Anyone else really bad at thinning plants?

3 years ago by Alacran to c/gardening

I have learned a lot about how it's needed, in particular for short growing seasons and to prevent some pests. Still, you would think I'm killing puppies or separating twins.

goji 8 points 3 years ago

It’s wild, I’m still relatively new to gardening, and when I watch an elder do their thing they are just expertly brutal. Meanwhile their gardens are gorgeous and happy, and mine are crowded and overwhelming.

I hate the idea of splitting so much! Like slicing through their lifelines shouldn’t be good for them. And having read about how plants actually communicate distress hasn’t helped my bleeding heart, haha

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glasslyrata 6 points 3 years ago

I had to thin a clump of tomato plants this morning and actually yelped "so sorry!" as I did it. It's ridiculous. And I'm currently procrastinating on separating the paprika plants because I have to recover first.

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LogLurker 4 points 3 years ago

I struggle with that too. It makes me feel a little better that they're going straight into the compost pile to become nutrients though.

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glasslyrata 4 points 3 years ago

Using the compost does make it a little better. I also try to think of the clump as a single plant that I'm pruning, which to be fair I also do very hesitantly.

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PlantDna 4 points 3 years ago

Never use diseased plants for compost. You only help propagate the disease.

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0x1C3B00DA 2 points 3 years ago

isn't the compost pile supposed to be hot enough to kill any disease?

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PlantDna 5 points 3 years ago

It needs to get very hot to kill the pathogens. It’s possible, yes, but maybe not in a small bin at home

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Toadvark 3 points 3 years ago

Replying quite a long time after the fact, but I just had to thin some radishes and dangit I was thinking of this post. I find it difficult in particular because of wildlife predation- I never know which of the remaining sprouts will even survive!

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glasslyrata 2 points 3 years ago

Exactly! What if I'm removing the ones that would otherwise have the best chances‽

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Arcanepotato 1 point 3 years ago

I am too! I never know when to do it and I am always worried I am doing it too early (even if there are true leaves for example).

Sometimes I am able to be careful enough to move the plants I am thinning to an area where they didn't germinate.

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