Giving a somewhat menacing, yet grateful smile Star nodded politely and gave no further words to Mariel. It suited her perfectly. The less verbal banter there was, the happier she would be. Especially as this girl seemed to be not only far too interested in what she was doing, but she was abrasive too. Like sandpaper on a rash.

Her ears perked up as the Professor began to dictate the next part of the class. Perhaps she would be witness to another injury of her herbology partner. One can only hope.

Hugo raised his hand, lips pursed. "Transplanting is moving one plant to another place right? So you need to have a plant already in a plant pot. Then you need to prepare another pot with soil and such. Then grip the plant firmly and pull it out, transferring it carefully to the other pot and putting a little soil around it, to hold it in..." He trailed off uncertainly.

He was still getting used to this Herbology thing.

Miranda went to get a tissue, she took another one and handed it to Qaz

''You want one too Helena?''

Nancy was just looking towards Mariel to see her giving her a certain look. Uh-oh! She coulnd't exactly tell what that look meant but she somehow had the feeling that it wasn't anything good.

Turning back to the professor she listened very carefully and thought about his question. She had absolutely no clue what the answer could be, though. She was glad that she had Camira as her partner since she obviously knew the answer. Listening carefully to Camira's explanation Nancy took some notes.

Helena smiled wider, still thinking as well as listening. Yes, I do like surprises. They are very... pleasant, in my opinion.

Helena looked up again and half frowned. Uhh... yes. Please. Thank you. She smiled, not knowing at all why she needed one in the first place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by camirayaxley

"Fill your container, or pot, with a commercial potting soil, up to approximately 2 inches below the top of your container.Saturate the soil, of the container in which you intend to transplant, with water containing the transplanting fertilizer of your choice.
...
She didn't know if that was right or not, but that's what her tutor had taught her. She hoped she as at least partially right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dracos_Lady

Hugo raised his hand, lips pursed. "Transplanting is moving one plant to another place right? So you need to have a plant already in a plant pot. Then you need to prepare another pot with soil and such. Then grip the plant firmly and pull it out, transferring it carefully to the other pot and putting a little soil around it, to hold it in..." He trailed off uncertainly.

"You have the basics. 2 points to each of you. Don't forget that we are transplanting to transplant later. The peat pots will be smaller, so it will take a little extra care and skill." He took up a peat pot and made his way to the nearest student planter to demonstrate. "First, the pot isn't prepared quite the same, as there isn't much room. The root bundles will take up a good portion of them. Only put a few inches of soil in to start with," he said, showing them what he meant. A small handful was enough to fill the bottom of the small pot. "Keep the soil you will be using close to you. You will not have much opportunity to move if this is done properly."

"Next, you will need to separate the plant from the others, and gently. You want to care for its roots as well as those around it. Choose one of the healthiest plants. Remember, these will be stronger and more likely to survive a transplant." He chose one of the tallest and carefully tilted it. "As you choose these plants, make observations. The stem is the thickest and the strongest, the veins of the leaves are stiff, and even the thorns are well-developed. Compare it to one of the smaller plants which will be staying, so that you can see and feel the difference. That way when you have fewer of the healthy plants, you will be able to tell between them."

He edged his hand into the soil, just between that plant and one next to it. "Next is digging the plant out. A trowel does work for this, but you have a high chance of injuring the plant. Instead what you will be doing is just trying to get the plant loose from deep in the soil and gently tugging some of the roots away from the others. The reason we do this and do not pull it out is because pulling damages the root systems." He continued edging around the plant until it seemed somewhat loose in the soil. "Once that is done, gently lift it out. One hand on the stem of the plant, the other at the roots."

He pulled the plant out, gave a few shakes so that some of the soil fell from the plant, but not a lot of it. He then put it into the pot, but did not let go of the stem. "Keep a hold on the stem. I want you to make sure the base of the stem is nearly at the edge of the pot. Again, this is due to the entire thing being transplanted later, without removing it from the pot. You actually don't want it sticking out. Not only does it make for uneven planting, but it's tacky. As you can imagine, having it hover here doesn't leave much room for you to move. Fill in the soil from here, while holding the plant." As he spoke, he did as he was saying. "Pack it in a little in order to make sure you will be supporting the plant. Once it is filled, let go of the stem to see if it sinks. If not, your job is complete and you can move on to the next one. If it sinks, just add some more soil. You do not want too much covering the stem itself, or it will rot the stem."

He looked about the classroom as he finished. "Are there any questions? If not, then please begin."

Anna raised her hand to attempt an answer. Attempt being the key word, of course. She'd read something about this in the herbology book last night. Maybe she could remember the ten steps it listed.

"First, you should water your future transplants with a good transplanting fertilizer about one to two days before you intend to transplant. Next, fill your pot, with a potting soil, up to approximately 2 inches below the top of your container. Then, saturate the soil, of the container in which you intend to transplant, with water containing transplanting fertilizer. Make sure the soil is completely saturated with your water-fertilizer solution, leaving no pockets of dry soil. In the container in which you are going to place your transplant, dig out a hole the approximate size of the container from which your transplant will come. Now that your container is prepared for your transplant, you are ready to transplant your plant from it's old container, to it's new one. Roll the transplants old pot in your hand to loosen the dirt an roots from the side of the container. Next, grasp the base of the plant, covering the top of the container with your hand, and turn the container upside down, and pull the root ball out, being careful to keep the roots in one integral piece. Carefully place the root ball in the hole in your prepared container. Make sure that all the roots are pointing down. Now that the root ball is in place, you can fill in the space around it placing soil gently, but firmly around the top of the roots. Make sure the top of the soil line is intact and isn't cracking apart in lines, exposing the roots. With your transplant in it's new container, you can now water the plant once again, lightly, with your fertilizer solution. Make sure the soil is saturated, but not soggy. Place your new transplants in low light conditions. You can put them in filtered sun or under fluoresents. The transplants should be able to handle full light within a day or two. With the combination of being placed in new potting soil and having been fertilized, your transplants should be fine with their usual watering schedule for about a month," she replied.


OOC: Editing in a reply. (You posted before I could hit submit )

After Anna answered, she listened to what the professor had to say. Listening to his directions was one thing, but actually doing the steps was another entirely. Herbology wasn't her greatest subject at all. She sighed and looked over at Nico, hoping he had some insight as to what to do. When he didn't say anything, Anna sighed once again and started an attempt on the first step.

It was getting harder and harder for Nancy to listen to the professor. This was so not her subject. She realized that she had absentmindly started to play with the soil in the pot in front of her and immediately drew her attention back to the teacher's explanations.

After having finished the professor told them to copy his actions and Nancy with a look at Camira let out a sigh and started to dig into the soil of the plant in front of her. Carefully she tried to dig around the plant and its roots, wasn't doing a very good job at it, though.

Rachel gulped and looked at the plant in front of her. I have no idea what to do! I don't know anything!
Still determined to succeed, she went over what the professor had said in her mind, trying to figure out what to do. She really hoped Via or Tasha knew what to do.

Camira smiled at Nancy. The girl looked either stressed or bored, she wasn't sure which. "Talk about a lot of instructions, huh?"

Camira started looking at the plants. She took detailed notes of which ones she thought were strongest and why. She pointed out what she deemed "the leader plant" to Nancy. "I think this one here is probably the best one. Look how thick the stem is. If you touch it, you can feel that it's firm and not in danger of snapping. The thorns look almost fully developed as well."

She looked at Nancy to see if she got what Camira said. "How about I tug gently while you move the surrounding dirt away. You have smaller hands so you're less likely to do damage to the surrounding plants." That and Camira really didn't want her hands getting any dirtier.

Qaz accepted the tissue from Miranda, 'Thanks. Time to play in the dirt.'

Nathaniel looked at the plant infront of him. No biggie he thought. He gardens with his Mum all of the time.

Oh she did look angry about the clumsy remark.....

"You're right,I'll see you later.."
Slowly Sarah edged her way back to her seat,all the while listening to what the Professor was saying.

Transplanting the bigger ones? OK this shouldn't be too difficult.
Looking at the planter Sarah chose a slightly bigger plant,and felt the stem and the veins on the leaves....and on the ones around it.
Yep this one is ok....Gently she stuck her hand in the soil and made a gully around the plant.
Teasing the roots apart she wiggled it until it came free.Lifting it out of the dirt,she placed it in one of the plant free pots,and slowly filled in the pot with compost.
Finally it could stand on it's own.She patted the soil around it and moved onto the next....

Helena listened to Professor Carracio without looking at him, fearing that if she did, he might recognize her from the Welcoming Feast. She jotted a few more things into her notes before turning to the pots before her.

Sighing at the repetitiveness of the situation, Helena sprinkled a little soil into her empty pot, just enough to layer the bottom. She glanced around for a moment before grasping the stem of her plant.

Remus began to prepare the pot to receive the plant. He covered the bottom with the potting soil. He looked around the room to make sure he was doing it the same way as the others.

Helena looked over at the boy next to her. She smiled at him and looked at back at where her hands were on the stem of her plant. She loosened the soil slightly before pulling upward, hard, but not hard enough to break the stem... or so she thought.

There was a slight ripping sound that issued from the plant, and Helena muttered something in Bulgarian before placing her grip further down the stem. She pulled up again, with less force this time, and the plant came out rather easily.

Sighing in slight relief, Helena placed the plant into the nearly-empty pot. She then brushed off her hands quickly and poured more soil into the pot. Helena smiled again as she glanced at Remus for a second time.

Ludo took a pot from the table to prepare it for the plant. He saw another Ravenclaw girl. "Hey Qaz." he said. "Having fun?" he said, grinning.

He poured dirt into his pot and packed it down so as to avoid uneven repotting. Ludo grasped the plant by its stem and lowered it in.

He wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, dirt streaking the side of his face.

Allie listened to professor carefully, and then started the to do the first step, as the teacher instructed.
"Could you hand me the soil, Chris?"

Astrid watched carefully, listening to every detail the Professor was giving. It seemed complicated and she was feeling a little nervous. She looked over at Maddox and smiled. "Did you catch all of that?" she asked teasingly. "Okay, so first we get some soil." she said mostly to herself. She grabbed a small handful and dropped it into the empty pot.

Chris started his plant he seemed to be doing it right. He followed all the proffesor's instructions.

Taking a few peat pots for Barry and herself. Liz goes back to her table, and takes a look at the plants that are still in their pot.

Choosing one of the plant that looks the healthiest to her, she first makes sure her gloves are on nicely, and takes a handful of soil and places it into her peat pot.

Then she proceeds to work her way around the stem and into the soil, careful not to disturb the plant any more then she needed to.

"You can say that..." Nancy sighed and tried to put a strand of hair behind her ear with her elbow since she couldn't use her dirty hands. After a few tries she gave up, though, and with another bored sigh listened to what Camira was telling her.

Touching the stem of the plant Camira had indicated she said. "Yes, I can feel it...whoa, that was close! Couldn't you have said something about those thorns earlier!" She had almost cut her finger on one of the plant's thorns. Great, Herbology was becoming much more difficult than she had expected.

"Okay." She muttered and started to move the dirt away from their plant, keeping an eye on the thorns and trying hard not to damage any of the surrounding plants. It wasn't exactly easy but she somehow managed to.

Freya began to work with her plants a second time, preparing the pots and relocating the plants. 'It's pretty simple actually,' She thought to herself as she proceeded carefully so as not to damage the plants or make too much of a mess at her station. 'I don't know what I was so worried about.' Freya concluded as she admired her work before continuing.

"Yeah we can. We'll talk about it after the class. Time to work again," she smiled at Rachel, "Hmmm. SO did you get what the professor said?" She asked Rachel in a whispering manner. She was unsure though but she tried to do it. She got hold a pot for her and Rachel, "Here yah go, i think we just have to put the plants in here and make sure they'll live," Via said.

Taking note of the repotting procedure as directed by the professor, Star began to delicately re-home her plant. It was actually quite relaxing doing this. She enjoyed it far more than any lesson requiring excess amounts of exertion. She was certainly more at home dealing with a plant than people... Plants in general didn't answer back. And if they did, a good dose of weed killer would sort that out... Though a good dose of weed killer would probably sort a person out too... But that thought churned her stomach, so she pushed it far away and continued on with the peat.