Re: Learning seed propagation...
Hi Allan. I'm not Val but I can attest to the fact that the peat
pellets work just fine. I buy mine at a local 'has everything' store
for about 2.5cents per pellet, in packs of 20.
I use a plethora of things to put the seedlings into as they get larger,
including reused plastic pots I have cleaned. At that point I just use
regular potting soil amended with my mulch and perlite to make it a bit lighter.
Right now, for example, I have put my tomatoes (started in the pellets)
into 4" pots, from there they will go into milk cartons so I can bury
the stem deeper.
The pellets (which you soak before seeding) can be put into old flats,
but I prefer something with a solid bottom so I salvage the clamshell
salad to go type container and have bought some shoebox sized plastic
boxes also.
The plastic boxes have the advantage of being fairly inexpensive,
reusable for years and have a top to put on to keep moisture in. At the
end of the seeding season, they clean up and stack in a corner of the
garden room.
I was never very successful with flats, pricking out was hard for me.
With the peat pellets and a fine seed dispenser, I can control the
quantity of seeds that go into the pot.
This year I have about 25 different plants seeded out so far (in 3
different waves) and am doing my third wave.
The first one, long time germinating seeds and most perennials I started
in january, the second one in mid march. The January plants are mostly
in recycled 4"pots and are outdoors now, waiting for the garden to dry
and for the plants to get bigger. The march plants are under the lights
in the garden room and the just seeded ones are in a bright window,
covered in their boxes so daylight can get in, they are warm and the
moisture stays in.
By the end of May I look like a nursery her and often have folks drop by
and ask when I am going to open for sales!
However, I have had new beds to plant out for the past 4 years and don't
have much to spare. My children get what I don't plant!
elle in oregon (Z8..lotsa mud)
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