I divided a few of mine into four pieces. It's easier said than done with some if the roots are all tangled together. Foxglove was tough because there were at least 500 seedlings all in the same container!

Here are a couple of pictures to give you some idea:

Foxglove/digitalis
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Lychnis chalcedonica/Maltese cross
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Penstemon/beardtongue
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Yah, depends on the plant. I remember seeing something in the FAQs, I think, about dime-sized hunks. That seems sensible - mine are more like a quarter most of the time, though.

I would have a tendency to go with the quarter size or slightly bigger. My method of madness when doing hunks is to cut the container as though I've baked Brownies and just want bite sizes. :O)

WOW, reading this info makes me understand why my newly planted seedlings exploded last summer. I use 16oz cups,heavy on the seeds and then most of the time plant the whole cup! Maybe, I will start to break them in two this year :]

Lisa

How could one make a divider for each jug to avoid having such big HOS? Maybe make a divider with mini-blinds marking off 4 sections? I might just try that idea; do you think it would work?

Pippi, are you thinking of dividing for different kinds of seeds? If so, they might sprout at different times, need transplant at different times. I stick to one kind/jug.

If you're thinking of dividing just to have natural smaller hunks, roots grow together anyway. Just flip the whole jug of soil/seedlings out into a flat, cut with a knife as Tiffy suggested. I do that all the time. It works well.

Karen

For a moss-like flat, I would do hunks an inch across or less. Each year I sow alyssum into lasagna tins and score them into inch hunks, gives me loads and loads of alysuum plugs.

Honestly, be reasonable. If your seedlings are few and far between you can make large hunks, but if they're jammed in like a can or sardines then make very small hunks.

the best tool for cutting hunks is a straight edge kitchen knife. I can run the knife through the soil while it's in the container, or flip-flop it onto an old cutting board and then cut it into squares like I would with a slab of brownies.