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How to use Peat Pellets

The small discs that expand in water

By Scarwled WritingPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Jiffy Peat Pellets

In an earlier article I listed off some items that one can use when they first start growing plants. One of the items I listed was peat pellets. Personally, I love peat pellets. They are neat and easy to use. The only setback can be the price. My local Walmart happens to sell a pack of 72 peat pellets for just under $8 USD, but I was surprised to find that online you can buy the same 72 pack for a little under $44 USD. So I would suggest shopping around to find the store with the best price. Like I said in my earlier article, peat pellets are perfect for when you first start planting your seeds. The only thing is, what do you do once your little plant baby starts sprouting up? It's hard for beginners to know when the right time to transfer your plant into a pot or garden bed is. In my experience, it really depends on the plant. So here is what I do when I use peat pellets.

If you are just starting, I strongly recommend buying peat pellets that come with a tray and lid. This is because that tray acts as a green house for your plants. If you can, I would also recommend getting a small shelf sized greenhouse to put your tray in as well. I normally plant 2 or 3 seeds in each pellet. This is because in a pack of seeds, some seeds will grow and others might not. Another reason is because a lot of plants do better planted with more than one plant. You should always research your plants before and after planting them. After you plant your seeds into your peat pellets, make sure the pellets are moist and put the plastic top over the tray in order to keep the moisture in. The moisture is to help germinate your seeds so that they can eventually sprout up. You want to make sure that there is always moisture in your tray. Like any plant, you want to research how much sunlight they needs and position your tray accordingly. Planting seeds in general can be a hit or miss.

When you do see little plants sprouting out of your pellet, you normally want to wait until right before the sprout reaches the top of the plastic lid. Once they are that tall, you will want to put transplant them into a post, flower bed, or directly into the ground. It really depends on where you plan to place your plant. When you do transplant, you can either keep the fiber bag on them or take it off. If you do decide to take the fiber off, make sure there aren't any sprouts coming out of the fiber. If there are then you shouldn't take the fiber off since you could harm the plant. Some plants aren't that obvious when it comes to transplanting. Herbs like mint and thyme have very dainty sprouts. So dainty that I decided to take the plastic lid off because I felt like the water droplets from the lid might harm the plant. I kept them in my greenhouse with the lid off for about a week until I decided to transplant them into a small pot. While the lid was off of my pellets, I made sure the pellets themselves were always moist. Just as a side note, mint and thyme have very very tiny seeds. So I put anywhere between 4 and 7 seeds in each pellet. So my mint and thyme pellets had several itty bitty sprouts popping out of each pellet. Thyme in particular needs to be with other thyme plants in order to grow. That along with the size of the seeds are the reasons why I planted so many seeds in each pellet. After I transplanted each pellet into a small pot, I kept them in my greenhouse until the plant was fully formed and no longer a cluster of dainty little sprouts. I then transplanted the fully formed plants into my garden. I plant a lot of mint because it can be used as a harmless squirrel deterrent. Just be careful because mint can overtake a garden pretty fast.

I love using peat pellets. They are very simple and easy to use. With peat pellets you can plant your seeds at home without making a mess. The early stages of a plant are the most crucial. So having them grow indoors in a small peat pellet rather than outside can save your plant from getting attacked by birds, squirrels, and bugs. You do need to watch your plants daily while they are growing in the pellets. Since the pellets are small and the plant can quickly outgrow the pellet and die. Even though the peat pellets make planting a lot easier, you should always research the plants that you are growing in order to help keep them alive.

garden
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About the Creator

Scarwled Writing

My writing sandbox where I write about different subjects that spark my interest.

Gumroad

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