Peat seedling cups - how to use? Peat pots for seedlings - how to use Should the seedlings be removed from the peat pots.

The use of peat cups in gardening is still considered new technology... Some gardeners use them with enthusiasm, others resolutely reject them. Everything new and progressive is always not without difficulty being introduced into life. There are advantages to using peat cups. There are also disadvantages, but they only cause problems for inexperienced gardeners.

What are peat cups and why are they used?

Gardeners relatively recently began to use peat cups for growing seedlings. Even 20-25 years ago, they were very rare. V last years went on sale peat cups different sizes and forms. They are small containers, most often in the form of a truncated cone, but they can be in the form of a cube or a trapezoid, or connected in blocks of several pieces. Their sizes vary within 5–10 cm in diameter with a wall thickness of 1–1.5 mm.

The material from which the cups are made is a mixture: 50–70% peat, the rest - humus and cellulose. Thick water solution this composition is pressed into special forms and receive containers of various sizes and designs.

The seedlings grown in them no longer need to be removed, disrupting the root system of the tender young plant... It is planted in the ground directly in a cup, placing it in a prepared hole. Then sprinkle with earth and watered. The seedlings are planted!

Being in the soil, the peat cup gets soaked from the irrigation water, dissolves in the ground, while fertilizing the soil around the plant roots. The roots easily penetrate the porous thin walls and take up the entire surrounding space. The plant begins to develop fully, in contrast to planting with a damaged root.

How to use peat pots for seedlings - video

https://youtube.com/watch?v=I7OQ4-DMj10

Advantages and disadvantages

Experienced gardeners who are not afraid to experiment have no consensus about peat cups. To appreciate the advantages of this planting method, the products must be used correctly. The advantages are as follows:

Peat cups are environmentally friendly as they are made from natural materials.
They have sufficient mechanical strength and do not fall apart during the period of seedling growth.
The walls are porous, which provides free penetration of air and water to the roots of young plants.
When transplanting to a garden bed, there is no need to remove the plant from the container. The roots are not injured, which is very important for plants such as cucumbers and eggplants, which do not like transplanting.
Seedlings easily take root in a new place, because peat soaks and decomposes, enriching the soil useful substances, which are needed to feed the plant.

There are also disadvantages:

Manufacturers do not always make quality products. Sometimes the cups are too thick. For this reason, they do not soak in the soil, and roots cannot grow through the walls.
Excessive watering can lead to moldy cups.
The porous material does not retain moisture, which causes the soil to dry out quickly. It is necessary to ensure very precise, dosed watering.

To avoid drying out, it is recommended to cover the tray with seedlings in peat cups with foil and remove the cover from time to time to remove excess moisture and fumes.

Which cups to choose: peat, paper or plastic

Vegetable growers often use plastic and paper homemade cups... Peat has several advantages over them:

The plastic cups are required to be cut before planting in the garden. With this action, a clod of earth with roots can crumble; seedlings do not need to be removed from a peat pot.
Plastic walls do not allow air and moisture to pass through, peat walls provide good aeration and moisture to the roots.
Homemade paper cups break and soak. They do not guarantee the safety of seedling roots. It takes time to prepare them for landing.
Neither plastic nor paper cups provide additional feeding for the roots of the plant.

How to plant seeds in cups correctly: instructions

Planting seeds in cups is a simple process.

If the peat cups are covered with mold, it means that they are waterlogged. At the bottom of the pallet in which they stand, there is water that needs to be drained. Wipe the surface of the glass with alcohol, vinegar or soda solution. If mold damage is significant, such containers should be disposed of. For prevention, regularly ventilate the room in which the seedlings are located, reduce the dose of watering, gently loosen upper layer soil in cups.

The mold should be removed and the glass should be wiped with alcohol, vinegar or baking soda solution

Where to buy and how to choose

To get a good result, you need to use quality materials... Beginning, inexperienced vegetable growers complain that the seedlings often dry up, and the plants planted in the garden in cups do not develop and die. This comes from the use of not quality products. There should be at least 50–70% of peat in them.

When choosing peat cups, give preference to dark, porous and soft to the touch, with a wall thickness of no more than 1.5 mm. Light, dense glasses are a fake, where there is more cellulose than peat.

Peat cups should be purchased in specialized stores and only in branded packaging, it is advisable to require a quality certificate. Buying them in bazaars is fraught with undesirable consequences.

Do not be tempted by the diminutiveness and originality of the shape of some glasses. They are round or square, this does not affect the development of seedlings at all... In small cups (5 cm in diameter), the roots will be cramped. Better to buy large, 8-10 cm tall, pots. Such root system any seedlings will grow full-fledged.

Self-made peat cups

Some craftsmen make peat cups with their own hands. Such a simple production can be organized in any rural yard or on summer cottage... The main thing in this business is to properly prepare the mixture:

Collect all necessary materials v the required quantities: peat - 7 parts, humus - 2 parts, mullein - 1 part, a little slaked lime.
Sift peat and humus thoroughly. There should be no coarse solid particles in the mixture.
Mullein to breed in hot water... The amount of water is determined in each specific case empirically.
Add the diluted mullein to a container with peat and humus and mix thoroughly with a shovel until a homogeneous mass is obtained.
A little lime can be added to the resulting solution. Fill if necessary hot water... The moisture content of the mass is determined by trial molds of the cups.
At home, you can mold the pots with two plastic strong glasses that have the shape of a truncated cone.

Production of peat pots for seedlings - video

Each summer cottage season begins with the cultivation of seedlings. Everyone understands why this is being done - you can significantly increase the growing season and get not only an earlier, but also a much larger harvest. On the territory of our country, there are regions in which heat-loving vegetables cannot be grown in any other way.

As the first stage of development passes, so will the subsequent ones continue - this is the law of nature. To improve the development of plants, many gardeners and gardeners use peat pots. How to use these little helpers? Should I buy them for growing seedlings? Consider the pros and cons of these cups.

What are they made of?

Before purchasing peat seedling pots, find out what they are made of. Such devices are made from peat, to which cardboard or wood is added. Most of all, gardeners praise cups with a basic substance ratio of 70% and an additive of 30%. Beware of low-quality goods, it happens that unscrupulous manufacturers increase the percentage of impurities, or even use only cheap cardboard at all. Before you buy agricultural machinery, read what is written on the package.

Environmental justifications

Peat products have many advantages over their counterparts made of plastic, paper or ceramics. For plants, this will be a real ecologically clean house... The peat used for the production of containers for growing seedlings does not contain pathogenic microflora, there are no weed seeds. In such products, the content of harmful toxic substances, for example, heavy metals, benzopyrene and pesticide residues, is significantly lower. The concentration of such substances will be several times lower than the permissible agriculture norms for growing plants and crops. Lightweight peat is safe for use, it does not contain pathogens of various diseases of vegetable and flower crops.

When choosing peat pots for growing seedlings, carefully examine them. For good quality products, the wall thickness should be one to one and a half millimeters. Such walls will be strong enough to last the entire period of plant development, but the roots of the seedlings will be able to develop unhindered. After planting in the soil, a high-quality pot will begin to decay quickly, thereby facilitating the work of cleaning the fields. The decay period for quality products lasts approximately 27-32 days.

Peat seedling pots. Pros of using

Due to the porous walls, the best air-water regime of the root layer is ensured. During planting in the ground, the plants freely let their roots through the walls and bottom.
Such containers do not contain pathogens and toxic substances, while they have a large mechanical strength both wet and dry.
When planting seedlings together with a pot in the ground, the survival rate reaches almost 100%. Later, when decomposed, the pot will serve as fertilizer.
Due to the accelerated survival rate of seedlings, more early harvest, mainly for this, seedlings are planted in peat pots.

How to use? General requirements for the use of peat pots

The containers are filled with a slightly moistened nutrient soil, slightly crushed. After that, it starts in peat pots. You can sow bulbs, cuttings or seedlings.
Place prepared cups on pallets, pesos, plastic wrap, gravel or soil.
Seedlings should be watered frequently to keep the soil moist.
Peat pots must not be allowed to dry out. How to use them correctly? Wrap plastic wrap around each unit to prevent drying out. Otherwise, the salt contained in the earth may crystallize and, in concentrated form, pose a danger to delicate seedlings.
When the plants grow, the pots should be placed freer to increase illumination and aeration. In addition, a more spacious arrangement prevents intertwining of the root systems of neighboring plants.
Growing seedlings in peat pots ends with planting in the ground. You do not need to dig up the plants; plant them directly with the old container.

Seedlings of zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkin, eggplant, squash

Seedlings of these crops do not like transplanting. For the plants to take root, take peat pots for growing. How do I use them? What size is preferable?

For seedlings of cucumbers intended for planting in greenhouses, pots with a diameter of 11 cm are suitable. The duration of cultivation is approximately 30 days. How to plant in peat pots? One sprouted seed is sown in one glass.

If you have to plant vegetables in open ground, then for seedlings of zucchini, squash and cucumbers, containers with a diameter of 8 cm should be chosen, for pumpkin better fit 11 cm and planted one in each pot. Planting depth 1 cm. Cucumbers can be planted in 2 pieces in one container.

On average, pumpkin seedlings will be ready in 20 days, and the rest of the vegetables in a month. You yourself can calculate optimal terms landing.

The finished pots are placed on pallets tightly to each other, carefully watered and left in a warm place where the temperature is maintained at 25-30 degrees until shoots appear. When yellow-green sprouts appear, the temperature should be reduced to 20-22 degrees. Such temperature regime supported for 2-3 days.

Watering

Water the cucumber seedlings with warm water heated to 25-30 degrees. If there is cold watering, plants can get sick or even die.

Hardening

To prevent plant diseases after transplanting into the ground, they are hardened - 7-10 days before planting - the premises are often ventilated, the temperature is lowered to 15 degrees, and less often watered.

Landing in open ground

The prepared plants are planted in the soil directly in the pots. Some gardeners break the cups before planting or pull out the seedlings along with an earthen ball. You can do that too. However, gardeners who used peat pots to grow seedlings leave the following reviews about planting - they believe that it is better to make holes in the containers first. When decaying, the cups will nourish the plant, helping to get a large harvest.

Seedling cabbage

In March, cabbage is sown in special boxes. After the seedlings appear, they dive, and planting begins in peat pots. Cups with a diameter of about 7 cm are suitable. You can use round specimens or peat blocks, in which there are 6 cells at once. At the end of April, you can start disembarking at

Lettuce seedlings

Lettuce seedlings for planting in greenhouses are prepared with a pick of seedlings in pots. Suitable pots measuring 50x50 mm or, as they are also called, peat cells. After about a month, the seedlings will be ready for planting in a greenhouse or greenhouse.

The roots of many plants can penetrate the bottom and walls of peat cups. However, most gardeners do not wait for this - they are guided by the size of the aboveground part of the seedlings.

Experienced gardeners say that if peat pots are immersed in warm water until the release of air bubbles from the walls stops, then in this case the soaked walls and bottom will not create obstacles and will be easily processed by soil inhabitants.

Disadvantages of peat pots

Not all plants tolerate the acidic environment inherent in peat. Some manufacturers add special mineral fertilizers to the composition of products, as well as lime and chalk, which reduce acidity.
Mandatory frequent watering is required.
Evaporation from the surface of the pots, the water greatly cools the soil, as a result of which the root system develops much worse.
Some plants cannot break through the peat walls; they have to be removed from the containers during transplantation.
Mold often appears on low-quality pots, the walls collapse
The high cost of peat cups, especially when growing large volumes of seedlings.

Unfortunately, some unscrupulous manufacturers give out pots made of ordinary cardboard for high-quality peat products. Gardeners complain that sometimes in the fall, when digging a plot, they find undecomposed pots with remnants of roots.

Subsistence farming in the broadest sense is one of the oldest, and perhaps the most ancient human occupation. Over such a long history, it has gone through many stages of both development and public perception. From an absolute necessity, when growing plant food with your own hands was the main condition for survival, to neglect, when digging in the ground began to be considered the prerogative of exclusively financially vulnerable people and the elderly, who seem to have nothing else to do. But today, plant growing, growing vegetables, fruits, and any other greenery is experiencing a new round of popularity with its own efforts. The basis for it was the fashion for organic products and the public protest against artificial ingredients, which are increasingly used in Food Industry... Then the massive fear of the notorious GMOs "connected". The financial crisis also played a role, significantly reducing the ability of many of our fellow citizens to load up to the top a cart in a supermarket. finished products in colorful packages. And, finally, over time (someone - with age, someone - under the influence of media propaganda) comes an understanding that simple fact that there is no better food than the simplest and most natural.

One has only to step on this path - and fresh vegetables grown in the garden, begin to seem a hundred times more delicious than complex restaurant dishes, and even about the benefits of such food, there is no point in spreading thoughts: it is already obvious. Moreover, in the summer, when the body itself seeks to cleanse itself, to get as much natural vitamins, plant fibers and juices as possible. In such circumstances, even those who have never taken a rake in their hands before, and learned about the ripening of tomatoes only by their appearance on the shelves, are accepted for gardening. But for such novice gardeners, modern industry has created many aids. All kinds of devices, tools and chemicals make planting, growing, and caring for the crop easier so that their functionality has been appreciated by experienced plant breeders. And their special attention was paid to peat pots, without which at least one fan of the gardening sector rarely does without. That essentially simple idea turned out to be so useful that now few people grow seedlings without them. Want to try it too? There is nothing easier: it is easy to handle peat pots, they are not expensive and do not take up much space either in the house or on the site. And yet, for the best result, it is better to know in advance all the nuances of how to use peat pots.

Peat pots: properties and features
Peat pots are relatively small (the size can be different, depending on your tasks) cups or boxes designed for growing seedlings in them. main feature peat pots and their main difference from other containers of a similar purpose lies in the material from which the pots are made. It is not difficult to guess about it by the name itself, but in fact it is not 100% pure peat, but a mixture of peat with wood pulp or humus, dried, tightly compacted and formed in the form of a round or square container. Such a composition of the material for manufacturing was chosen because it is the most lightweight, durable and effective in terms of the functions that are assigned to it. Every gardener knows about them firsthand, and for everyone else, we will remind once again that most of both fruit and ornamental crops begin their own life cycle from seedlings. This is a kind of "childhood" of a plant, and it, just like in humans, has a decisive influence on the entire subsequent life of a plant: its development, growth, fertile indicators, etc. Therefore, it is so important to properly grow the seedlings and provide them with necessary care... All this is provided for by the composition and design of the peat pots:

The root system is well supplied with oxygen and water thanks to the porous walls of the pot. Neither nutrition nor respiration of the developing plant is disturbed.
After planting in the ground, the roots grow freely through the pliable and soft walls of the peat pot, without encountering resistance.
The base of the pot is strong enough to withstand the stress of soil and seedlings for as long as needed.
A peat pot, falling into the ground, gradually decomposes and itself becomes a natural fertilizer for the plant, which provides its nutrition and improves growth performance.
The peat pot is completely made of natural ingredients that do not harm either the seedlings or the soil, and do not poison the crop.

It follows from this that peat pots are a really useful invention and a necessary acquisition for growing seedlings. But you didn’t do without them before? Of course, you can grow seedlings in other containers. For this purpose, our mothers and grandmothers used boxes, bags, jars and glasses from yoghurts, cottage cheese, sour cream ... growing seedlings "handy materials". Firstly, some crops with a naturally weak root system (for example, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers, eggplants, etc.) cannot be planted and then dived in boxes: they simply do not withstand such tests. Secondly, containers from fermented milk products often contain their remnants, and lactic acid bacteria very aggressively affect the roots, causing them to damage and disease. And, finally, the roots of seedlings grown in solid containers are inevitably damaged, which subsequently cannot but affect the development of the plant. All of these dangers can be avoided by using peat pots. And in order to choose the right ones at the first purchase, keep in mind that:

In shape, peat pots are round and square in diameter. This is not of fundamental importance for the success of growing seedlings, but it can save space or otherwise affect ease of use.
The size of the peat pots is also different, so do not rush to buy the first one you come across if their volume seems not very convenient to you. Look for the ones that best suit your needs and give your seedlings maximum comfort and growth.
Peat pots can be separate or stapled into horizontal blocks of several pieces. It is more convenient to store and use piece peat pots. If you expect that you will simply break the block into separate parts, then do it carefully so as not to violate the integrity of the walls of the neighboring pot, for all their strength they are quite susceptible to mechanical damage.
Try to choose the walls of peat pots from one to one and a half millimeters thick - experience shows that it is optimal for most types of seedlings.
Don't confuse a peat pot with a cardboard one. They look very similar, especially if the cardboard is painted, and unscrupulous manufacturers take advantage of this. Cardboard pots, unlike peat pots, do not dissolve in the ground, do not nourish the plant and do not allow its roots to develop freely in the soil.

Advantages and disadvantages of peat pots
Having mentioned the fakes of peat pots, we came close to the actual topic of their shortcomings. Indeed, it cannot be that anyone, even the most comfortable and simple device, there were no downsides. There are also drawbacks regarding the use of peat pots, and they have long been noticed by gardeners. How to treat them - everyone decides for himself, depending on his capabilities, temperament and preferences among garden crops... We invite you to find out about the difficulties faced by other gardeners, and decide for yourself how critical they are for you personally: are they worth giving up peat pots altogether, or just take some measures to overcome these difficulties:

Peat pots, due to the looseness of their walls, cannot be dry when filled with moist soil. And if so, the moisture evaporates continuously, and the earth inside the peat pot dries up, forcing the seedlings to suffer from "thirst".
On the other hand, since it is very difficult to control the degree of moisture and evaporation, there is always a risk of watering the seedlings in a peat pot too much. As a result, the pot becomes covered with mold, which spreads to both the substrate and the seedlings themselves.
Evaporation of moisture inevitably leads to cooling, that is, a fragile root system that needs warmth, in practice, begins to freeze, grows slowly and develops poorly.
Some peat pots do not decompose in the soil as quickly as necessary, and remain in the soil in lumps, littering the soil and interfering with other plants. Most often this is a sign of low-quality pots, made not of peat, but of cardboard and other materials.
Sometimes the walls of a peat pot are too strong for weak roots that simply cannot break through. For example, pumpkin does the job, while peppers get stuck and wither away.

How to grow seedlings in a peat pot
If the above side effects you are not pushed away, and you have not given up the idea of growing seedlings in a peat pot, then it is best to follow the standard instructions for using peat pots. And as complications arise, apply a few tricks, which we will talk about further. One way or another, peat pots are far from being criticized by all gardeners, so it is possible that in your case everything will turn out well. And the probability of a successful result of using peat pots will be the higher, the more accurately you follow the following sequence of actions:

Make sure that you are going to use exactly peat-humus pots - and it is better to do this even at the time of purchase, carefully studying the composition of the product by packaging and asking the seller in detail.
Fill the peat pots with soil suitable for each type of seedling, pre-moistened and nutritious.
Compact the soil lightly, but not too much so that the seedlings can break through the ground and get enough oxygen.
Sow the seeds into the soil right in the pot, drown the bulbs in the ground "up to the shoulders", plant the cuttings and seedlings depending on their size.
Place the seedling pots on a wide tray. You can push them in tightly at first, and move them apart as the root system grows to provide adequate space, light and aeration.
Keep the soil in the peat pots moist at all times. Water it directly or through the drip tray.
Do not allow the soil to dry out in peat pots: this is fraught not only with drying out of plants, but also crystallization of salts, which further damage fragile seedlings.
Water the seedlings liberally in peat pots about a day before planting them in open ground.
Do not remove seedlings ready for planting in the ground from the peat pots, but bury them in the ground with them. The depth of immersion of a peat pot in the soil depends on its size.
Make sure that the top edge of the peat pot is level with the ground or not much deeper (no more than 1-2 cm deep).

As you can see, the technology of growing seedlings in peat pots is really simple and logical, both in theory and in practice. Its main advantage is that there is no need to remove seedlings from a solid container when planting in a garden bed and thereby injure thin roots. Flowers take root especially well in peat pots, and even such capricious ones as miniature Snapdragon... But the disadvantages of peat pots cannot be ignored either. Therefore, we suggest that you do not close your eyes to them, but, on the contrary, look around in search of a way out of the situation and take advantage of some of the subtleties discovered by enterprising gardeners in the process of using peat pots.

Secrets of using peat pots
Each gardener himself chooses what devices to use in his activities - fortunately, you can find, choose and buy literally any tools today. Listening to the opinions of others, you should try growing seedlings in a peat pot at least once in order to form your own opinion. But if you didn’t like using peat pots, but you bought them in advance and with a reserve, do not rush to get upset and count the “thrown away” money. There are no unnecessary things on the farm, and now we will prove this to you again with the example of peat pots:

With a hole punch, awl, or other sharp object, immediately poke several holes in the bottom and sides of the peat pot. Subsequently, this will make it easier for the roots of the plant to get out.
To prevent moisture from evaporating through the walls of the peat pot and cooling the seedlings, wrap each pot plastic wrap or a package. Remember to remove this plastic before planting outdoors.
Before putting the seedling soil in the peat pots, saturate them with a solution mineral fertilizers... This will help the walls of the pots to dissolve faster in the soil and provide the plants with additional nutrition.
To prevent the peat pot from becoming moldy, spray it with a special preparation, for example, foundation. This will not have a detrimental effect on the seedlings.
And finally, you can use peat pots not for all seedlings, but only for the strongest and strongest - for example, the same pumpkin, whose roots easily penetrate the walls of the peat molds.

The excitement around peat pots, as is often the case, is greatly exaggerated. For all their benefits, they also have disadvantages, which, however, are not at all difficult to cope with with a small amount of rational attitude. But they are lightweight, safe for the environment and look much better than the assorted plastic packaging for cottage cheese desserts. You can start and continue to grow seedlings in peat pots for any agricultural, ornamental, horticultural crops, or abandon them forever, finding more suitable way... In other words, both the gardening season and good harvest depend not on peat pots, but on your skill and attitude. It is no secret that plants as living organisms and part of nature are sensitive to the psychological atmosphere around. Therefore, use peat pots and other garden tools easily, with a smile and in a good mood, then the seedlings will be a joy!

More than 10 years ago, multifunctional vessels for growing seedlings, called peat pots, began to be sold on the shelves of hardware stores. The convenient shape and the pleasant price of the tanks instantly attracted the interest of people working in the garden, thus ensuring a sharp demand for the product. Read about peat seedling pots and their use in this publication.

Peat pots for seedlings

So, in this article we will tell you about what peat cups for seedlings are. You can also learn how to use them. For a long time, the composition of products includes humus, cellulose and peat, which occupies 70% in high-quality containers. Sometimes lime or chalk is added to the composition to lower the acidity. Products are made using a press in molds with a radius of 10–20 cm. In appearance, they can resemble a circle, trapezoid or square. The density of the walls is about 1–1.5 millimeters, thus ensuring unhindered root growth.

The method of using vessels is quite easy: the plant is moved into the ground along with the pot. As a result, the root system is not negatively affected and the seedlings germinate well. In order to avoid rapid evaporation of moisture, it is necessary to completely put the pots in the ground, having made holes in the vessel in advance. Some summer residents deliberately dip the containers in water, then remove the seedlings and move them into the ground together with the ground.

How to use peat pots

And now the moment has come to tell you how to use peat cups. Within a month, the vessel undergoes rotting and turns into fertilizer. Low-quality sprout containers take a long time to disintegrate in the soil. This is due to the fact that some organizations use large volumes of dense cardboard, which was under pressure, in the manufacture of peat vessels. As a result, the young root is not able to grow through the glass. To avoid this, it is necessary to make holes in the bottom of the glass.

Mode of application:

Planting in peat cups is not a difficult process. And now it is worth revealing the details of this work. The bottom of the pot is filled with a drainage layer of pre-crushed eggshell... Next, add soil with nutrients, previously washed with a solution of potassium permanganate. When laying the layer, do not over-compact the soil. For the root system to develop naturally, it must be airy. The soil is watered room temperature and the seeds are planted. For prophylaxis, a peat container is treated with an anti-fungal agent. Banks with seedlings should be at some distance from each other so that the roots do not intertwine.

Pros and cons of peat containers

There are no weed seeds and pathogenic microflora in peat. When transferring seedlings from containers to the ground, the roots of plants are not exposed to negative influences. The pots are splitting in a natural way saturating the soil with peat. Convenient jars for sowing seeds. The improvement of seedlings should be started in medium-sized square pots, and the grown plants, along with containers, should be moved into larger round pots.

The only drawback of such pots is the rapid evaporation of water. It is for this reason that the plants growing in them need to be watered more often than in plastic products... To avoid rapid evaporation of moisture, wrap with food foil or polyethylene. They use peat containers on acidic or neutral soils, as well as when growing plants with brittle roots. For example, cucumbers, eggplants and tomatoes. Do not use similar forms for garlic seedlings, Chinese cabbage, onions and lettuce. You can choose peat pots for growing plants with strong roots, such as pumpkins.

Summing up

After reading the article, you can tell what peat seedling pots are and how to use them. Seedlings should be grown using such glasses, because they have many advantages, one of them is a low price. However, many experts do not consider such pots useful, you can conduct the experiment yourself by planting part of the seedlings in peat cups, and the other in ordinary plastic ones. At the end of the article, we want to wish you warm days and rich harvests in your beds.

Peat pots - help for the gardener or "seedling killer"? Analyzing the reviews of practitioners, we will figure out why the pots were called that way, and how to properly use the peat novelty. The recipes given here will help neutralize the disadvantages of peat capacity. All the secrets of planting seeds in peat pots are in the educational video.

Peat pots. What are their benefits?

Peat has long proven its valuable qualities and irreplaceable in supporting green shoots.

Peat glasses, cassettes, cells, pots are hollow containers containing peat and cardboard. Peat pots - great idea for plants with weak roots that are damaged during a pick. Seedlings are transplanted into a greenhouse or into the ground directly in a peat "house". After a while, the container dissolves, and the young growth receives the trace elements necessary for development.

The advantages of peat glasses:

Biologically pure storage of minerals. Peat does not contain pathogens, weed seeds and heavy elements. It is natural and environmentally friendly.
The wall thickness of a quality pot is 1.5 mm. It retains its shape and can dissolve in soil after 32 days.
The manufacturer guarantees one hundred percent seed germination.
Seedlings in peat pots rise 30% faster, which means an early harvest.
Glasses or pots are easy to transport and have a long shelf life.

Instructions for using peat glasses

Peat pots are perfect for germinating seeds of vegetable, flower, fruit and ornamental crops. How to use them correctly?

Before sowing, new cups must be soaked in a solution of humate fertilizers. This will serve to nourish the seedlings and the successful decomposition of the glass at the right time.
Pour loose soil into pots or glasses at a distance of 1 cm to the top. It is better to disinfect the soil.
Put the seed, sprinkle it with soil. Mark the pot with the variety and sowing date.
Can be covered with plastic wrap and placed on a windowsill.

Peat pots - instructions for use

The principles of growing seedlings in a peat container are standard: timely watering, wet air, temperature for seeds is 22-24 ° C, for sprouts - 15-17 ° C. Daylight hours lasting 15-17 hours.

Attention! Seedlings should be watered often, but little by little, carefully monitoring the possible drying out of the soil. Young shoots love spray humidification.

Cheap Peat Tanks - Don't Buy!

The world wide web is filled with disappointment among vegetable growers. The reason is drying out, low germination rate, death of seedlings. However, it is quite possible to turn the disadvantages of peat glasses into advantages.

On practice good idea peat pots crashed about the peculiarities of doing business in Russia. Ideally, high-moor peat should account for more than 70% of the above peat products. In fact, even high-quality peat glasses contain 50% peat and the same amount of pressed cardboard. And cheap options even consist of cardboard and cellulose. Hence the mass negative reviews from practitioners and experts.

They complain that the seedlings in the peat pots are dying. Even if it grows on a window, it withers after transplanting into the ground. When digging up such a weak bush, the reason is found out, it remained in peat captivity. The pot does not dissolve not only after a month, but also after a season. It turns out that this is not the fault of peat, but of pressed cardboard, which takes much longer to decompose.

Advice. When buying, you should carefully consider the product. Cardboard is lighter than peat. It is dense and pressed to the touch. Peat is porous and brittle to the touch.

The way out of the situation is to refuse cheap peat pots. They should be bought only in specialized stores, with the original packaging and a certificate of conformity.

Protection of pots from drying out

Growers point to problematic watering of seedlings in peat glasses. The clod dries out quickly and has to be watered too often, leading to mold. What's the matter?

Peat is indeed a water addict. He has the ability to quickly and in huge quantities suck water and give it away environment... It turns out that the glass itself dehydrates the soil in which the plant develops. If the owner watered the seedlings and went to work, then in the evening he may find withered plants.

To avoid drying out, peat pots can be covered with foil

You can neutralize this deficiency with the help of scrap materials. For example, carefully wrap a peat pot in foil. Or put the pot in a plastic bag. Then all the moisture will remain inside, and the soil will not dehydrate so quickly. And in order to avoid the appearance of mold, containers with seedlings must be regularly ventilated.

Correct landing in the ground

The manufacturer indicates that seedlings can be transplanted in pots that decompose well in the soil. To implement the developers' idea, peat pots need help:

before transplanting into the ground, generously moisten the hole;
water the pot itself so that it is soaked;
after transplanting, water not only the planting site, but also the entire garden;
then moisten the seedlings as usual, because the process has already started.

So the pots disintegrate perfectly in the promised 32 days and fertilize the seedlings with minerals. If in doubt and fear for the seedlings, you can start by planting plants with strong roots and see what happens. For example, the root system of pumpkin, watermelon, melon can overcome any obstacles. Some users advise to tear the pot a little, or poke holes in it with an awl.

The seedling killer can still work effectively! Just caring for seedlings in peat pots requires knowledge, care, time and patience. But any obstacles are a great incentive to overcome them!

Growing seedlings in peat pots - video