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

I mainly use Jiffy pellets the last few years to do rhizomatous begonias by leaf wedges. Canes cannot be started by a leaf though. Some Asian species cane-looking begonias can be started by a leaf such as brevirimosa and amphioxus. I started six Silver Queen wedges (one leaf) in Mid-November and this is what they looked like two weeks ago. I think 3 starters would be ample for this 10 inch pot. I started Mrs. Ludwig early this month and this shows some with roots two weeks later. I now have two that have put out tiny leaves. The green ones are not Mrs Ludwig and neither are the two on the right front row. The stem is Janet Brown which fell off so I saw a dormant bud and am trying to get a new plant out of it. canes are easily water rooted or stuck in soil and watered lightly. This is the pot of canes from above 3 months later.

First, I have a 72-cell tray. I never plant all 72 at one time as I wouldn't know what to do with all 72 plants. Once they outgrow the pellet and need to go to a pot, I wouldn't have room for 72 potted plants. So, I staggered them. I planted about 25 for the first round, potted up what survived (all of them!) and placed them on a window sill and started the second 20 or so. When those were ready, I moved the original 25 outside on a tray so I could move them around easier and move the 20 to the window sill and started round three. Before doing this, I made a 6x12 spreadsheet and labeled which plants I wanted to go into which cell. When planting the seeds, I followed the spreadsheet/map. Once the plants were potted, I placed labels in the pot. Once they were moved outside, the labels were attached to the plant so they wouldn't blow away. Anyway, my point is that since I was not filling the tray, I could arrange them in patterns so I would not confuse which corner is which. For example, the first 25 went on the left side of the tray. That way, I would know which plant was in column1, row1 and not have to worry about turning the tray upside down or something and confuse 1,1 with 12,6. If you must plant all 72 at once, I would mark a corner with paint, a hole-punch or whatever. DO NOT mark the lid, as that can be turned around by accident. You could also put plants in the corner that you can easily recognize, like basil or something. Finally, you could probably get by with just planting 71 and leave a corner blank. There are some great pre-made grids you can use that are on the web for just about any size/shape seed tray. I found them useless, however, as a spreadsheet is much easier to update than a printed list.

Another question for hc mcdole. Something strange is going on with one of my cuttings. The leaf died, but the cut end is still growing roots like crazy... And now small green things that definitely look like leaves are growing out of the cut end... UNDER WATER. I am so confused. On all the other cuttings, new growth sprouted from the petiole. Tried to get photos from a few different angles to show you. I'm not really sure what to do with it. Cut the original dead leaf off and bury the roots, leaves and all, in some soil? It seems odd to bury leaves but you can see from the way it's growing that I don't think its possible to bury the roots without burying the leaves. Or should I wait till a rhizome forms under water before touching it? Has this ever happened to you?