Hey, it’s sixty degrees F outside today and the sun is shining! Yesterday it was 58 degrees with lots of sun. Boy does it feel great! But it sure looks ugly too, with all the mud, dirt, puddles, and nasty snowbanks. I enjoyed putting more pine shavings in the chicken coop and listening to the girls singing happily. Hey, I would too, but I’m afraid they’d panic if I did. I’m not a candidate for The Voice, for sure.
I decided to plant just a few more peppers today, several I was gifted and a couple of old favorites I just hadn’t grown in a while. Some folks have been asking me just how to use the Jiffy peat pellets. So, I’ll give a quick rundown. (Yes, I could plant in our mixed garden soil and compost. But this is easier and faster.) Right now, we’re so busy, even a few hours are precious!
The Jiffy peat pellets are sterile, so you don’t have to worry about damping off fungal attacks, killing your seedlings. First off, I make sure I have labels for each variety. Then I get a watertight container. We use our used plastic greenhouse flats. I fill a mixing bowl with hot water and place the tightly compressed discs in the water.
In a short time, they have absorbed a lot of water and are about four times as thick as when they were dry. Holding my hand over the open end, I gently squeeze excess water out of them and put them in the flat. I place my plastic label on the end of the first row. Then I take a pencil (lead end) and poke a hole in the center of each one, about 1¼ inches deep. Into each pellet I put one or two seeds. With the eraser end, I drag the sides of the peat into the hole, filling it. When I finish, I press down the center of each pellet gently to make sure the seed contacts the damp peat.
When the container is full, I slip it into a large plastic bag and set it behind our wood stove, so it is comfortably warm. I do not seal the bag as this sometimes causes the seeds to rot as the soil can’t breathe. In a few days we have beautiful seedlings! Ta da! Now you’re an expert!
— Jackie
Do you use scissors or any other way of getting rid of the pod’s fabric around the pellet? I used these years ago and the fabric never did decompose, so the plant’s roots were confined inside. Later in the fall, those mesh fragments stuck to my tiller tines, hoe, and I ended up removing most of the nuisances by hand from the dirt.
Looking forward to trying the Olinka pumpkin this year for first time! Is that ok to have with muskmelon and Dakota Rose watermelon together or will there be a cross-pollination problem? Thanks for all your decades of sharing knowledge!
I used some of the Jiffy Peat Pellets this year and every single one developed green algae on them. The plants appear ok though.
Do you use the pellets for only peppers? Can you plant them in Promix and styrofoam cups?
This Friday 14th blizzard conditions for the Dakota’s and tornadoes for the SE Iowa and southern Midwest plains. Bomb cyclone low pressure.
Thanks, Jackie. I didn’t know about the sterile peat pods so that there is no damping off! Good to know.
I didn’t know that either Elizabeth. Thanks for the info Jackie.
Hey,thanks for the great tutorial on peat pot seeding , the was and NOT ways didnt know that about fungal not in the pots. as long as they are easily available will plant this way! great having60 degrees:) we did but now back to overcast rain/snow forcast and mid 30’/
. Ah Mach spring weather. At least some of the daffodils are open. i still have a snowdrop thats perky!!
Hey Folks, I know about surgeries and being limited. I do flower boxes now and herbs in
contain pots. It’s not what I want; but its something and I enjoy it still.
I’m so glad you are getting nice weather! I wish I could get out and start seeds but this year will be very different for me. I fell back in December and destroyed a disk in my neck. After 8 falls, surgery, dying in surgery, and a TIA my body was pretty hammered. I am home now but still can’t walk. I’m working on it. Any ideas on how I can still do some gardening would be helpful and appreciated.
Yesterday over 60 degrees-crazy weather. This weekend predicted 30’s. I finished boiling the maple sap/got 19 pints canned up. Finished canning beef. We had bitter cold here in Southern Wi this winter and very little snow-we are behind in moisture. My pepper plants look good-tomatoes to be started 3rd week of March. I use the Burpee seeding trays and like those for seed starts. They are reusable and you fill with starting mix/the bottom of each cell is flexible to push out the “seed block”. This beats the time years ago that I used egg cartons to start seeds. I can’t wait for consistent warm weather.
Thanks for the info on planting seedlings! Yes it was almost like summer the last few days but I’m waiting 😊 We have had big snow storms in April up here. God bless you and your family!
Where do you get the peat pot things?
Thanks
Jacquie
Walmart, Tractor supply, hardware stores
Yes, everything is brown, dead and ugly.
My son made three gallons of chicken stock for me to can sometimes this week.
I do use your recipe. Thanks.