Peat Pots

[yeknomssa]

Has anyone ever used these peat pots? This picture is from Plantation Products, but Jiffy also makes them along with other companies, i'm sure

i'm designing my next grow to be all organic, and i thought thee might be a good way to reduce shock on seedlings, as you wouldn't have to transplant exactly. you just drop it into a bigger cup when you start to see roots poking out.

so what do you guys think of these things?

 

[jaykush]

you can make your own out of newspaper. and really there not needed at all. you also wont want to transplant as soon as you see roots. just because some of them poked through doesnt mean the soil is full of roots.

 

[Guest]

I have used them, they can rot indoors and outdoors. I would not recommend them whatsoever for anyone. I guess they are ok if you only keep the seedlings in there and then transplant out, but I wouldn't ever risk it just for the convinience of not having to take it out of the pot. I used them outdoor and got mold, not to mention ants all tunnelled through the dirt up into my pots and then they took over! There was about 34000 larvae in there when I looked too, so much for that year's outdoor. This was before I knew how to start out plants inside though. I see a couple people using those things on here, but I am too concerned with the downsides to see any actual benefit from those things. They make it hard to judge what is wet/not also.

 

[swampdank]

i havent had much luck with them either. i use the pellets to germ. just to save soil. but once the germ, they go into a soil mix. my plant dont stay small long enough to make good use of those things. i say ditch em and use the pellets or some solo cups. you know, the ones for keg parties? they work great.

 

[LiveGiveTryDie]

Yep, they can get moldy. And that's annoying! Plastic seems good because:

1) You can get it almost anywhere if you look (We're talkin used plastic pots here)

2) Plastic is reusable

3) If you get used (which you should) you are helping the env. that much more

4) They don't lose moisture as easily as the peat

5) They don't mold like the peat!

G/L!

 

[yeknomssa]

thanks for all the input guys, i had never used these before, so i'm glad i asked about them first lol. and swampdank, i will try those pellets, as they sound like what i'm looking for, and i think i've seen them around here.

 

[view2athrill]

yeah, another thing with those peat pots is that they're too acidic. I lost a lotta seedlings due to those damn things until I germed and grew in plastic....make sure you use the colored Solo cups (not the see-thru, or you'll get algae).

I use a cheap soldering iron to put holes in the bottoms. Works great, but you'll probably not want to use it for any real soldering jobs as the tip gets sort of messed up, even after cleaning it with flux and a rag.

Good luck!

 

[Julian]

I swear by em, and, have gone through literally tens of thousands of them.....

There is a learning curve, as most don't seem to use them the right way and have a lot of problems, but, I've never had a single problem, and, nothing else even comes close...imo

Lot of "must/must not" with them...but, once one understands them, always 100%, high efficiency also....

I've really never met anyone who had any success without being taught how to use them.....

Usually like clockwork,week or two and they're like this, and out they go.

 

[Dignan]

Julian,

Can you do a small tutorial on the proper way, with regard to cannabis, to use these?

 

[Julian]

I've brought up a lot of times, as a subject which comes up often...

Acidity may be an issue, but, when your doing a submersion to water, drained to waste, they're quickly flushed the first few times..(ie: Submerge pot above edge, wait until bubbles stop, then drain to waste.....)

Some will also say that the will leach the moisture from the soil and dry out quickly. This is indeed the case, and, ideally, after submerging and draining, one would add a fair amount to trays, as the pots will wick this as they dry, making it easy for the roots to cut right through like butter......

(Many water from top, and, yes, pot leaches moisture from soil and as they are moistened and dried they do become rock solid and take on a different character and texture....)

When I am running trays of 100 (3"ers), I sometimes will add over 1" of water/nutes in bottom of trays...

How, some will then revert to the fact roots need oxygen, and, I would merely point them to the picture above, and, inform others it's similar to growing out in ground that is moister (raised beds).....yes, a fraction will be submerged, but the top 70% of medium is aerated, and, again, as seen by above pics, this is indeed accurate.....perfect white and helthy..(I do this actually in several ways/situations, including germing/seedlings in RR's,and other methods. Good example of that point: 6 days from cracked seed in RR's in about 1" of water/nutes Note the moisture on front of tray. About 1" deep.

Now, some other points are:
They will dry from the top down if trays kept moist, so, after beginning, you then want to have some in bottom of trays, and then water from top until bottom dried (alternate)Same plants as that link

That's about it.....they're like clock work for me, thousands upon thousands upon thousands.....(10's)...the more one has in a tray, the better it seems to work...if spaced tight,stays nice and dark and cool and one see's the above the bottoms of my trays....sometimes I won't move them for a while (just add to trays and water briefly from top until next time I submerge each by hand and drain.....

Just a matter of getting used to them......lot of people water from top....dries out....roots will never penetrate, might even dry and die quick, etc....

Note: This applies to any peat products...I do the same with the pellets/jiffy's....dropped random seeds will start growing right in the trays...(moist, dark, etc)...

Any peat product is the same....always keep trays filled and fully submerge to water....

 

[libby]

Very good explanation Julian, on the concern of them being acidic, i'd imagine if you soak them for a while in PH'd water, stacked together of course, especially moving water, then, i'd assume things would be okay on the acidic front ?

 

[Julian]

Well, I think that issues been overblown......it's not the pH of the medium, merely of the shell which they momentarily break through....(and, again, when submerging, your rinsing everything basically to waste anyway.......)

On the flip side one has to watch it, because more than once, they were basically almost disintegrated by time I transplanted (a good and a bad thing....if handled too much, if too rough they will start to breakdown and dissolve, so....I've never soaked them prior....just submerge, then add to tray, then alternate between top, trays, and submersion, but, key of course to eliminating almost all problems is in those steps.....

I really can't say enough about em....I really do love em and suits my needs (quick volume) extremely well....including absolute 0 transplant shock/issues, etc....in or out......

Should also be noted as I did elsewhere that I have done/do all different sizes, and, the best are the 3" ers (in pics)....pretty much perfect size for a start and a transplant....(I use the 5"ers, but, those are really for a 2nd transplant, not a first.....should also be noted I germ in those 3"s......above pics are about 14 days/2 weeks from seed, and ready to go out..

Edit: 3's can germ and pot will be filled and them busting through in about 2 weeks, (6",1ft max)ready to go, but, the 5's, I tend to transplant the pellets when breaking out into the 5's,and good for a solid 1' plus a little....when I go outdoors earlier in season I use the 5's....

 

[Dignan]

Thanks, Julian. Appreciate it.

 

[Julian]

Always glad to.....they get a bad rap for the above reasons/misconceptions...(good prices also, can get a cases of 1000-1500 for about $100 bucks...) They're my all time favorites.... cheap, single container, effortless germ to planting..(I use them also to do RR's and plugs for clones and then veg and out also, and go either 3's or the 5's depending on what objective is.

Above important though for success......they really won't work any other way..

Note: I really don't like anything smaller than the 3's btw.....3's seem to be ideal size..(they have 2's and 2.5's....and , the pellets I always use the larger ones also...they come in 1.25's and 1.75's.....1.75 into a 5 usually works perfect...a 3" usually too tight..(I germ straight in the 3's...)

Submersion also a lot quicker than it sounds...(I do couple hundred at a time, about 10-15 seconds each and can do one in each hand..).and, I think beneficial in thorough, even watering..until all bubbles stop.....of course assuming one has proper mix..(aeration,etc)

 

[Dignan]

I'm sure once you've used them it's all pretty straightforward, but it sounds like a bit of trouble to me.

I've used peat pellets with good success but I prefer 1.5" rockwool cubes over anything else. Easy, clean, reusable.

Do you ever trim off the top 1" or so of the peat pots? It seems like having the rim of the peat pot sticking up over the soil line would wick moisture from it.

 

[LiveGiveTryDie]

What's the benefit of dealing with all the hassle of peat pots?

-Less transplant shock (cmon, that's negligible loss!)

-You can put the peatpots in soil to decompose (why not just use plastic pots over and over and over?)

Anything else?

 

[Julian]

I dunno....simple watering doesn't seem like trouble and hassle to me....(As above, actually watering less because water in trays wicks.....)

Me personally, I can do without dealing the thousands of plastic cups ...all it's doing is adding another step (2) when my goal is reducing steps and increasing efficiency.

jmo....to each their own.

I don't trim rims, I sink em when planting, and, I don't use the cubes, but the plugs (round plugs, I get 2 per plug, doubles space/footprint) I do same...something always in trays to wick.

 

[Dignan]

Thanks again, Julian.

 

[Julian]

No problem. Same deal for the pellets......after initial, all I do with trays of Jiffy's is just add to tray to wick......pellets can dry out pretty quick..little in trays, and, they're good. (Note: I don't maintain veg spaces 24/7, so, I have to know that everything is okay, they're safe, not going to dry out on me and wicking in trays enables me to walk out and come back in a day, sometimes two (for larger trays...), and not have to worry about things drying out, etc.....

Same with the RW plugs....slows growth a little, adds a couple days, but, trade off is absolutely sure not going to dry out on me....with the RW plugs usually my last time they've overgrown the plugs...more root than plug left......(I'm sure I wait longer for clones/root than most....I want roots always busting out everywhere, not just a couple here and there....

Figured would be of use....some may use the pots, some may not (because misconceptions), but, lot more use pellets, which are essentially the same (peat product, dries quick, etc)

 

[Mr Celsius]

I was germing in peat pellets, but I'm onto nursery flats with straight coco. They'll get about 4-6" and they're ready for a transplant. Otherwise the 3" (I learned from Julian months ago) are perfect as stated.

Personally, never submerged them, just some top watering and keeping water in the tray. Adhesion and cohesion are a helava thing

I also use a lot of fulvic acid in everything and this will chelate nutrients in various ph's. If I soak seeds or am growing a bunch of babes, I'll use 1/2-1 teaspoon of fulvic acid per gallon and I never have any ph issues. The more humates you use, the less ph problems you will likely have. Humates have more CEC (cation exchange capacity) then clay particles and actually create a 4 tier connection with the cell's on the root tips vs only 1 normally. Also using mycorrizhae will help a lot with drought/over saturation and the uptake of nutrients in various ph levels. I mix mycorrizhae into my coco plug starters.