john_ny

I had a bunch of tissue culture plants, out of 72 cell trays, that I wanted to transplant into larger pots. I found a tube-like container, that had held peppercorns (for use in a peppermill, or grinder), that I figured I could use as a dibble. It was about an inch in diameter, just the right size, for the plugs.

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However, it had a flat bottom, and was difficult to push down into the potting mix. Then, I took the cap off, turned it upside down and, while twisting, pushed the open top into the soil. When I pulled it out, some of the potting mix stuck on the inside, and was easily dislodged by tapping the tube on the rim of a bucket. This was perfect. I had removed a plug of the mix that was almost identical to the plug that the plant was growing in.
I used the pepper container but, I imagine a piece of PVC pipe, or metal tubing could also be used. I think that the amount of moisture in the mix is the key: not so dry that everything runs out when you lift the tube out of the pot, and not so wet that it sticks too much, and becomes difficult to tap out.

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John

1aday

Inventive!

I'm lazy, I just use two fingers to make my dibble hole and transplant the plugs into a 4" tall square pot, then about a month later into 1 gallon pots.

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Susan