for several weeks without any help from you. Fertilizing or overwatering a seedling are sure-fire ways to kill or stunt it. If you are growing organically (I am , and you should check it out-see the organics section) then you want to make sure that you don't put your seedling directly into a heavily amended soil. Start it out in a small container with just plain soil with a little earth worm castings, then transplant into your bigger pot after a few weeks. hope this helps

 

Ya know, starting seeds is gonna do either of two things - live or die. I start my seeds in the pot I'm gonna leave them in, and don't have to worry about shocking them by transplanting. They usually take 3-4 days to pop dirt. Then just stick it under the light and your on your way. If it sexes wrong it's no biggie to me - I would cut it just below the soil - stick in another seed, and your off to the races again. There won't be that many roots left from the first plant, and they'll decompose anyway. Good luck.

p.s. I'm a beliver from experience - use a real good blend of soil like Fox Farm Ocean Forest. My dirty experiment story is in my signature with pix. I'm still working on it.

 

inthegarden answered your question perfectly! don't worry about transplant shock. unless you're a complete nincompoop, you'll have no probs. these plants are pretty tough cookies!