Hi we've found this extremely helpful. We have used the pellets since buying a 48 cell propagator kit with the pellets already in 5 years ago. Since then we now buy them on-line in 2000 unit boxes and have found propagator boxes, lids and inserts suitable for the 3 sizes of pellet. It suits us because only a percentage of seeds germinate and we don't want to left with 1/2 empty propagators on our limited windowsills. Also the cleanliness suits us in our kitchen with a toddler running about. I'm open to all suggestions and haven't historically checked whether rooting has been ideal after growing. We will definitely be making a number of incisions top to bottom before planting on, and will do this early on before the roots grow excessively out of the pellet. I would say this though the germination success varies depending on what's to be grown, tomatoes, chillies and peppers seem to love the Jiffy 7C, Kale, Cabbage, Brussels all seem to be growing too fast and are leggy (is this bolting?) And so my question is has anyone actually noticed whether the Jiffy7C (which contains 20% peat and not just coconut coir) may be too rich for certain veg? The Jiffy7 seems much better for certain veg thus accounting possibly for some of the irregularities described above? I also note that John Inne's potting composts get stronger as you go up through the range 1, 2, 3 etc. to feed larger plants. Clearly potting compost is less rich for a reason? I would welcome any input and and wish everyone the best for the coming season xx

OWS LOL! Yes. But I make nearly everything tomato-based from tomato paste, including juice, soup, ketchup (still working on that so my grandson likes it, being used to only the store-bought kind), spaghetti sauce, BBQ sauce, the gamut. Well, I don't usually use tomato paste to make spaghetti sauce -- the frozen tomatoes are used for that as well as stewing tomatoes. We eat a lot of Great Northern Bean soup during the winter. There's no WAY I could grow and freeze enough tomatoes to keep up with my addiction to tomato juice. Don't have the room! It's close to ridiculous.

Unless I get some major problematic evidence to the contrary (on this thread), I plan on taking everything I have left in the Jiffy peat pots & potting them up after work today. I'm not sure yet how i'll remove the plants from the peat pots though. That probably depends on size of the plant, type of plant, etc.. I imagine i'll use a big spoon & just dig the plant out with most of the soil, so as not to disturb any roots. I don't want to leave them with any part(s) of the pots when potting up. I'll let you know how it turns out. - Steve

PunkinheadJones, Yes, there are many issues with peat pellets and poor germination sometimes is one of them. The pellets hold too much water and you have to be really careful not to overwater. Since they hold excess water, the development of the roots can be negatively impacted. Since they hold excess water so long, damping off is common and, of course, damping off = seedling death. Peat has no nutritive value, so the newly-sprouted seedlings aren't getting any nutrition and won't grow much until they're potted up into a mix containing compost or fertilizer or until they're fed. If you have planted seeds in peat pellets and they haven't sprouted, you might take a toothpick and dig around in the pellet and see if the seeds are still there, or if they've rotted. Assuming you planted normal vegetable, herb or annual flower seeds they should be up in a week to ten days. Certain flowers that are more difficult to raise from seed might take longer to sprout. Once peat pellets dry out they then are so dry they shed water and it is hard to wet them again without completely saturating them....and then they stay too wet and the plants suffer and often die. I use peat pellets sometimes because they are fast and easy, but I am careful how I use them. Since they hold too much water for too long, I wet them initially to get them to "pop up" from the compressed state they're in when you buy them. I wet them about a week before I'm going to use them, then I place them outside on the sunny patio for several days, preferably in bright sunlight, until they dry out enough that they are only moist and no longer wet. Then, I bring them inside, plant the seeds into them, and water lightly to insure good peat-to-seed contact before putting the seed flats on the light shelf. After that I water lightly, never heavily, and try to keep them moist but not wet and soggy and try to never let them dry out. I also pot up my seedlings out of the pellets as soon as they have two true leaves. I would never try to raise seedlings from the seed stage to the putting-into-the-ground stage in only peat pellets and always pot them up to a nice soil-less mix as soon as they sprout. The nice thing about peat pellets is that they are quick and easy. They give good results once you're experienced with them and can avoid the twin perils of overwatering or underwatering. For several years I used them with little problem after a rough year the first year I tried them. I used so many, I would order 1,000 of them a year from Harris Seeds. This year I bought one seed-starting flat that came with 72 pellets at a local store, and started 72 varieties of tomatoes and peppers in them, one variety per pellet. With quite a few seeds in each pellet, I potted them up almost as soon as they sprouted and didn't even wait for true leaves. That's the only way I use them now---as quick sprouters that only hold plants for a couple of weeks. Sarah, I think they can be used successfully because I use them with no problem most years, although I use only a few now compared to how many I previously used. However, you only get good at using them after previously experiencing a lot of failure and issues with them. Experience is a pretty tough teacher sometimes. If it is any consolation, sometimes it seems I have to learn the same garden lessons over and over again before they "stick". Ezziah, I love soil-less mix, especially the ones formulated for seed-starting. They are light and fluffy so seeds don't struggle to break through the surface as they grow, and they are sterile which reduces the incidence of disease. However, disease is still possible because untreated seeds can carry disease on them. While we're on the subject, I also am not a fan of peat pots and don't use them. Peat pots can wick moisture away from the soil and deprive your seedlings of water and of nutrition if they're being fed via a water-soluable fertilizer. Also, when you plant them in the ground, they can continue to wick moisture away from the plants and often the peat pots themselves stay so dry that the plant roots cannot push through the pots to go deeper into the ground. When I buy a plant in a peat pot, the first thing I do when I get home is remove the pot and put the plant into a plastic pot or a plastic cup assuming the plant cannot go directly into the ground at that time. Dawn