Transplanting with peat pellets..

BackyardBirdGardner 1/26/2011, 9:55 am

I have thought about this but never asked. I just saw another thread suggesting this, so now I will ask...lol.

Those little peat pellets seem like ideal seed starters. I used them last year and liked them. However, I had a number of problems before transplanting them. Can you just shred that mesh a little and directly stick them in the ground?

If so, doesn't that keep the root ball in tact better than traditional transplanting? Meaning, can't we try transplanting some veggies with the reputation of being hard to transplant?

It seems just dropping the pellet in the ground would make the root ball untouchable enough to try anything?

**donnainzone5** 1/26/2011, 10:45 am

I can only relate my own experience. It seems that the seedlings become root-bound if I don't (carefully) remove the mesh before planting.

CarolynPhillips 1/26/2011, 10:53 am

I have never had a problem with plants becoming root bound in the peat pellets. My problem has always been that the roots grew out of the mesh and tangled up with its next door neighbor which is why i keep them slightly spaced apart if I am unable to transplant when the roots start pushing through the mesh. The mesh is very fragile and should not cause root bound plants. Peat pots do cause root bound plants if not torn to allow roots to sprawl freely when transplanted.

if you are growing sensitive plants in peat pellets , you can remove the mesh if there are no roots to disturb.

CarolynPhillips 1/26/2011, 11:12 am

sorry, company came in while i was replying and i cut it short

you can tear the mesh on peat pellets to help roots sprawl freely when transplanted.
just becareful with the sensitive plants.
I have noticed that roots can grow out the mesh more freely if they are kept moist.
It seems they have a harder time getting out if the mesh is dry.
And it is good to set plants that are grown in peat pellets a little deep when transplanted because the peat pellets dry out quickly when transplanted shallow.

BackyardBirdGardner 1/26/2011, 11:18 am

Thanks for the replies.

So, has anyone tried to Tplant tougher plants like spinach or peas using pellets?

ribarr4 1/26/2011, 12:06 pm

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:Thanks for the replies.

So, has anyone tried to Tplant tougher plants like spinach or peas using pellets?

I love peat pellets. I use them in our aquaponics system all the time. You might try just a few spinach and peas in them as an experiments, but I would'nt count on them exclusively. Spinach is hard enough to grow if you do everything perfectly to their liking.

Good luck and let us know if you try it out.

CarolynPhillips 1/26/2011, 12:24 pm

I have grown Malabar spinach(vining) in the peat pellets and they did just fine. Assuming the leafy bush would do just as well.

I sowed 72 snow peas( melting sugar heirloom) this morning in peat pellets (after they soaked over night).
since this is my first snow pea experience, I did not realize how big the peas would swell up. I had to use a sharpie marker to punch holes in the peat pellets big enough for the peas to fit in. I put them in as deep as i could then moistened the pellets again so i could pull the peat over the peas. Then I drained all the excess water out of the tray. (waiting)

acara 1/26/2011, 12:39 pm

The peat is fairly compacted, even after you saturate it (very hot water speeds up the soak time ... just make sure to allow time to cool before putting in seeds).

I usually take a precision-calibrated-organic-material-density-reduction-tool (a.k.a. plastic fork Very Happy

) and "fluff" the top of the peat-pellets, down to the planting depth. After put the seeds in, I cover the seeds back up with the "fluffed" peat and add a little more water to cover/re-compact the peat around the seed.

I recently planted a mess of spinach this way & just had some salads with the results last night (came out well after starting in the peat pellets).

Keep in mind though .... this is all based on my less-than-extensive experience level with seeds (about 2 months) ... so your mileage may vary....... just relaying whats worked for me so far.

CarolynPhillips 1/26/2011, 12:47 pm

acara wrote:I usually take a precision-calibrated-organic-material-density-reduction-tool (a.k.a. plastic fork ) and "fluff" the top .

Patty from Yorktown 1/26/2011, 1:00 pm

Hi,
If you are worried about the mesh on peat pellets, I have seen them for sale without the mesh. It was a garden catalog, so I do not know if they are easy to find locally. I enjoy pulling plants up in the fall and finding the peat pellet mesh tangled in the roots. Then I know for sure that healthy plant was one I raised from seed. Happy seed starting.

Patty from Yorktown

acara 1/26/2011, 1:01 pm

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:If so, doesn't that keep the root ball in tact better than traditional transplanting? Meaning, can't we try transplanting some veggies with the reputation of being hard to transplant?

I'll be able to answer that in another 7-10 days.

I dorked this up with radishes a couple of months back (planted a supposed non-transplant crop). Luckily some helpful forum members pointed out that I wasn't supposed to do that with radishes. Since the seedlings were very young, I went back and peeled the mesh off the peat pellets & planted them conventionally, with no ill effects.

I got bored at the end of December & decided to give radishes another try. when I planted, I did half as direct-sow, and half started in peat pellets. Of the ones started in peat pellets, I peeled the mesh off of 1/2 of them & left the mesh intact on the other half ...just to see what would happen.

I should be able to confirm/deny during the first week of February

BackyardBirdGardner 1/26/2011, 4:04 pm

I went with some easy ones a little bit ago. I dropped in my broccoli, celery, and two for lettuce. Granted, I only soaked four pellets. I don't plan on overkilling it....just a little here and there.

The lettuce is way to early for my area, but I saw another post that grew lettuce in the window. I figured, what the hey, and dropped in a couple. I mean, shoot, I have a window that faces south, that ought to be enough. We'll see.

If the lettuce seems to go well, I may drop in some spinach and some other things, just to stave off winter's boredom.

Acara, please do confirm, too.

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