Thinning Your Sprouts for Healthier Plants

Thinning is very important, especially in your Gardyn! The use of space is vital to ensure you get strong and prolific crops that are not competing with each other for space and nutrients.

Typically, without thinning, you will have small plants that most likely have nutrient issues and are more prone to pests/diseases because of their crowding, rather than 1 very healthy and producing plant.

To give the best chances of germination success, each yCube is usually seeded with 6 seeds (for big seeds like peas, we use 3 seeds per cube). Each stem or sprout coming from the yCube is its own plant, and it is normal for many to sprout at once. Sometimes all of the seeds end up sprouting which can be too many for the yCube and will need to be thinned.

 

 

How to Thin

- Make sure true leaves are present.

- Start with the smallest sprouts, leaving the strongest sprout(s) to continue growing.

- Snip seedlings at the base, carefully using your fingernails or small scissors. Be sure not to pull the sprout out of the yCube, if the roots have already started developing it can damage the root structure of the sprout we do want to keep!

 

Which Plants Should I Thin?

Fruiting plants and leafy greens should be thinned ideally to one plant while they are still young.

Most herbs and bushy plants such as watercress and flowers should be thinned to 3 plants per yCube.

There are very few plants that do not require any thinning.

Here are our recommendations of plants that do better when thinned: 

Don’t Thin	Thin to 1	Thin to 3
Chives	American Mustard	Basil
Lavender	Arugula	Calibrachoa
Oregano	Banana Pepper	Campanula
Thyme	Blue Cornflower	Catnip
Wheatgrass	Bok Choy	Chamomile
	Borage	Chervil
	Breen Lettuce	Cilantro
	Bulls Blood	Dill
	Buttercrunch	Fiesta Gitana
	Butterhead	Italian Parsley
	Cape Gooseberry	Lemon Balm
	Cardinale Lettuce	Mini Strawberries
	Celery	Mint
	Cherry Tomato	Night Scented Stock
	Cucumbers	Oopsy Daisy
	Endive Lettuce	Petunia
	Flashy Trout Back	Purple Basil
	Green Mustard	Purslane
	Green Beans	Radio Calendula
	Jalapeños	Red Marietta Marigold
	Kale	Red Sorrel
	Kale Lacinato	Rosemary
	Lemongrass	Sage
	Lollo Rossa (dark red)	Savory
	Matilda	Stevia
	Mini Eggplants	Tarragon
	Monte Carlo	Torenia
	Parsley	Watercress
	Red Amaranth	Zaatar
	Red Mustard	Watercress
	Red Romaine Lettuce	Zaatar
	Red Sails Lettuce
	Red Salad Bowl
	Romaine
	Rouge D'Hiver
	Shisho
	Sugar Snap Peas
	Sunflower
	Sweet Peppers
	Sweet Thai Basil
	Swiss Chard
	Tatsoi
	Wasabina

When to Thin

It’s best to thin your plants when they’re young, but established- when a set of true leaves can be observed. If you thin too late, overdeveloped roots may cause damage to the remaining seedlings, and too early may leave you with weak, unestablished plants.

If you are a member, Kelby will guide you too!

 

What is Thinning?

Thinning is the practice of removing the weakest sprouts while leaving behind the strongest. Depending on the type of plant, some yCubes should be thinned to 1 sprout while others can be left at 3 sprouts.Thinning has some significant benefits for growth rate, plant health, and Gardyn aesthetics. Thinning gives even access to light, nutrients, and can help lower the risk of pests and disease.  Un-thinned groups may have irregularities with some plants accessing more light, inconsistencies in nutrient uptake, and a lack of air circulation due to crowding which increases the risk of pests or disease.

 

Advantages of Thinning

Instead of Gardyn’s growing unruly, thinning helps keep things organized and clean so it’s easier to maintain your plants. Defoliating, pruning, inspecting for pests, and pollinating becomes much easier when there’s only one or three plants growing per yCube. The remaining plants will also be able to thrive with access to the resources the weaker plants were using because they are no longer competing for growth requirements (moisture, nutrients, light, etc) and have the space needed to grow.

Congratulations! You can now watch the remaining plants thrive.

Remaining plants will thrive with access to the resources the weaker plants were using. 

If you still have questions, please feel free to contact us at [e-mail] or chat with us.