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media RANT: jiffy products

J

JustinNC

I'm going to catch heat for this but here goes.

I was in a pinch and needed some seed starting medium and a small tray. Bought a bag of jiffy and a pack of jiffy peat trays. The jiffy mix is ok in plastic trays but in the peat trays (all I could find, was already not a fan of them) it is terrible. I was sick on two non consecutive days last week and lost seedlings on bouh days due to drying out under lights. Not giving up on the mix but ill grow in the bathroom sink before using that combo again.

I was batting a thousand with seedlings in coir and plastic. I do feel the jiffy makes a stronger root system due to drying because they have to look for water, whereas the coir stays moist.

Anyway. Not saying the mix is bad but the combo of the two dries quick and monitering moisture is a must at all times.
 
I don't think the problem was necessarily the mix, but the peat pot you used it in. They will suck the moisture right out of the soil. I have used the Jiffy mix many times and the only time I had a problem with it was with the peat pots. That is why I will never use them again. Next time use very small plastic cups to start them in if you have nothing else.

Good luck!
jacob
 
I second your rant. I used the jiffy peat pots last year and for a bunch this year before I smartened up and changed to plastic. what a difference I noticed when I got away from peat pots. they fall apart, they're moldy, and they dry up too quickly. The roots grow into the pots (and through them as well) so when you want to pot up, you're tearing the roots just to get the damn plant out. Never again!
 
jjs7741 said:
I don't think the problem was necessarily the mix, but the peat pot you used it in. They will suck the moisture right out of the soil. I have used the Jiffy mix many times and the only time I had a problem with it was with the peat pots. That is why I will never use them again. Next time use very small plastic cups to start them in if you have nothing else.

Good luck!
jacob
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Yep the title shoulda been jiffy pots. The mix is fine in plastic. I was in a pinch and no plastito be found at the time. Already didn't like peat. That confirmed it.
 
JustinNC said:
Yep the title shoulda been jiffy pots. The mix is fine in plastic. I was in a pinch and no plastito be found at the time. Already didn't like peat. That confirmed it.
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definitely agree with both of you. the mix is just fine.
 
Not that I've ever tried peat pots. I bought a 24 pack of jiffy peat pellets and tried it out on a few pepper seeds. None of them ever sprouted. I tried again just to make sure it wasn't me. Still nothing sprouted. I went back to my regular plastic cups, and there they were up and happy.

I'll never use those darn peat pellets on my peppers again. I might use it on a few experiments though. But never on my precious pepper seeds (I already got too little as it is).

Back to staring at my seedling trays. lol.
 
I use Jiffy pots for toms, not peppers. Bottom watering - i.e. sitting in a pan full of water - works great for me.

Don't think I'd try to germinate peppers in them, though.
 
was thinking that too. tomatoes would be good for it. won't throw 'em out. gonna use the rest of it on the tomato seeds i'll get from the mail.
 
Ballzworth said:
I second your rant. I used the jiffy peat pots last year and for a bunch this year before I smartened up and changed to plastic. what a difference I noticed when I got away from peat pots. they fall apart, they're moldy, and they dry up too quickly. The roots grow into the pots (and through them as well) so when you want to pot up, you're tearing the roots just to get the damn plant out. Never again!
Click to expand...

i thought you weren't supposed to remove the pot when repotting from jiffy pots?
 
charlesNYC said:
i thought you weren't supposed to remove the pot when repotting from jiffy pots?
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you don't have to right? maybe you could peel off the bottom and a bit of the top then let the roots grow through (like how I see it's done in youtube).
 
The problem is they dry out so fast that the roots have trouble going throught them. Some will get through but not all. The pot does not break down like it is supposed to in the ground. I know this from experience. At the end of a 7 month season, the pot was suffocating the plant with only a tap root going through. Needless to say the plants looked horrible.

jacob
 
jjs7741 said:
The problem is they dry out so fast that the roots have trouble going throught them. Some will get through but not all. The pot does not break down like it is supposed to in the ground. I know this from experience. At the end of a 7 month season, the pot was suffocating the plant with only a tap root going through. Needless to say the plants looked horrible.

jacob
Click to expand...

try the knife trick (what my grandmother used to do before she had to stop gardening), basically, she'd run a knife down the pot, creating something reminiscent of a pizza in the end so that the roots could scurry through and not have to wait for the peat to start decomposing..
 
jjs7741 said:
The problem is they dry out so fast that the roots have trouble going throught them. Some will get through but not all. The pot does not break down like it is supposed to in the ground. I know this from experience. At the end of a 7 month season, the pot was suffocating the plant with only a tap root going through. Needless to say the plants looked horrible.

jacob
Click to expand...

+1

Trying them once was enough for me.
 
I kind of like the peat pots that Bonnie plants come in, they're pretty big so they can soak up quite a bit of water, and are easy to bottom water. And because they're usually larger and more mature plants, they can handle there being less water. Overall, a good *temporary* container while waiting a short while to transplant in something better.

I will *never* use the little ones again for germinating seeds that you guys are talking about though. The moisture level is critical at that stage, and those things just can't seem to hold water... even with plastic covering the top.

On the other hand, the peat pellets with the mini greenhouse... I have had very good germination rates with those. Problem is, when they dry out and start needing regular watering, they're a PITA--they seem to dry out way too fast. So I'm still looking for a good seed starting soil, and will probably use the plastic cups method from now on.
 
Just lost couple more. Ahh. I'm going to tranplant the remains to plastic tomorrow. Rediculous. I soaked yesterday. Bone dry today. And its humid in there! I dnt have time to babysit them.
 
If you plant in pellets don't let them dry out. they get like brick, takes you 1/2 a day to soften. Now use nothing but coco coir for seeds, and potting up
 
HawaiiAl said:
If you plant in pellets don't let them dry out. they get like brick, takes you 1/2 a day to soften. Now use nothing but coco coir for seeds, and potting up
Click to expand...

The pellets I use are made of that and work great. They sell bricks of it for the same price 32 or 36 pellets cost, that makes 8 quarts, Im buying that next year. No worries at all.
 
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