Need: That pic of root bound pepper in Jiffy pellet
greenmulberry
14 years ago
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digdirt2
14 years agogreenmulberry
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Jiffy Peat Pellet Advice Needed please.
Comments (1)You can transplant those tomatoes if you want but *definitely* remove the netting. I'd even say go back and take the netting off the peppers. There was a thread a while ago by someone who planted out his peppers with that netting stuff on and it stunted the growth of his pepper plant because the roots were never able to grow outside that netting....See More' Issues' with Jiffy Pellets ????
Comments (12)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...See Moreremove or not to remove jiffy pellet netting
Comments (8)I think you're free to choose. I liked removing the netting. Had to do it before the roots go through though. If I let them go too long, then the netting would have to stay. I know I ripped some roots. I don't think that set the plants back, but I don't know. However, I have stopped using the Jiffy pellets. I bought a seed starter kit containing a heating mat, 1020 tray with dome and 809 inserts (72 cells). I use that one exclusively these days. It's cheaper than buying the Jiffy pellets and with 72 cells I can also afford to put one seed per cell. I start the slower peppers (typically Chinense types) weeks before the faster ones (typ. Jalapenos). I find one tray to be more than enough when I stagger the plants....See MorePepper pics
Comments (28)naturalstuff -> there's not much formal setup for the bhuts: 1) started them indoors in feb in those cheap jiffy peat pellet greenhouses kit 2) transplanted them into 2x2"? black plastic containers 3) waited for weather to warm up and took 4 of the peppers and transplated them into these simple swc. mixture of mostly coconut coir, peat, perlite, and some bark. nothing scientific and didnt measure how much went into the mix. 4) topped it off with a 10-10-10 fertilizer (cheapest that I could fine at walmart) Had a buddy come over this past weekend to do a bhut test. large 3" pepper, 5 mins without any liquid. He ended up with $230 from everyone donating and he did last the 5 mins. But promptly threw up entire stomach content after that....See Morerdback
14 years agofritz_monroe
14 years agodigdirt2
14 years agordback
14 years agodigdirt2
14 years agofritz_monroe
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