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Keeping seed starter peat wet

17 years ago

I started some seeds a couple weeks ago (144 plastic cells in two flats) using Scott's Seed Starter mix. Lots of peat. I can't keep the durned stuff wet! I think it's wet, but when I move the top layer, everything in the middle is dry. I've got the drip trays full of water now to try to bottom water, but it's not soaking up. It's like the stuff is water repellant. Some of my seeds have started (small and slow, but they've started), so I can't remove it and mix it up with more water. Any one else ever have this problem???

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Comments (4)

shrubs_n_bulbs
17 years ago
Keeping it wet won't be a problem. Getting it wet in the first place certainly can. Tricky with the seeds already on it. I would submerge them almost to the top in warm water and leave them like that until they soak through. A spot of detergent in the water will help and shouldn't hurt seeds, although the tiny seedlings won't take kindly to the whole thing.
deebs43
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you for the warm water and detergent suggestion. I will give that a try this afternoon and let you know how it works.

I must say, with the snow still flying outside (freezing my sad young peonies and bleedings hearts), these little seedlings are like a bit of spring in my basement.
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I do it 2 ways- I have the bottom of one of those 'seedling trays' you see all over the place in the spring. I've some pygmy drosera & a bunch of baby sarracenia in there, all in 4" tall pots. (those standard 4" tall, 4" square plastic 'nursery pots') I'll put about 1/2" of (rain not sink) water in there & refill it when the level drops to the point where the bottom of the tray is moist. Then I've a hanging pot- It's one of those ones from Rite Aid with the "thingy" (girlfriend's word) in the bottom so there's a water reservoir there under the media. About 1/2 inch up from the thingy I drilled a few 1/8" holes 'round the perimeter of the pot. Filled it with media & at first I had a little 1/2" piece of PVC pipe I could pour water through down to the reservoir. That got plugged somehow so I took it out. Anyway, I wait until the peat is still moist but starts to pull away from the side of the pot a little- 1/8" or so. Then I gently pour in the water letting it flood across the peat. The bottom fills, excess runs out the holes & it's good for another week in the summer, perhaps a month in the winter. The hanger has pygmies & flytraps & a nepenthes- I just scattered a bunch of byblis seeds in there. Outside I've a pedestal pot- Picture the hanging one sitting on a post. Pretty much the same deal except without the thingy in the bottom. Holes are about 5" down from the top leaving about 2" in the bottom for the water. That's where my adult sarracenia & a few flytraps live.. Plus a little voodoo lily- I've no idea how that got in there nor how it hasn't rotted away yet. So that's how I do it. The plants get to "reach down" to the water without being waterlogged. Seems to work.
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I think a big part of your problem is the seed mix. I've been starting seeds for years and never found a commercial seed starting mix that worked well. They are usually made of a mix of peat, vermiculite and perlite. They have such fine particles that they are almost dust like when dry. It's sometimes hard to get them evenly moist before you start. They inevitably form a crust if you water from above, and they can get soggy if you let them sit in water for too long. The answer is to use a good quality peat and bark based potting mix and to avoid compost or organic amendments.. If it's fresh and your pots and trays are clean when you begin, you're unlikely to have problems with damping off. Look for something fluffy. I use Promix or Metromix and can water from above or below with none of the problems caused by seed starting mix. Look at the texture of my mix.
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lilacs_of_may
17 years ago
I have the same problem. I practically soak the peat pots, then find that the middle half is bone dry. I have the same problem using potting mix. I can soak them until water runs out the bottom and drips onto the floor, and most of the stuff will still be dry and dusty.

I had just found my very first peony sprout poking out of the soil, when the cold moved in. :-( I bought a lilac and instructed them not to ship until May 1. I thought maybe that was too late, but looking at the thermometer now, I'm glad I'm waiting.
middletownusa
17 years ago
I've learned the best way to wet peat or seed starter is put it into a large container and stir in the water. Then fill the pots with the wet mix.

This year I tried a shortcut and filled some pots with dry seed starter mix, as you did. I let the pots soak ALL DAY and they hardly took up any water. I watered from the top and bottom and eventually was able to get the mix to take up the water.

Another problem with filling pots with dry mix is the wet mix takes up a lot less volume, so you can end up with mix an inch lower than the rim of the pot than you'd intended. OK if you haven't yet added seeds. But if you have, there's a lot less room for root growth.

So, I'm back to wetting the mix first and then adding seeds. It's time consuming, but the only way I've found to ensure that all of the peat is wet. You may find the mix can get too soggy, in which case add more peat/mix and/or squeeze out some of the water.

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