Peat Pots

[LouisFerdinand]

Do you use Peat Pots to start your seedlings?

 

[Chuck]

No, I use plastic. I don't like them because even though they say you can plant the pot into the soil, I have not found that to be true. I have planted tomatoes in these things and fought with the plant all season long because it didn't grow as fast as my other plants. Then when the season is over and I pull up the plant I find that the pot hasn't degraded much at all and the roots are having a hard time growing through the peat. I have even dug up peat pots that are over a year old and they still weren't fully degraded. I don't know if it is who makes the pot or what. Some of the pots work just fine. I just don't want to take a chance. I have enough problems as it is without worrying about a pot.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Tomato Transplants in Peat Pots

 

[oneeye]

I always tear off the bottoms of the peat pots after the plant has grown and is ready for transplanting outdoors. . I tear the bottom off and plant them and have super results every time. Also, I have found that dixie cups are good for starting seed and cheap too. The only problem I have with dixie cups is they tump over too easy and spill, and so I have to be very careful with dixie cups, where peat pots stay upright and are more manageable. .

 

[LouisFerdinand]

3 Inch Square Jiffy Peat Pots

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/569001734175224652/

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Can roots grow through the bottoms of peat pots?

 

[Chuck]

Can roots grow through the bottoms of peat pots?

Yes, they can

 

[Logan]

I use toilet roll tubes, cut in half fill with compost then put in a tray with no holes in.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Dressed up seed Peat Pots

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/68742683377/

 

[Mike Allen]

In the past. I have used peat pots. To be honest and fair. Much of my gardening is related to the science and practice of horticulture. Yes, I have tried peat pots, both using in germination and planting out. As a scientist I find the claim that the pot biodegrades, most misleading. I have trialed peat pots, well that's what they were called. I have my doubts. Peat is a great moisture retainer. Peat pots even on the greenhouse staging tend to withstand even at times, heavy watering. I have found that from germination. Peat pots are simply a container of a growing medium. In the ground. I have found peat pots basically in the same class as, planting out, say summer bedding plants, in plastic or clay pots. End of season, lifting the plants, perhaps for storage. The pots of whatever composition has remained basically the same as the day it was planted.

Just a point. I checked the internet. I typed in. Horticultural peat pots. What are they made of. Trust me. Some very informative information was revealed.

 

[Logan]

@Mike Allen in the past I've tried peat pots and I agree with you they don't degrade as they say and they inhibit the plant to grow out of them, so they won't do very well. Sometime in the future it will be banned from using peat.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Have you guys tried the soil cube (aka soil block) makers? According to the marketing story they are popular in the UK. I got annoyed with the peat pots not breaking down, or the compressed disks leaving the net, or plastic being a mess so I spent the $30 for a block maker 5 or 6 years ago. At the level I use it I save $30 a year over buying peat pots or disks and I only have a medium kitchen garden (not a market garden or CSA farm)

 

[Logan]

Have you guys tried the soil cube (aka soil block) makers? According to the marketing story they are popular in the UK. I got annoyed with the peat pots not breaking down, or the compressed disks leaving the net, or plastic being a mess so I spent the $30 for a block maker 5 or 6 years ago. At the level I use it I save $30 a year over buying peat pots or disks and I only have a medium kitchen garden (not a market garden or CSA farm)

No i haven't, but what do you use for the soil? Most of the time I use toilet roll tubes and put a multi purpose compost in them. I do use my old plastic cell trays but don't buy any new. Thanks for letting me know about it, hope that you have a good growing year.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Losing water through the entire surface of the pot makes them too liable to drying out for me. Even if it doesn't go that far maintaining an even moisture level has to be better for most things, plants don't like sudden change on the whole. It may not be simply the pot stopping things getting through, I have had people say, "Take that out, it has been there ages and is doing nothing." When I have dug up the offending plant I have found that it has grown a solid root system to the shape of the original plastic pot. I don't know if it is acidity or what, but I find it nearly always pays to break up the soil at the bottom of the pot over the hole and mix it in a bit to give the plant a gentle introduction.
I do use cut down cardboard tubes from things like rolls of wrapping paper and lavatory rolls for planting runner beans. I stand them in a margarine tub and then fill with compost so it fills the tub as well, then plant the bean just above the level of the tub and fill to the top. That way I can water until the tub runs over. That leaves the bean very wet without actually standing in water, when it will rot, and the earth in the tub delays drying out and gives roots something to grow into.

 

[Mr_Yan]

No i haven't, but what do you use for the soil? Most of the time I use toilet roll tubes and put a multi purpose compost in them. I do use my old plastic cell trays but don't buy any new. Thanks for letting me know about it, hope that you have a good growing year.

For the soil cubes I use a mix around 2 parts native soil or compost, 2 parts peat or coco coir, and 1 part sand or perlite I may mix in a granulated fertilizer or rock dust. Bagged potting mix also works if you want the expensive route. It's really pretty forgiving but works best if you sift it out to about a 10 mm screen. The soil cubes are amazingly resilient and I have pulled up full grown beets with a soil cube still formed around the tap root. I water them with a sprinkle-head watering can or a hose nozzle set to "mist", but don't leave them out in the rain. I also built custom flat trays to perfectly fit the blocks - sized ranging from just 8 blocks to 52 blocks.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Another thing that worked for me is rolling a strip of newspaper around a spice jar, small can, or large dowel. But it's labor intensive.

 

[Logan]

That's great, over here in the UK they're going to ban the use of peat for gardener's in 2024 or about that time, but for retail it'll be a few years later. I've made my own pots with cardboard cereal boxes and stapled them together, until a friend offered to collect the toilet roll tubes and I cut them in half.

 

[Mr_Yan]

This is a simple vid on making the newspaper pots - they worked well for me until I decided I needed around 200 for the season.

I used a small tomato paste can for these or a glass spice jar - both ended up about the size of half a toilet roll tube. Kid's toy boxes are a good place to raid for forms too.


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I understand the idea behind not vaccuming up the peat bogs for gardens but hadn't heard about it being banned. Pearlite is energy intensive to make. Vemiculite is another mined medium. Coconut cior has it's own demons and half a world of shipping. What else do you use to "lighten up" a potting mix? For large planters and inground garden beds I used fall leafs.

 

[Logan]

They're worried about the peat bogs and how it makes a difference to climate change but it's only in the UK, don't know about other countries.
I use a multi purpose compost which has peat in it, only use it for pots, got 3 compost bins so use that for the garden so going to have to find an alternative. I know that there's peat less compost, have to try that.

 

[GneissPlace]

Just this spring for the same batch of seedlings i used peat pots for some and clear plastic cups for others and **woah** what a difference. The peat pots just soaked up the water and the seedlings really suffered. The plants in the plastic cups thrived!! They were so happy. I will never think of using peat pots again.