You CAN use hydroponics as a seed starter to grow your plants up to a size where they can safely be planted outside. However, you do not NEED to do this. The main reason for transplanting a plant into soil would be to grow something that needs a large amount of space.
If you do want to transplant, the instruction are as below:
Soil to Hydro
- Gently dig up your plant, ensuring minimal to no root damage
- Shake as much loose dirt off the roots as possible.
- Remove any remaining soil with running water (it often helps to soak the plant for 15mins before attempting this)
- Trim any excessively long roots (This is usually only necessary with very established plants)
- 'Re-plant' your cleaned plants, ensuring that all roots are submerged
- Water the plant in (just enough to make sure that all of the roots are damp)
Hydro to soil
- Gently remove your plant from the unit (there may be a little breakage as hydroponically grown plants tend to have thinner roots)
- Remove any remaining medium
- 'Re-plant' your prepared plant into the soil
- Water in heavily
- Water extremely regularly for the first two weeks to help the plant acclimatise to the new environment 6.