Yeh I have much better luck transplanting things if I can just transplant them as a mat (when there's a lot of them grown so close together like that) or retaining whatever soil they were in from a cup or small pot. Only time I have luck transplanting things where I have to expose all the roots is if the plant itself is very tough.
Hope everything grows well and you have an abundant harvest!
RE: Plants for various types of crops continue to arrive for planting.