Home Grown: Transplants guarantee plants for almost every seed

CBS 13's get to the root of the transplant process

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Growers are always looking for more efficient ways to protect their crops and ensure every seed gets a plant.

For this week's Home Grown, we look into the process behind transplanting crops with Keithly-Williams Transplant.

Sean Foy, Nursery Division Manager with the company says in a day's shift, they plant over 1.7 million seeds ranging from crops like cabbage, cauliflower, kale, celery, fennel and peppers.

The company gets soil from Canada that is processed through a machine which fluffs it up and pokes a hole for the seed.

Then it is taken to the green house to grow.

Seeds are a bit pricey and transplanting almost guarantees growers will get a plant for every seed.

"Seed costs are relatively high. They'll get a plant for every seed that they give us up to a percent because you don't get 100% germination," Foy explained. "You just get a better stand. You can spray less chemicals. It takes less water for them to grow because we already give them a start. They start at about 45 days old."

Keithly-Williams grows about 3-400 million transplants per year.

Transplanting helps to avoid risks like weather issues, bug pressure and seed shortages since they are grown in a controlled environment.