So I got all my little ones transplanted this weekend. This time around I chose to put them all in the jiffy peat pots. I used Happy Frog medium. This is my question. Has anyone noticed growth reduction and/or root binding problems when you put "Pot and all" into the ground? To be safe in the past when I bought plants in these I would cut the pot away. Is that a good idea or is that pointless? And are there actually any benefits that you know of from planting them with the pot? Thanx!
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media Peat Pots
- Thread starter Scar
- Start date
When i store bought my plants last year I just tore/cut away the bottom 1/2 or so of the peat pot. Threw it in the hole and planted that way. Had 2 tomato plants that were over 6 ft tall, lettuce that was ready to be picked in a few weeks, a cucumber plant that wouldnt stop producing, Jalapenos and cayanne that all though started late produced quite a few pods.
I used peat pots with happy frog soil too. I found that the pots were really hard to keep from drying out. I ended up repotting almost all of mine into bigger plastics pots. Since most of their roots didn't even get out of the bottom, repotting wasn't a problem. Now, I have a dozen Jalapenos that had massive roots coming out, so I repotted them into 1 gallon pots, peat pots and all. It seems like the outside of the pots dry up real fast, and roots won't go out as well. I've bought vegetables in peat pots before and planted them straight into the ground without any problems. Next year I will only be using plastic pots and peat pellets to start(maybe). Now what to do with 50 some peat pots that I wont be using....
I guess I didn't really answer your question. I had root-binding problems with the peat pots this winter with my starts. If I was to plant them in the ground, I would try and cut away the bottom, but only if you can do that without disturbing the roots. Once I got most of mine out of the peat pots and into plastic, they took off. They also didn't require as much watering, and had more room for root growth. If they're rooting like crazy, I wouldn't worry about it.
I guess I didn't really answer your question. I had root-binding problems with the peat pots this winter with my starts. If I was to plant them in the ground, I would try and cut away the bottom, but only if you can do that without disturbing the roots. Once I got most of mine out of the peat pots and into plastic, they took off. They also didn't require as much watering, and had more room for root growth. If they're rooting like crazy, I wouldn't worry about it.
I soak mine and then tear off the bottom portion to let the roots free. Then I tear holes in the sides so the roots have an easier time getting thru the sides, if there is a big gap from the soil line to the top of the pot I tear off the tops also because if any of the peat pot on top exposed to the air they will dry out all the way down with sparse watering. The pieces I tear off I rip into smaller pieces and mix it throughout my soil mixture.
Angie
Angie
i don't use peat pots but do use coir, i found i have to take scissors and cut vertical slices down the sides and slices in on the bottom as the coir containers are wound too tight and pepper roots won't penetrate them. tomato roots appear to be stronger and can.