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media Question about peat pellets.

Gerry in NOLA

Gerry in NOLA

I recently started a bunch of seedlings in peat pellets. One thing I was wondering about: the instructions say to place 2 or 3 seed in each pellet, then cut off the weaker seedlings in each one. Can anybody tell me why that's necessary?
Thanks!
 
It's not necessary but normally the seeds are cheaper than the pellets -- so better to lose a few seedlings to culling than have pellets that have zero sprouts in them. ( Of course if you are doing rare or limited numbers of seeds putting one per pellet would work also !) -- and you need to cull all but one to keep because having more than 1 seedling in the pellet would result in over crowded plants that all suffer instead of 1 stronger plant.
 
Which part? Placing 2 or 3 seeds or cutting the weakest?

2 or 3 seeds if you are uncertain of germination rate.

Remove the weakest to avoid overcrowding.
 
Precisely what JDFan said.

I will sometimes keep more than one though if I have a hard time judging which one looks the healthiest and strongest. Simply pull one out slowly and carefully and transplant it into some seed raising mix. Done it many times without any dramas. You have to get to the job early though before the roots really start establishing themselves. I wouldn't be trying to pull any after the second or third set of real leaves have started developing.
 
Thanks for the responses.
I kinda get why they might say to leave the strongest seedling and cut the remaining ones, I just didn't understand why you would want to place several seeds in each pellet. It seems like a waste of seeds to kill at least half of your seedlings rather than use one seed for each pellet.
@Prehensile: I know what you mean, after using them once I don't think I'll be using them again. I got decent germination rates, but the results were no better than any other medium I've tried and I found the peat to be kind of a PITA to deal with.
 
Gerry in NOLA said:
I just didn't understand why you would want to place several seeds in each pellet. It seems like a waste of seeds to kill at least half of your seedlings rather than use one seed for each pellet.
Click to expand...

JDFan's response was right on the money...

JDFan said:
It's not necessary but normally the seeds are cheaper than the pellets -- so better to lose a few seedlings to culling than have pellets that have zero sprouts in them.
Click to expand...

Jiffy pellets aren't really re-usable. The longer they sit there moist, the greater the chance they are going to compact and grow mold. By the time you realize a seed has failed, the pellet is pretty much kaput.

EDIT:

Besides, regardless of your medium, it's good to cull the weaker plants anyway. Why waste your time and effort on something weak? Focus on the strong! ;)
 
gasificada said:
Jiffy pellets aren't really re-usable. The longer they sit there moist, the greater the chance they are going to compact and grow mold. By the time you realize a seed has failed, the pellet is pretty much kaput.
Click to expand...
I've reused mine before without any probs.
Maybe i just got lucky though?
 
nee said:
I've reused mine before without any probs.
Maybe i just got lucky though?
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To be honest, I've never tried... I've always just made the assumption they would be no good. :oops:

I guess ultimately it depends on their condition. Usually I give my seeds two or three months before I declare them failed (call me an optimist :lol:)... and by that stage, the pellet can look utterly worse for wear. They seem to eventually get this hardness to them regardless of how moist they are. I don't like the idea of the old rotten seeds being in there either.

How old were the ones you reused and what condition were they in? I'm curious now... and wondering if I can't save myself a buck or two in the future! ;)
 
gasificada said:
To be honest, I've never tried... I've always just made the assumption they would be no good. :oops:

I guess ultimately it depends on their condition. Usually I give my seeds two or three months before I declare them failed (call me an optimist :lol:)... and by that stage, the pellet can look utterly worse for wear. They seem to eventually get this hardness to them regardless of how moist they are. I don't like the idea of the old rotten seeds being in there either.

How old were the ones you reused and what condition were they in? I'm curious now... and wondering if I can't save myself a buck or two in the future! ;)
Click to expand...

They were nearly 3 months old! I dug the old seeds out first though! To be honest i only did it after Mezo said that's what he does :)
 
I hear you all, personal preference should be a key factor. I make my own starter mix of peat, vermiculite, and my home made potting soil, divided by 3rds, my first tray worked perfect no more MC seed starter though it worked just fine, I just didn't care for the peat pellets when I tried em took up to much space like the beer cups, a 72 compartment tray with a cover works way better here in the swamp. The trays also hold the seedlings for a longer time, I have 30% potting soil in the starter mix so the nuts are not a problem.
 
The idea of wasting seed is relative. I wasted thousands of green bell seeds yesterday because it's easier to put them down the garbage disposal with the placenta. Maybe you're growing something from a limited # of expensive seed and you have plenty of peat pellets, in that case I'd put one seed in each pellet but otherwise I always factor for at least two seeds per growing medium unit whether it be a pellet or just a cup of soil to start.

I also wonder if we're helping mother nature with natural selection. If you're keeping the fastest sprouting or most robust growing seed and culling the rest, perhaps there's a genetic variation at work. However there can be a downside. Suppose some of the seed is a cross with something else and what it crossed with usually sprouts earlier. You could then end up with 3 sprouts, 1 a cross and 2 pure, and end up culling the two pure ones because they got the late start and were shaded by the early sprouting cross.
 
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