New to starting plants from seed, could use some pointers

[897tgigvib]

Couple things:

Often potting soil needs to be "wetted" before using.

Pour it into a plastic box. Get some warm to hot water and pour it onto it. Not too much. Then, "play with the dirt" using your hands until it is all moistened. Then it is ready to use.

Though I've never had the problem of overly dried jiffy pots, they were never my favorite things even for tricky transplanters, they too can be soaked in hot water, using fingers to massage them. Careful you don't break them apart.

Standard 4" plastic pots can be used even for the tricky transplanters if you know how to keep the rootball intact.

 

[canesisters]

I don't mind embarrassign myself. I'll ask a really silly question. Did those maybe have clear plastic wrapped around them?

I've never used jiffy pots so I really don't have any experience with them.

OMG that SOOO sounds like something I would do - but no, no plastic wrap. They (the pots and the soil) just didn't seem to want to soak up much water. If they are still floating when I get home tonight, I'll put them (the cuttings) back in water and hope that I haven't killed their roots... Then, I guess, tomorrow night I'll be making mud pies on the counter and trying a re-potting.

Thanks yall.

 

[canesisters]

i've always found that Jiffy pots were dried out and needed a thorough soaking before you plant anything in them. i'm not a fan of their use because you never know how long they've been on the shelf at the store.

Here comes one of 'those' questions.... Aren't they made mostly of dried out moss or something like that?? Do they 'go bad'? I would think that as long as they stayed dry they would 'keep' just about forever. Of course... I took my first 6 pots and turned them into a little fleet of rosemary boats... so..

 

[digitS']

When you mess around with peat, you begin to notice things about it. First of all, it really is composed of once living plants. There will be little stems and such.

For something once alive and filled with moisture, it sure takes peat a long time to soak up water! But, it also holds water for a good long time. Dry - you can see why it has been used as building insulation material.

What I don't like about peat pots is that they will "wick" water away from the soil. If you set the plant out in the garden in its pot, of course, you think to tear a hole in the bottom so that the roots have an easy time getting out of the pot. However, it is also important to completely cover the pot with garden soil! Leaving a little rim of peat above the soil surface will just act as a wick to pull moisture away from your plant - not what you wanted to do, I'm sure.

Steve

 

[897tgigvib]

Peat pots will keep about forever if you keep them dry.

That cheap potting soil will not much have soaked water. it will be mud pie time. Hope those roots are ok.