Helen the Gardener's guide to plug plants

If you're a beginner gardener, here's Mabley Meadow regular and professional gardener Helen Wilson's step-by-step guide to planting plug plants (aka tiny little seedlings you buy in trays).

STEP 1
Take the plug out of the tray - they often have a hole in the bottom so you can just pop it out with your finger.

STEP 2
Your plugs might be root-bound, which means the roots have coiled round and around inside the plant's container. You have to sort that out before planting, so gently rub your planting fork (or trowel) up and down the roots to loosen them slightly.


Until it looks a bit like this.


STEP 3
Loosen up the ground all around where you're going to plant. This will mean once your plant starts to grow, its roots will have lots of nice, loose soil to spread out into.


STEP 4
Dig a hole for your plug plant. If you get the depth of the hole just right, when you fill it in, the level of the ground should be the same as it was when the plant was in its container, with no roots showing.


STEP 5
Pop in the plug in the hole and gently press down the soil around it. Ideally, you should now water it, but because we didn't have a hose or watering can, we're just praying for rain instead. Luckily, because it's getting colder, the soil is still quite damp so we should be OK anyway


STEP 6
Now wait for you tiny little plants to grow big and strong.