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Martinsburg, Pa

If peat pots are designed to go right in the ground and the roots to grow through them, and everyone says not to desturb the plants root system. Why do so many people cut the pots off? I have been putting the pots and all in the ground, is that a no-no?

1/24/2011 6:28:13 PM

Joliet, IL

i water my plants the night before transplant to moisten the peat pots so they peel off easily. if you are careful, there is enough moisture and roots to keep the roots undisturbed in the process. the pots can be directly planted in ground, but why leave anything that will possibly restrict free root shooting in all directions when transplanted. sure the roots will eventually push through the peat pot, but they will be restricted at first. i like 5" peat pots because they are cheap and easy and work good in my system and experience and are easily removable at transplant time.

1/24/2011 6:55:24 PM

South Hero, VT

If you don't mind some extra work, cut the peat pots in half vertically, then tape the halves together with duct tape. Fill with seed starting mix, plant seeds, and when it comes time to transplant, untape the halves.

Much less chance of injuring roots this way.

1/24/2011 8:10:14 PM

Martinsburg, Pa

thanks shazzy and steve, that all makes sense

1/24/2011 9:24:29 PM

Muddy Waters

It slows the roots down to pass through the peat.Its best to tear them off.

1/24/2011 10:14:27 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

If you leave yer plants in the peat pots too long, the roots are growing thru the peat pots...removing them will then tear off roots!!! If any doubt about when you are gonna be able to put sprouts outside, IMHO...do not use peat pots!!! I start all my AG's in 1 gallon plastic containers, upsidedown, w/holes in what used to be the lid (to allow water uptake)...now the bottom!!!(Old bottom is cut off) When ready to plant, carefully remove bottom(used to be the lid) and slide container off w/out any damage!!!! Hope this helps!!! Peace, Wayne

1/25/2011 2:13:10 AM

Joliet, IL

good point wayne...i use the peat pots knowing that they will get transplanted 3 or 4 days after sprouting. i can ensure this with a hoop house and space heaters. if you are not going to transplant immediately, i would suggest plastic containers or icecream cardboard containers to prevent the roots from pushing through the peat pot. if you started with a peat pot and then the weather takes a sudden turn and you can't get them in the ground due to rain or cold, you can transfer them into larger plastic containers and wait it out...hopefully not too long. when i did not use hoophouses, i found that if you have a rain event the day or 2 before you transplant and do not want to transplant into saturated soggy soil, throw a 4' x 4' piece of plywood over the planting spot before the rains. this will keep the area drier in that one spot nicely come transplant time.

1/25/2011 4:43:37 AM

Niagara Falls,NY

I make my own pots out of news paper.I wrap the news paper around a large coffee can and glue it together.Two layers of paper hold up pretty well.By the time I go to plant,the news paper is pretty soft and coming apart from watering my plants.Has worked well for me.I just soak them good before puting in the ground.

1/25/2011 9:16:49 AM

Massillon, Ohio

Peace Wayne & I are on the same page here. But I use 2 gallon pails. Within a week, the roots are already to the edges. The lids (now the bottom) snap on pretty tight, so I don't snap them....instead, hold it with a couple pieces of duct tape...very easy to remove the lid when ready to plant. Dig the hole...add whatever "stuff"...hold the pail over the top of hole...slide off the bottom...sit pail in hole, then pull the pail off. The slightly tapered sides allows the seedling to come out easily with undisturbed roots. Voila!!

1/25/2011 9:42:40 AM

churchville, ny

I take 1 gallon plastic flower pots ,cut out the entire bottom, invert it on a 9 inch plastic plate and fill with potting soil. That gives you at least 8 inches deep potting soil for deep root growth over a longer time.

The best part is when you plant, you set everything in the hole, slide the plate off the bottom, and the plastic pot easily slides up because now you are going from a wide bottom to a narrow top. Make sure the potting soil is fairly wet so that it does not fall apart. - it works great and it is all reuseable. Len Stellpflug was over last year and really liked the idea.

1/25/2011 12:04:41 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

I poke holes in 5" peat pots before filling with seed starting mix. I keep them very moist and the roots grow through them with no problem. It is critical to either peel of the top edge of the peat pot or bury it completely when planting. If you leave some exposed it can dry out the whole pot and restrict rooting.

1/25/2011 12:56:23 PM

Western PA

I don't use them myself, but I thought I read in a old post that Quinn Werner does, and does not have any issues at all. If I remember correctly what I had read, he said that at the end of the season, he can't find any evidence of a peat pot left.

And who can argue with his success. Maybe he will comment.

1/25/2011 1:12:10 PM

Polson, Montana

I use both. One thing that I want to point out is that you should sanitize any plastic pots that you use. If not you may incorporate any disease that you have had or from the source of the pot into your patch. Say for instance you have had angular leaf spot which is bacterial. You are going to rotate your patch to get away from it; then you need to thoroughly clean those containers. (This information was passed on by a local nursery. They sanitize everything.) They also got me some stuff to do this with. Cleanse your tools, tillers, etc.

1/25/2011 1:38:11 PM

Martinsburg, Pa

isn't it amazing how many ways you can achieve the same thing, Thanks for all the ideas, jeremy

1/25/2011 4:09:04 PM

Rapid City, SD

used peat pots once.........never ever again

1/25/2011 6:02:26 PM

Santa Rosa, CA

A trick I learned from Joel Holland is to drill holes in the peat pots before you use them. I know some growers poke holes in them.

I use the 4" round or 5" round peat pots. The more aggressive roots will grow through the holes.

When it is time to transplant into the ground, I usually pull off the top inch or so of the peat pot. (There are no roots up that high) This way, I do not disturb all of the little roots near the bottom and transplant the peat pot right into the patch.

Good luck with whatever method you use this season!

1/26/2011 3:27:03 PM

Billerica,Massachusetts

gave up on peat pots years ago, i now us gallon milk jugs pre-sliced and taped back together.

Glenn

1/26/2011 7:02:23 PM

Oakland,Maine

I did a variation of the gallon-pot-cut-and-taped method. I used a 5 gal. bucket cut in half. I cut out the bottom, leaving a half inch lip,which held a piece of plastic mesh,lined it with newspaper to keep the soil in. I held the bucket together by putting eye-bolts on both sides of the cut(top and bottom, so eight bolts total) and wire-tied it together. I figured the extra 4 gallons of growing room could come in handy if the weather turned nasty,delaying the move to the green house.
It worked slick. Just dug a hole about 6 or 8 inches bigger than bucket diameter, put the bucket in the hole cut the wire ties, separated the bucket halves and lifted them out. Retrieved the mesh at the end of the season.

1/27/2011 8:12:52 AM