A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Starting seed in peat containers

I bought those little peat compartments to start my seeds in, and I don't like them. These are not peat pellets, they are actual little compartments..They dry out quickly so I have to watch that my veg plants aren't limping. Normally I used the little plastic compartments and didn't have this problem. Maybe I am supposed to soak the peat ones in water?
Anyone know? What do you use to start seedlings?

i've used them, but you are right, they do dry out quickly. i set them in a tray with just about a quarter inch of water...

I have in the past also set them in a tray, but i filled around them with a sand/coir mix. (Coir is pulverised cocnut husk. A renewable alternative to peat). This way they don't tend to dry out and if the roots do go outside the pots they still have medium to grow in.
Now i just make my own seed raising mix instead. It's one part coir, one part coarse sand with a bit of vermiculite and some worm casings if available. Works well. (You don't necessarily need the castings or V'lite.)

Hi,

I had the same problem with peat in any of it's forms. I also had problems using egg cartons as starter pots because they leach moisture away from the soil and dry out quickly. Now I just use regular potting soil or compost. Of course sometimes I raise weeds until they get big enough that I can recognize them but, all and all it isn't all that bad.

Of course there are some seeds that need a really light soil mix in order to germinate. In which case if I really want to grow them then I have to get the starter soil and use a tray with a lid until the little darlings sprout and then keep the spray bottle handy to mist them. Also I pretreat the soil with the damp off disease solution.

Normally if a plant is hard to germinate I just don't plant that one. I guess I'm lazy.

I've been growing seeds for about a month now - many different things, and I've tried flats of starter mix and peat pellets - and the pellets are my fave!

I've been using starter soil mix at seeding time. Last year it worked great. This year I'm running into tons of problems with my trays drying out way too fast. Can the soil get old, I've been thinking they sold me old soil left over from last year. Is this possible?

Yes, it may be possible, depending on where you bought it from? How did it look when you opened the bag?

:list:

I agree too it can be old.....My brother bought some and got a bag full of bugs..slugs etc.....I knew the place, cause I watched it when I used to drive to work all year.
They never sold much and let the bags set outside for long periods and they got buggie......He threw it out.

I love the little peat pellets. I like the smallers ones. But, I am a stay at home mom and can check on my pellets several times a day. Usually, I leave extra water in them, so they don't dry out. My house is usually pretty humid, though. I'm always cooking something!

Your sharp on that ...Mine arent pellets, but boy do you have to watch when the sun shines............
FOrgot yesterday, had company, goodness this morning , found a few laying down on the job.

Oh spring come back so you can go out to play.

b

I think you're all right, it has to have been old, or from last years supply. Next time I'm going to ask for fresh soil.

Sometime you have to take the bull by the Horns..;o)

good luck.