Jiffy pots & I dont' mean the little tabs either...

[Jared77]

Anybody using them? They measure I think 3" x 3" x 4" about the size of a pint? I saw them at my local garden store and it got me wondering about using them to start my seeds in. They came in packs of 8 or 10 depending on the size and shape. Id planned on using a cold frame outside and then from there right into the ground. Id start them inside but after the Siamese incident of 2010 Ill just start them it outside. Yes there's a story there and Ill tell it if anybody's interested.

It seemed like a good idea but I was wondering if anybody else used them and their experiences. Ive never bought anything that came in a biodegradable pot and planted it before. I've learned that experience and insight from others can be a less frustrating and cheaper means of learning than experience.

Thanks folks your always a big help

 

[AmyRey]

Interested

 

[silkiechicken]

Yes! Stories!

As for the pots... I've never used them because they cost so much. I just buy plastic cups and fill them with potting mix to start seeds. A trip to costco for a 55 quart bag of dirt for 13 bucks, and 250 18 ounce cups for 10 bucks. I hear the jiffy pots don't degrade that well either. Cost usually keeps me away from them.

 

[bootstrap]

I dont like them at all. They cause the soil inside of them to dry out a lot faster than plastic and when you plant them they take too much time to break down and hinder the growth of the plant. they are also an added expense. The only thing I would use them for is something that is difficult to transplant due to shock. Beans and sunflowers etc most people direct see these though.

 

[patandchickens]

Enh, personally I don't care for them as I have not found them to disintegrate all that well when put into the ground (they seem to remain intact, even after you rip off the top rim down to/below soil line, for long enough that it has generally stunted the root growth of the melons etc I've planted in them.

Others may get different results, but that's mine.

I would not even *consider* using them for anything that had a reasonable sense of humor about root disturbance; and for things that *are* pretty uncompromising about wanting undisturbed roots, I'm happier these days just being Real Careful and using regular pots to start 'em in. (Or use a wall o water or suchlike and seed into the ground, for htings for which you don't need TOO many extra weeks' growing time)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[journey11]

I dont like them at all. They cause the soil inside of them to dry out a lot faster than plastic and when you plant them they take too much time to break down and hinder the growth of the plant. they are also an added expense. The only thing I would use them for is something that is difficult to transplant due to shock. Beans and sunflowers etc most people direct see these though.

This has been my experience with them too. I reuse cottage cheese (etc.) containers instead because they don't dry out. And they're free!

 

[dickiebird]

I've used the smaller peat pots but only because they were cheap, on sale.

I do use a lot of Jiffy peat pellets, fairly cheap when bought in bulk.

I also have great luck with small Dixie cups, also 12 oz, 20oz and 32oz styro drink cups. The styrofoam cups I use over several times with no ill effects.

I'll either start my seeds in a peat pellet or small, clear Dixie cup. When the start is large enough, usually 2 true leaves, I'll transfer it to a larger cup, size depending on nature of plants root system.

THANX RICH

 

[silkiechicken]

I've used the smaller peat pots but only because they were cheap, on sale.

I do use a lot of Jiffy peat pellets, fairly cheap when bought in bulk.

I also have great luck with small Dixie cups, also 12 oz, 20oz and 32oz styro drink cups. The styrofoam cups I use over several times with no ill effects.

I'll either start my seeds in a peat pellet or small, clear Dixie cup. When the start is large enough, usually 2 true leaves, I'll transfer it to a larger cup, size depending on nature of plants root system.

THANX RICH

That is exactly what I do. I start things in 3 ounce plastic cups, then up them to 9 ounce cups, then up them to 18 ounce costco cups if they are not planted out from the smaller cups. I find that as long as I do not leave the plastic cups outside in the weather, I can wash and re-use them about 3 years before they get brittle. I don't punch drainage holes and use a calibrated finger over the water can spout... I have to do everything inside so don't want to risk leaks.

 

[Jared77]

Whew! I'm glad I asked before I sunk any money into those things. They were $1.50 for 10 of the square ones. I didn't price out the plastic pots I just happened to see them and figured Id look. I've never planted anything with the jiffy pots before so I wasn't sure. I've always done the paper dixie cups and when germinated then they got moved to a bigger plastic pot then hardened off. I was trying to avoid having to transplant them 2x but its worked in the past so I won't mess with a good thing.

As far as the Siamese incident of 2010 here goes.

My father was a biology teacher. And being the son of a biology teacher with a strong love of nature and science means we have a lot to talk about. Anyway his classroom was always a bit of a zoo. He had aquariums, rats, snakes, he did studies with genetics on mustard seeds and kept grew them in a hydroponic set up and I was always there helping him build something or asking questions to learn about what he was trying do or demonstrate etc.

So when he retired this past year it meant he had a lot of stuff to take down. I helped break everything down and rehomed a few animals, sold a few others for breeding and set up a few at his house to live out the rest of their lives. In the process of cleaning things out I found this 20 gallon aquarium. It was 36" x 12" x 12". I thought it would be a perfect set up to start my seeds in. Perfect set up. No worries about spilled water overflowing, any mess would be easily contained, the whole 9 yard. I bought a high out put light fixture to put over them and was ready to roll.

Well here's where I introduce you to our siamese cat Kade. He's a really cool cat. TONS of personality always a character and fun to have around. He'll still attack your feet if you move too fast with them under the covers, he sleeps under the covers after you make the bed. You'll walk past the bed and there will be this lump in the shape of Kade. Yep he's just relaxing in the middle of the bed under the covers. He's stalks our retrievers and will pounce on them to get them to chase him when he's feeling extra full of himself. He was just a few weeks old when my wife found him in the barn. So we brought him in, vet said he was close to being weaned, tamed him down and he's been here ever since.

So back to the plants......I thought I was SOOO smart with my new seed aquarium set up. Well one day we're sitting down to watch a movie and I hear this crash from the basement and Kade go flying across the house to seek asylum under the bed. So we stop the movie, and start looking around for what happened. Our daughter was asleep so we knew she was safe. Look all over the house and suddenly I hear my wife's voice from the basement. "You might want to come down here, but put your boots on, grab a broom and try not to be mad ok?"

Thats not something anybody wants to hear. I go on downstairs and yep you guessed it the aquariums shattered on the basement floor. Glass shards everywhere, the lights broken, and the germinated plants are scattered all over. So short of calling in CSI the closest I can figure out was the cat jumped up on the edge of the tank, causing it to tip and come crashing down. As my wife pointed out I had new plants in there and he's notorious for his desire to chew all plant leaves he can find; and the high output light I had was pretty warm so he may have wanted to sleep or was sleeping on it and shifted his weight causing it to fall.

The tank was sitting on a table against the wall near an outlet filled with little dixie cups of germinated seeds in all different stages of growth. And yes the table was tipped on its side, tank shattered and plants everywhere. I labelled gone to the trouble of individually labelling the cups so I knew exactly what I had, and the whole bottom of the aquarium was lined with my little dixie cups so you can imagine the mess. It wasn't one of my finest hours for keeping my cool and I know I said some awful things about barn cats and the mothers of barn cats especially.

I was able to save about a dozen of seeds of the hundred or so I'd started. The rest were damaged in the fall. I found glass shards for weeks down there even after sweeping and resweeping.

Luckily it was before Mother's Day as I was able to restock most of what Id started (even if it wasn't some of the really cool varieties Id started initially) at Flower Day in Detroit. So an 1 1/2hr drive down there to buy started plants from all the growers down there so I was able to save my gardening season. It was MUCH more expensive but it was better than not having a garden. For the record we go to Flower Day every year (I exposed my wife and mother-in-law to it now they are totally hooked. We're literally on the road at 5am to get an early start and beat the crowd cause 150,000 is a LOT of people) anyway and started a new tradition going on 7 years now but I wasn't planning on having to get my garden filled there too.

So that was the Siamese 2010 incident and why I have to start my seeds outside in a cold frame/miniature green house type of set up this year.

Thank you for the info on the jiffy pots too. This is why I LOVE THIS FORUM!!!!! You guys are the best!

 

[thistlebloom]

Well, I'll be the lone voice that says I use them and I not only use them I even like them. I start my tomatoes (mostly ) in them and have no problems. They are a peat product so, yeah, if you let them dry out you may not have the best experience, but I think they are worth the buck for 26. Those are the 2" ones. I find the roots grow through just fine, and haven't noticed that they don't break down completely, but if Y'all say so I'll believe ya. That wouldn't bother me anyway, because, like I said, the roots do grow through, and the plants certainly don't get root bound in them. There. Oh, yeah, and some of my starts will get plugged into the bigger 4" or whatever peat pot, pot and all, if they're getting big and the weathers not cooperating. No problems there either.