Transplanting – A gardener’s dread! Every gardener no matter a pro or an amateur dread transplanting and I, being the latter, was petrified. Yes, I have transplanted Bittergourds and Jequirity, but with them I didn’t have to separate seedlings, but with my Balsam, I had to. I did a big mistake by sowing Balsam in pot and placing it in a place where it doesn’t get lot of light.

After lots of googling and advices from experts at forums, I finally did transplant four of them into a small pot. I watered them not profusely, but just a bit to keep the soil moist (or so I thought), as it was raining the whole day. I placed it on the wall that receives most sunlight and I was cursed with a scorching sun the next day. I didn’t notice that as I was sleeping till afternoon (as I work in night shifts). After lunch I went out to see that one of the seedlings had fallen dead, two had flopped over and the fourth was partly wilted. I thought they were all going to say goodbye to me, but I watered them nonetheless – as a kind of send off treatment. Well, three of them left me and today when I peeked at the pot, the lone, victorious warrior seemed healthy bringing a smile to my lips. Will he live? Guess time will tell.

A beginner gardener never learns in his initial stages I guess! Well, I didn’t. I was so excited when I got sunflower seeds weeks ago and emptied half of its contents into a cardboard shoebox and within a week they were all healthy and non-lanky. I thought I did everything right and jumped gleefully, but Mother Nature smiled pitifully at me by raining down two days leaving them all tall and lanky. First of all, I should have read twice at the back of the packet about sowing the seeds directly where I want to grow them, but as I said an amateur never learns in initial stages. Today I dreaded transplanting them and after lots of googling again, I dared to do them a bit more carefully (as Balsam seedling taught me a few things about separating seedlings) and transplanted five in a pot. I know, I know! You’d all say I’m doing a mistake (may be, I AM!), but my guess is that two of them (I seriously wish they don’t), but… but… do I have to say it? Err…

What the heck! Let me face it… I guess two of them might again goodbye to me forever. Now what about the 40+ seedling beautifully smiling at me? I gotta find pots for them all! I’m already planning to give a few of them out to my neighbors and friends, but even them I’ll have more than a handful… Guess I gotta do some shopping…