Gardener's top tip for separating budding seedlings using one kitchen utensil

A gardening fan has shared her top tip for separating little seedlings from their friends without damaging any roots or killing the budding plant.

Many people will have went crazy so far this spring when it comes to planting their new seeds and this can sometimes lead to overcrowding. If you are planting something you've never grown before, then you may be unaware how much space to give the roots and how you can actually keep them thriving into the summer months.

Thankfully, one gardening enthusiast has shared her top tip to separate these budding plants without damaging any roots - and all it takes is one piece of cutlery. The DIY guru, who goes by @bethsabode on TikTok, told people that they should be utilising a fork in the garden - and not for the reason you'd expect.

The woman said: "You may not realise it but a kitchen fork is going to come in so handy in your garden and no, it's not for what you're thinking."

In the video, the gardener showed herself grabbing a fork and using the pronged side to dip into a pot of seedlings, wiggling it around and pulling out a perfectly healthy seedling - roots and all. She said: "If, like me, you've very much crowded all of your seedlings by sowing too many seeds in small pots, then a kitchen fork is going to be really helpful for getting them out without disturbing the roots too much."

The woman explained that this was her first experience planting a certain thing so she wasn't aware of how many of her seeds would flourish. She added: "Because this is my first time growing snapdragons, I had absolutely no idea that the success rate for germination was so high. You can tell from how many seedlings are in those parts just how many seeds I actually did sprinkle.

"I've been scratching my head now for weeks, thinking I don't know how how I'm going to get these all out safely without all of the roots being disturbed and then the plants ending up ruined."

The woman then explained the hack in great detail, saying: "What the fork basically does is it just allows you to disturb the soil, get underneath the seedlings and the roots and really gently tease them away from each other.

"When I first tried to get one of the seedlings out without using the fork, all of the roots snapped off the seedling and it was just no longer viable at all."

She also noted that both sides of the fork have a use, adding: "This fork tool is a bit of a two in one because not only can you use the fork end, you can use the other side to then make a little hole in your compost to pop the seedling and all of its roots in."

This helpful video garnered an impressive 17,500 views on TikTok with viewers praising the hack in the comments section. One person wrote: "Oh i’ll try this with my foxglove seedlings! Thanks."

Another said: "Ha genius idea. Thank you!" And a third added: "First year gardening and I didn’t realise you don’t have to use all the seeds in a pack. Sowed some seeds and it sprouted like a forest of cress, oops."

Would you give this fork trick a go in the garden? Let us know in the comments section below.

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