Transplanting Seedlings in the Grow Box

Before you can plant the seedlings in your grow box you first need to consider these things:

1. what type of crops are best suited for a grow box?

2. what spacing is required for these crops?
3. How to select healthy seedlings for transplanting into the grow box.

1. Crops that are best suited for a grow box

Short-term crops which are shallow-rooted will be best suited for planting in a grow box that is one concrete block in height (8 inches or 20 cm ).

 If you wish to plant deep-rooted crops you can always construct a deeper box by stacking the blocks on top of each other.

2. Plant Spacing

When planting seedlings in your grow box, spacing is important. Spacing applies to both the distance between plants in a row and the distance between rows of plants.

Importance of Plant Spacing

Adequate spacing is essential if you want faster, more vigorous, and healthy growth in plants. Overcrowding can slow plant growth.

The Spacing between plants is, therefore important for several reasons.

The root system of plants will have room to grow and spread freely in the soil.
The roots of each plant will have access to adequate moisture and nutrients.
The leaf canopy will have room to spread.
 Wind passage will be enhanced which in turn increases gaseous exchanges and prevents excessive humidity.
There will be reduced competition for light favouring more efficient photosynthesis.
 It allows for close inspection of individual plants and faster detection of pests, diseases, and nutritional deficiencies.

3. Seedlings

Starting your grow box using healthy seedlings will ensure that the crops you produce will be of the best quality.

The seedlings that are to be transplanted into the grow box should have the following characteristics:

• They should have healthy leaves that are glossy and green. 
• Their roots should also be healthy. The roots of healthy seedlings should be white and plentiful.
• Healthy seedlings should be free from pests and diseases. 
• The seedlings of crops like tomatoes, melongene, and peppers should have straight thick stems. Seedlings that are spindly and tall will get broken by the wind.

Here is an example of Lettuce being transplanted into a grow box

One week after transplanting

Two weeks after transplanting

CROP SPACING CHART

The chart below outlines the optimal planting distances for various crops you may wish to grow in your grow box. It includes both Imperial and Metric measurements. If you're looking to maximize the space in your grow box, it is advisable to use the smaller spacing recommendations.

CROP	DISTANCE BETWEEN ROWS		DISTANCE BETWEEN  PLANTS IN A ROW
	Imperial	Metric	Imperial	Metric
	inches	cm	inches	cm
Beet Root	8 - 10	20 - 25	4 - 6	10 - 15
Cabbage	20 - 25	50 - 60	8 - 12	20 - 30
Carrots	12 – 16	30 – 40	4 - 6	10 - 14
Corn	28 - 32	70 - 80	10 - 12	25 - 30
Green Beans	30	75	8 - 12	20 - 30
Hot peppers	40 - 48	100 - 120	40 - 48	100 - 120
Lettuce	10 – 12	25 – 30	5 - 10	20 - 25
Melongene	30 - 36	75 - 90	14 - 18	35 - 45
Ochro	32 - 36	80 - 90	20 - 25	50 - 60
Pak Choi	10 – 15	30 – 40	5 - 10	20 - 30
Sweet Pepper	25 – 30	60 – 75	10 - 15	35 - 45
Sweet Potato	24 - 30	60 - 75	10 - 12	25 - 30
Tomato	20 - 25	50 - 60	10 - 15	30 - 40