From which you can make pots for seedlings. Pots for seedlings with their own hands

Gardeners prefer to use peat pots. The main element in the composition peat potsis peat, auxiliary elements - cardboard, wood.

The highest quality pots are those that are at least 70% composed of peat. The correct pots are very loose, so they perfectly allow air to flow to the root system of the plants, which contributes to the active growth of strong seedlings.

The loose structure of the products allows the roots to break through their walls with minimal effort. After planting seedlings in the ground, the pots dissolve rather quickly - 33-38 days.

The density of cups, in which a lot of cellulose (cardboard) is added, does not have such advantages, therefore there is a big risk that the plants will develop poorly, and after planting in the soil they may even die.

High-quality peat pot should be at least 70% peat

Before as buy peat pots Be sure to get acquainted with their composition, so as not to spend on low-quality goods.

The advantages of peat pots

Absolute environmental friendliness of products - they do not contain toxic substances for humans and the environment.

The composition of the material used for making cups, there is no pathogenic microflora, contributing to the development of various diseases. Also in the mixture for the manufacture of peat products there are no weed seeds.

Seedlings planted in this way, there is a greater likelihood that it will quickly take root in a new place.

The accelerated survival rate guarantees an early and high yield. Harvest time comes earlier at 14-21 days, and the amount of the harvest increases by about a third.

When the pot is completely dissolved in the ground, it turns out beautiful, which feeds the plants for less than three months.

Disadvantages of peat pots

Despite the considerable number of advantages of peat products, there are some disadvantages.

The soil often dries up due to the fact that the loose structure of the cup absorbs all the water and it quickly evaporates from it. The plant "freezes" due to the fact that, during evaporation, the soil cools. If you do not make timely watering the seedlings will grow poorly or may even die.

In order to prevent the soil from drying out, the pot is watered excessively, which provokes the development of mold.

There are frequent cases when, after the pot is planted in the ground, it does not dissolve, thereby taking the captive roots - later they can not get all the necessary substances from the soil and slowly die.

Abundant watering can lead to mildew on pots.

How to use peat pots?

The gardener, who first decided to try a similar container for growing seedlings, has a very obvious question - how to put in peat pots?

Peat cups should be soaked in a mixture of organic and mineral supplements, and then dried thoroughly. For the roots to be able to break through the walls of the container, it is recommended to make small holes over the entire surface of the pot. With this task the usual clerical puncher will perfectly cope.

Purchase soil or soil mixture, made by yourself, you need to fall asleep in cups. Please note, the ground should be loose and airy, so you can not tamp it carefully.

Seeds are planted in pots according to the required dates, as well as the depth recommended for planting the selected plant. Watering is best carried out with a spray or a small watering can.

In order for plants to enter the container in unison and quickly, they are covered with a film of polyethylene and put it in a warm place, while the temperature ranges from 20 to 25C. Two days before planting seedlings on the site, the pots should be watered abundantly in order to speed up the process of their dissolution in the soil.

Before relocating young plants to the site, they must always be hardened, otherwise they will react painfully to sudden changes in the environment. Five days before planting, the seedlings are taken out into the street and gradually increase their time in the open air.

Mostly gardeners grow in peat pots tomatoes and pepper. Bottom crops or even bushes (raspberries, gooseberries, roses) can be grown in cups.

The photo shows tomato seedlings in peat pots.

According to peat pot reviewsTo successfully grow seedlings in such a container you need to adjust to it a little: often, but in small quantities.

Most amateur gardeners praise growing seedlings cucumbers in peat pots, because this way it is possible earlier than usual to sow the seeds and, as a result, to get the harvest in the shortest possible time.

Types of peat pots

Peat pots may be square or round. They make pots individually or in sections (a certain number of cups are interconnected).

In diameter, the pots can have various sizes: 5 cm, 6 cm, 7 cm, 8 cm, 9 cm, 10 cm. The height of the container coincides with its diameter - for example, 5 cm width and 5 cm height.

On the photo of a variety of peat pots

The size peat pots is selected depending on what plants are planned to be planted. Wall thickness varies in the range of 1.5-2.5 mm. Packed peat containers must necessarily have a label with the composition.

Peat pots it is advisable to buy in specialized stores in order to ensure themselves from purchasing low-quality goods. Peat pot price depends on the size and on their type (pieces, blocks). The minimum cost is from 10-15 rubles per item.

How to make a peat pot?

For creating peat pots for seedlings first of all you need to prepare a solution with the right consistency. Here are a few recipes for the mixture: mix peat, sod land and mullein in a ratio of 7: 2: 1, combine 60 peat and 20% humus soil, 15% sod land and 5% mullein. The components are diluted with water to a relatively thick state.

After the mixture is prepared, it is best to use a stainless steel container that will not be corrosive during refillable use.

You need to take a glass with a removable bottom and pour a little mixture into it, then use the second part of the equipment, tollers of a slightly smaller diameter than the container, and push the excess mixture out of the mold.

The powder is carefully tamped down the contents, after which it is removed, and the glass is left for some time to dry out the contents. At the end of production, peat cups are dried outside in the sun or in a melted stove.

To make good pots, it may take some time to correct the mistakes: add certain components, increase the drying time of finished products.

Subsistence farming in a broad sense is one of the oldest, and perhaps the most ancient occupation of man. For such a long history, it has gone through many stages of development and public perception. From the urgent need when hand cultivation of plant food was the main condition for survival, to neglect, when digging into the ground was considered the prerogative of only financially unprotected people and the elderly, who seemed to have nothing more to do. But today, crop production, the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, any other greenery is undergoing a new round of popularity. The basis for it was the fashion for organic products and public protest against artificial components that are increasingly used in the food industry. Then the mass fear of the notorious GMOs “connected”. The financial crisis also played its role, which markedly reduced the ability of many of our fellow citizens to load the trolley in the supermarket to the top with finished products in colorful packages. And finally, over time (someone - with age, someone - under the influence of media propaganda) comes the understanding of the simple fact that there is no better food than the simplest and most natural one.

One has only to step on this path - and fresh vegetables grown in the garden begin to seem a hundred times tastier than complex restaurant dishes, and there’s no point in spreading the benefits of such food: it is already obvious. Especially in summer, when the body itself seeks to cleanse itself, to get as many natural vitamins, vegetable fibers and juices as possible. In such circumstances, even those who had 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 a lot of aids. All sorts of devices, tools and chemicals facilitate planting, growing, caring for the crop so that their functionality was also appreciated by experienced growers. And peat pots received their special attention, without which at least one fan of garden farms now rarely does. That simple, in fact, the idea turned out to be so helpful that now very few people grow seedlings without them. Want to try too? There is nothing simpler: it is easy to handle peat pots, they are not expensive and do not take up much space in the house or on the plot. And yet, for best results, 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 intended for growing seedlings in them. The main feature of peat pots and their main difference from other containers of a similar purpose is the material from which the pots are made. It is not difficult to guess about it by its very name, but in fact it is not 100% pure peat, but a mixture of peat with wood pulp or humus, dried, tightly tamped 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 lightest, most durable and efficient in terms of the functions assigned to it. Each gardener knows about them firsthand, and for all the others we will once again remind you that most fruit and ornamental crops begin their life cycle from seedlings. This kind of “childhood” of the plant, and it, just like in humans, has a decisive influence on the whole subsequent life of the plant: its development, growth, fruitful indicators, etc. Therefore, it is important to grow the seedlings correctly and provide it with the necessary care. All this is provided by the composition and design of the peat pots:

The root system is well supplied with oxygen and water due to the porous walls of the pot. Neither the nutrition nor the respiration of the developing plant is disturbed.
After planting in the ground, the roots germinate freely through the supple and soft walls of the peat pot, without encountering resistance.
The base of the pot is strong enough to withstand the load of land and seedlings as long as it is necessary.
A peat pot, getting into the ground, gradually decomposes and becomes a natural fertilizer for the plant itself, which ensures its nutrition and improves growth rates.
Peat pot is completely made of natural ingredients that do not harm either the seedlings or the ground, 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 did without them before? Of course, you can grow seedlings in other containers. Our mothers and grandmothers used for this purpose boxes, packages, jars and cups of yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream ... No one bothers you to follow their example, but you need to take into account certain features and difficulties that have been encountered before and continue to be faced by those who use to growing seedlings "improvised materials." First, some crops with a naturally weak root system (for example, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers, eggplants, etc.) cannot be planted and then dive into boxes: they simply do not withstand such tests. Secondly, the container from under fermented milk products often contains their remains, and lactic acid bacteria very aggressively affect the roots, cause their damage and illness. And, finally, the roots of seedlings grown in solid containers are inevitably damaged, which subsequently can not but affect the development of the plant. All these dangers can be avoided by using peat pots. And in order to choose them when you first purchase, keep in mind that:

The shape of peat pots are round and square in diameter. Of fundamental importance for the success of growing seedlings, it does not have, but it can save space or otherwise affect usability.
Peat pots differ in size too, so don’t be in a hurry to buy the first ones that come in, if their volume doesn’t seem quite convenient to you. Look for those that best meet the needs and provide the seedlings with maximum comfort and growth.
Peat pots can be split or stapled into horizontal blocks of several pieces. And store peat pots more conveniently and use them more conveniently. If you expect that you simply break the block into separate parts, then do it carefully, so as not to disrupt the integrity of the walls of the next pot, for all their strength they are quite susceptible to mechanical damage.
Try to choose from peat pot walls from one to one and a half millimeters thick - experience shows that it is optimal for most types of seedlings.
Do not confuse peat pot with cardboard. They look very similar, especially if the cardboard is painted, and unscrupulous manufacturers use it. Cardboard pots, unlike peat, do not dissolve in the ground, do not nourish the plant and do not allow its roots to develop freely in the soil.

The advantages and disadvantages of peat pots
Having mentioned the fakes of peat pots, we came up close to the topical issue of their shortcomings. Indeed, it cannot be that any, even the most convenient and simple device, does not have minuses. With regard to the use of peat pots, there are also shortcomings, and they have long been noticed by gardeners. How to treat them - everyone decides for himself, depending on his abilities, character, and preferences among garden crops. We invite you to learn about the difficulties that other gardeners have encountered, and decide for themselves how critical they are for you personally: whether they are worth giving up the peat pots at all, 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, then the moisture evaporates continuously, and the ground inside the peat pot dries up, causing 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 the risk of watering the seedlings in the peat pot too much. As a result, the pot is covered with mold, which extends to the substrate, and to the seedlings themselves.
The evaporation of moisture inevitably leads to cooling, that is, the weak root system, which needs heat, in practice begins to freeze, slowly grows and develops poorly.
Some peat pots do not decompose in the ground as quickly as necessary, and remain in it in clumps that trash the soil and interfere with other plants. Most often it is a sign of poor quality pots made not of peat, but of cardboard and other materials.
Sometimes the walls of the peat pot are too strong for weak roots that simply cannot break through. For example, the pumpkin copes with this task, and the pepper gets stuck and withers.

How to grow seedlings in a peat pot
If the side effects listed above have not pushed you away, and you have not abandoned the idea of growing seedlings in a peat pot, then the standard instructions for using peat pots would be best to follow. And as complications arise, apply a few tricks, which we will discuss next. One way or another, peat pots cause far from complaints to 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 peat-humus pots - and to do it better even during the purchase, carefully examine the composition of the product on the packaging and having asked the seller details.
Fill peat pots with a suitable, pre-moistened and nutritious soil for each particular type of seedling.
Lightly seal the soil, but not hard, so that the seedlings can penetrate the ground and receive enough oxygen.
Sow the seeds in the ground right in the pot, drown the bulbs in the ground “by the shoulders”, plant the cuttings and seedlings depending on their size.
Place the seedlings in a wide pan. First, you can move them tightly, and as the root system grows, move them away from each other to provide sufficient space, light and aeration.
Make sure that the ground in the peat pots is always moist. Water it directly or through a drip tray.
Do not allow the land to dry out in peat pots: this is fraught not only with the drying up of plants, but also with the crystallization of salts, which further damage the fragile seedlings.
Abundantly water the seedlings in peat pots about a day before planting them in open ground.
Seedlings, ready for planting in the ground, do not remove from the peat pots, and bury in the ground with them. The depth of the peat pot in the soil depends on its size.
Make sure that the top edge of the peat pot is flush with the ground or not much deeper (no more than 1-2 cm in depth).

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 the absence of the need to remove the seedlings from the solid container when planting in the garden and thereby injure the thin roots. Especially good in peat pots take root flowers, and even such capricious as miniature snapdragon. But to ignore the disadvantages of peat pots, too, is impossible. 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.

The secrets of using peat pots
Each gardener chooses what tools to use in his work - good, to find, choose and buy today you can literally any tools. Listening to the opinions of others, you should at least once try cultivating seedlings in a peat pot to get your own opinion. But if you do not like using peat pots, and you bought them in advance and with a reserve, do not be in a hurry to get upset and count the “discarded” money. There are no unnecessary things in the household, and now we will prove it to you again using the example of peat pots:

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

The excitement around the peat pots, as often happens, is greatly exaggerated. For all their benefits, they also have drawbacks, with which, however, it is not at all difficult to cope with a small proportion of rational relations. But they are lightweight, safe for the environment and look not as an example better than unsuited plastic packaging from 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 a more suitable way. In other words, both the gardening season and the good harvest depend not on the peat pots, but on your skill and attitude. It is no secret that plants, like living organisms and part of nature, react sensitively to the psychological atmosphere around them. Therefore, use peat pots and other garden tools easily, with a smile and in a good mood, then the shoots will be for joy!

Sowing seeds for seedlings is a matter that requires preparation, but it is not at all necessary to go to the store or to the market and spend money on special containers. It is enough to use our tips and make cups for seedlings yourself.

Most of the self-made seedlings described below for seedlings can be made from natural materials, which means that they are useful for plant development. The undoubted plus of each of these methods is the opportunity to save once again.

1. Citrus peel

If you like to squeeze the juice from citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, lemon, pomelo, etc.) with the help of a juicer, then surely you have many halves of the skin of these fruits. Why not use them as cups for seedlings?

Make a small hole in the half of peeled fruit (at the bottom) for the outflow of moisture, then fill the rind with seedling seed and sow 1-2 seeds per potty, depending on the size of the future plant and the size of the citrus rind. Subsequently, the seedling can be planted from the open ground directly from the "pot".

2. Eggshell

An egg shell is an excellent variant of a self-made container for small seedlings or for growing seedlings before transhipment into a larger container.

Take the shell and make a hole from the bottom. To do this, you can use a thumbtack or a thick needle. Fill each shell with soil to half and sow the seeds. Egg "pots" with seedlings put in a plastic container for eggs. To create a greenhouse effect, close the lid of the container. When it is time to transplant or transfer, plant the grown seedlings along with the shell.

3. Egg trays

Tray of eggs is also used as a container for seedlings. Such containers are conveniently placed on the windowsills. To begin with, a hole is made in the bottom of each cell of the container (if the tray is plastic, you can heat the awl and pierce with it). Then the cells are filled with soil and sown seeds.

After some time, the roots of the plant will be covered with an earthen clod, and for further picking it will be enough to carefully remove the seedling with a clod of a fork.

4. Newspaper pots

Older newspapers can be an excellent material for making seedlings. To do this, you will need newsletters (it is better to give preference to black and white pages), a cylindrical object (a bottle, a narrow tin can), flour and water.

We offer to visit the page with our master class on making cups for seedlings from old newspapers or paper.

To plant seedlings in a greenhouse or open ground can be directly in the cups, but if desired, you can cut or break the "pot".

5. Plastic Bottles

It is possible to make a plastic bottle not just a capacity for seedlings, but a functional pot with an automatic irrigation system and a greenhouse effect. Cut a clean plastic bottle in half, do not remove the cap, but make several holes in it with the help of the same heated sew, needle or nail. Pull the synthetic cord through the bottom hole (it will be a wick).

Invert the upper part with the neck and insert it into the second half of the bottle. Pour the soil, sow the seeds. Remove the half of the bottle with the soil from the pan, pour water into the bottom of the pot, then insert the half with the plant back into the pan. Take another bottle of the same size, cut off half of it and use it as a cap for such a seed pot.

It can also be done differently: from a bottle (a plastic bottle of square shape with a capacity of 5 l is perfect, for example, from drinking water), cut off the side, and use the remaining bulk as a container for seedlings.

6. Plastic cups

Excellent capacity for seedlings are obtained from cups of yogurt or sour cream, disposable plastic and paper cups from the coffee. To make the pots, first wash these containers thoroughly, and then cut a hole in their bottom to drain the excess water. If the hole is too large, place a cardboard circle on the bottom of the glass. For convenience, you can write on the cup with a felt-tip pen or marker the name of the crop and the variety that you are going to grow.

Make containers with seeds sown in them in a box or on a tray - it is more convenient to store them. The advantage of such self-made pots is to conveniently remove the earthen clod when planting seedlings into open ground - just lightly press down on the bottom of the cup and the clod easily comes out while remaining intact.

7. Filter packages for coffee machines

If you brew coffee in a coffee maker, do not throw away the used paper filters - they can be excellent cups for seedlings.

Fill each filter bag with soil half and place it in a plastic box or a tray with high sides to give stability to the cups. They will stand tightly to each other, which means they will not fall. Sow the seeds and put a box with coffee "pots" on the windowsill.

8. Plugs from toilet paper

The cardboard tubes left over from the rolls of toilet paper are easily converted into biodegradable cups for seedlings. You can also use paper towel liners.

If you need a low cup, cut the sleeve across into two parts. Then do the following with each part: fold along and make cuts approximately 1/3 of the height of the tube with scissors so that you get 4 blades. Then straighten the workpiece and fold the blades one on top of the other, bending them, as they do with cardboard boxes, to make the bottom.

At a permanent place seedlings can be planted without removing from the cups, because paper and cardboard - biodegradable materials.

9. Waste paper and cardboard

To make such pots, you need to mentally return to school and remember all the familiar, but slightly forgotten technology of papier-mâché. So, you will need paper or cardboard, water and form. As a form, you can use glass cups, but most conveniently, if you have a metal mold for muffins for several cells.

Tear the paper into small pieces and place in a container with water, leave to soak. Then stick the form with the resulting mass: if you have glasses, then from the outside, if the baking dish is from the inside. The billet should be left to dry for a day and then used as a regular glass for seedlings.

10. Ice containers

Unnecessary tray (form) for ice can be an excellent container for growing seedlings before picking and serve in this role for more than one year. Make a drain hole in each cell (if the plastic is durable, use a drill), take a suitable tray and put the container in it.

Next, fill the cells with soil and sow the seeds. After some time, locate the seedlings in a larger tank. Just as in the case of eggshell, it is better to grow plants with a small root system in such a container, since they can become crowded in small cells.

11. Tetra Pak Packages

Probably one of the most popular options among hand-made containers for seedlings is Tetra Pak packages. From paper and cardboard bags, this multicomponent material is distinguished by increased strength and durability.

Tetra Pak is used for packaging juice, dairy products, in addition to cardboard there are foil and polyethylene. Preparing such bags for planting seedlings is very simple - cut them into 2 pieces and the cups are ready! You can also make a tray for seedlings, cutting the package not across, but along.

Remember to wash containers thoroughly before use.

12. Tea bags

The original method of growing seedlings in used tea bags for efficiency can compete with the cultivation in peat tablets, because tea has a beneficial effect on the development of the plant.

Each bag is cut off the upper part, then with a spoon it is placed inside the soil for seedlings and seeds are sown. It is better to put such "pots" in a pallet, for example, a container with low sides. When landing in an open ground bag is not removed.

For information on how you can still use sleeping tea in the household, read our material:

A little ingenuity - and you can fit almost anything under the seedlings. The main thing is to ensure the outflow of excess water when watering seedlings in cups and use a pan to collect the liquid.

Every real summer resident knows that a good harvest begins with seeds and seedlings.

Seedlings we plant, dive and transplant in separate containers. We can plant in peat pots, plastic containers or modern peat tablets.

And we can make pots for seedlings with our own hands and make them as much as you need by quantity. Fascinated gardeners are able to fill literally everything with green sprouts, you can’t get enough packaging.

As a container for growing seedlings you can use:

Tea bags
Tetra Pak packages
Ice containers
Waste paper and cardboard
Citrus peel
Eggshell
Egg trays
Plastic bottles
Plastic cups
Filter bags for coffee machines
Toilet paper sleeves

Tea bags

The original method of growing seedlings in used tea bags for efficiency can compete with the cultivation in peat tablets, because tea has a beneficial effect on the development of the plant.

Eggshell

An egg shell is an excellent variant of a self-made container for small seedlings or for growing seedlings before transhipment into a larger container.

Take the shell and make a hole from the bottom. To do this, you can use a thumbtack or a thick needle. Fill each shell with soil to half and sow the seeds.

Egg "pots" with seedlings put in a plastic container for eggs. To create a greenhouse effect, close the lid of the container. When it is time to transplant or transfer, plant the grown seedlings along with the shell.

Tetra Pak packages

Remember to wash containers thoroughly before use.

We offer to visit the page with our master class on making cups for seedlings from old newspapers or paper.

To plant seedlings in a greenhouse or open ground can be directly in the cups, but if desired, you can cut or break the "pot".

Plastic bottles

It is possible to make a plastic bottle not just a capacity for seedlings, but a functional pot with an automatic irrigation system and a greenhouse effect.

Cut a clean plastic bottle in half, do not remove the cap, but make several holes in it with the help of the same heated sew, needle or nail. Pull the synthetic cord through the bottom hole (it will be a wick).

Take another bottle of the same size, cut off half of it and use it as a cap for such a seed pot.

Plastic cups

If the hole is too large, place a cardboard circle on the bottom of the glass. For convenience, you can write on the cup with a felt-tip pen or marker the name of the crop and the variety that you are going to grow.

Filter bags for coffee machines

If you brew coffee in a coffee maker, do not throw away the used paper filters - they can be excellent cups for seedlings.

Toilet paper sleeves

The cardboard tubes left over from the rolls of toilet paper are easily converted into biodegradable cups for seedlings. You can also use paper towel liners.

Then straighten the workpiece and fold the blades one on top of the other, bending them, as they do with cardboard boxes, to make the bottom.
At a permanent place seedlings can be planted without removing from the cups, because paper and cardboard - biodegradable materials.

Waste paper and cardboard

To make such pots, you need to mentally return to school and remember all the familiar, but slightly forgotten technology of papier-mâché. So, you will need paper or cardboard, water and form.

As a form, you can use glass cups, but most conveniently, if you have a metal mold for muffins for several cells.

The billet should be left to dry for a day and then used as a regular glass for seedlings.

Ice containers

Egg trays

After some time, the roots of the plant will be covered with an earthen clod, and for further picking it will be enough to carefully remove the seedling with a clod of a fork.

Citrus peel

Each summer season begins with the cultivation of seedlings. It is clear to everyone why this is being done - it is possible to significantly increase the growing season and get not only an earlier, but also a much larger crop. 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 proceeds, so will the subsequent ones continue - this is a 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 you buy peat pots for seedlings, find out what they are made of. Such devices are made of peat, to which cardboard or wood is added. Most gardeners praise cups with a basic substance ratio of 70% and additives 30%. Be wary of low-quality goods, it happens that unscrupulous manufacturers increase the percentage of impurities, or even use only cheap cardboard. Before you buy agricultural equipment, read what is written on the package.

Environmental justification

Peat products have many advantages over their fellows made of plastic, paper or ceramics. For plants it will be a real green house. In the peat, going to the manufacture of containers for growing seedlings, does not contain pathogenic microflora, no weed seeds. In such products, the content of harmful toxic substances, such as heavy metals, benzopyrene residues and pesticides, is significantly lower. The concentration of such substances will be several times lower than the permissible agricultural standards for growing plants and crops. Light peat is safe for use, it does not contain pathogens of various diseases of vegetable and flower crops.

Choosing peat pots for growing seedlings, carefully inspect them. Good quality products should have a wall thickness of 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 freely. After planting in the soil, the quality pot will begin to quickly disintegrate, thereby facilitating the work of cleaning the fields. The decay period for quality products lasts about 27-32 days.

Peat pots for seedlings. Advantages of use

Due to the porous walls, the best air-water regime of the root zone is provided. During planting in the soil the plants freely rooted through the walls and bottom.
Such containers do not contain pathogenic organisms and toxic substances, while having high mechanical strength in both wet and dry conditions.
When planting seedlings with a pot in the ground survival rate reaches almost 100%. Later in the decomposition pot will serve as fertilizer.
Due to the accelerated survival of the seedlings, an earlier crop is harvested, mainly for this, the seedlings are planted in peat pots.

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

Tanks are filled with a pre-slightly moistened nutrient primer, a little kneaded. After this begins in the peat pots. You can sow the bulbs, cuttings or seedlings.
Place prepared cups on trays, pesos, plastic wrap, gravel or a layer of soil.
Seedlings should be watered frequently, keeping the soil moist.
Peat pots should not be allowed to dry. How to use them correctly? Wrap each unit with film - this will help prevent drying out. Otherwise, the salt contained in the earth can crystallize and in a concentrated form is dangerous for tender seedlings.
When the plants go into growth, the pots should be placed more freely in order to increase the illumination, aeration. Moreover, with a more spacious arrangement, interlacing of root systems of neighboring plants is prevented.
Growing seedlings in peat pots ends planting in the ground. You do not need to dig up the plants, plant them directly with the old container.

Seedlings of zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins, eggplants, squash

The seedlings of these crops do not like transplantation. For the plants to take root, take peat pots for growing. How to use them? What size would be preferable?

For seedlings of cucumbers intended for planting in protected ground, suitable pots with a diameter of 11 cm. The duration of cultivation is about 30 days. How to put in peat pots? One germinated seed sown in one cup.

If the planting of vegetables into the open ground is to be done, then for the seedlings of zucchini, squash and cucumbers one should choose containers with a diameter of 8 cm, 11 cm is better suited for pumpkin and planted one in each pot. Planting depth of 1 cm. Cucumbers can be planted in 2 pieces in one container.

Pumpkin seedlings on average will be ready in 20 days, and the rest of vegetables - in a month. You yourself can calculate the optimal landing time.

Finished pots are put on pallets tightly to each other, watered carefully and left in a warm place, where the temperature is maintained at 25-30 degrees until germination. With the appearance of yellow-green shoots, the temperature should be reduced to 20-22 degrees. This temperature is maintained for 2-3 days.

Watering

It should be watered cucumber seedlings with warm water, heated to 25-30 degrees. If there is cold watering, the plants may hurt or even die.

Quenching

To prevent plant diseases after transplantation into the ground, they are quenched — 7-10 days before planting — they often ventilate the room, reduce the temperature to 15 degrees, and water less frequently.

Planting in open ground

Prepared plants are planted in the soil right in the pots. Some gardeners break up cups before planting, or pull out seedlings along with an earthy ball. So too can be done. However, gardeners, who used peat pots for growing seedlings, leave the following feedback on planting - they believe that it is better to make holes in containers first. Decomposing cups will nourish the plant, helping to get a big harvest.

Cabbage seedlings

In March, cabbage is sown in special boxes. After the seedlings appear, they swoop down, and the planting in peat pots begins. Cups with a diameter of about 7 cm will do. You can use round specimens or peat blocks, which contain 6 cells at once. In late April, you can begin landing in

Lettuce seedlings

Seedlings of lettuce for planting in a protected ground are prepared with a pick of the seedlings in pots. Suitable pots size 50x50 mm or, as they are called, peat-cells. In about a month, seedlings will be ready for planting in a greenhouse or greenhouse.

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

Experienced gardeners argue that if, before planting, the peat pots are immersed in warm water until the release of air bubbles from the walls stops, then the sodden walls and bottom will not create obstacles and will be easily recycled by the soil inhabitants.

Disadvantages of peat pots

Not all plants tolerate an acidic environment, which is peculiar to peat. Some manufacturers add special mineral fertilizers to their products, as well as lime and chalk, which reduce acidity.
Requires mandatory frequent watering.
Vaporizing from the surface of the pots, the water cools the soil very much, as a result the root system develops much worse.
Some plants can not pierce the peat walls, they have to be removed from the tanks during transplantation.
Often there is mold on poor quality pots, the walls are destroyed.
The high cost of peat cups, especially when growing large volumes of seedlings.

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