When to transplant seedlings?

mad_as_a_march_hare

I'm all new to this have only ever grew runner beans in the past.

This year me and my little boy have now planted variuos seeds and only planted them in small seed trays and have put them outside in a small 4 tier plastic greenhouse.

We planted them all on April 5th, and then spent the whole easter holidays away and i wasn't expecting too much sucess as they were neglected.

But i am so suprised at to how well they are doing so what i need to know is at what point to i need to be thinning them all out.

heres a list of what we have sucessfully grown so far so advice on when to thin and where to plant each of them would be great.

Runner beans- Just over an inch high with approx 4 leaves on each.

Spring onions- about an inch high.

Mixed salad leaves- each has about 4 leaves on now and the tray is very full and the leaves have gone from being round leaves to taking on the jagged edges now.

Lettuce- again these are growing great and are the same size as the mixed leaves.

Carrotts- These are coming on nicely and about 1/2 inch high.

Basil- a tray full of tiny seedlings

Thyme- as above

Parsley- As above.

Tomatoes- theses are coming through slowly, so dont know what will happen with these but i am just impressed that they are growing.

And also have

Sunflowers- which are now as big as the runner beans,

Poppies- again a tray full of small seedlings,

Viola- More small seedlings.


So all you avid gardeners where do i go with them all now, to be honest we are quite shocked at the sucess we have had with growing them, but i wont to give them the best and be able to have some tasty home grown veg. I know they probably were not planted correctly but i just wanted my son to be able to grow his own and he loves to look at them daily and see there progress.

OOPs sorry for the long post.

TonyMMM

Really depends on where you intend for them to end up ....do you have beds prepared for them to be planted out in, or are they going to be in pots/containers ?

Runner Beans are going to need a bit of good soil somewhere that doesn't get too dry (or a large pot)and canes to climb up - but you can't plant those out until risk of frost has gone....depends where you are in the UK, in the South probably just about OK now (if you don't mind a small risk) ...further North, may have to wait a couple of weeks yet.

Tomatoes - are they indoor or outdoor varities ?....again, have to be kept away from frost/cold. 2 or 3 could be grown in the plastic greenhouse in a gro-bag once everthing else has been moved out.

Carrots - will need to be planted out with a good depth of soil/compost to go down into ....could be done now...handle them carefully and space them an inch or so apart (depends on variety/final size ..so check seed packet for guidance).

The Salad leaves you can probably start taking a few leaves from now and they will keep sprouting. You could leave them in the tray, put them in a sunny spot and keep them well watered and cut as needed.

Thyme/Parsely will be happy in a pot outside, Thyme likes to be baked somewhere sunny, Parsely is more tolerant of a gentle shade.

Sunflowers - plant out after frost risk has gone ..again, depends on variety/final size.

lutink

my sunflowers are in nthe ground and doing so well (i'm in the midlands) they're really strong now!
Runner beans arer waiting to go out, i've been told may 12th is a good bet to put them all out....