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seeds Using Jiffy Pellets for germination

better yet can anyone tell me what to do with a weak chamomile / hydrogen peroxide tea ?

do i just add a little to the already soaked pellets ?
 
Hotpeppa said:
better yet can anyone tell me what to do with a weak chamomile / hydrogen peroxide tea ?

do i just add a little to the already soaked pellets ?
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Hmm - never used that before, just water. This is the 1st year I used a weak mixture (1 tbl spoon/gallon water) of Bloom Booster to start my seeds and it has seemed to work well. http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-3379

But this is also the 1st time I used a heat mat and that had to help.
 
I was just looking on ebay for prices of jiffy pellets and some of the auctions have just the pellet others have the pellet and pot included. If I use jiffy pellets do I want to use a pot or just set the pellet out by itself? I guess I could use a Jiffy Pellets 101 post. Any help would be great.
 
Hotpeppa said:
how come you are anti jiffy mate ?
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Stays wet for too long, mold/fungus problems, plants like to have better nutrients than just plain peat, etc etc. Treat you plants correctly form the begining and give them real dirt to start growing in. A happy seedling brings forth a happy plant.
 
Pam said:
How warm do you keep your house? I leave my peppers on heat until I'm ready to move them outside. I don't want the plants to get below 60F degrees at night, and I prefer that they stay around 70F.

As to transplanting, the problem is not so much that they will be come root bound that early, the problem is that peppers send out a decent tap root when they sprout, and you don't want to unduly disturb that when transplanting. The roots will grow right through the webbing on the peat pellet, so you want to be very gentle when removing the webbing and transplanting the seedling.

Honestly, I don't start my peppers in peat pellets because I don't want to have to fuss with transplanting that early. I'm basically lazy, and try to time things so I only have to transplant the peppers once, straight into the ground. I save the peat pellets for tomatoes, herbs, and flowers that aren't as root fussy as some peppers are.
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This is some good info, Pam. I'm opting for the pellets this time because I'm only looking to grow 30 - 35 plants, since I don't have room for more than that in my garden (or even that many, actually.) And, I am very excited about starting the plants from seed for the first time so I'm even looking forward to transplanting and all that that entails.

We keep the house fairly cool at night and during the day when we aren't home (around 68 degrees) so I'm thinking that I'll just keep the heat mat on right through until it's warm enough outside to move them out. And I am thinking of getting a couple small desk lamps and using CFL lamps in them. I only have one window that gets any sun...it faces west, but it already has plants sitting in it from my summer garden. There's no room there for any seedlings.

How does this sound so far?
Thanks again for the help.
 
I'm using jiffy pellets (along with oher mediums) for the fatalii comparison and so far the jiffy pellets are germinating more seeds at a quicker rate.
 
fineexampl said:
how much do jiffy pellets cost?
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I just went out to Walmart tonight, and bought the Jiffy Heated Greenhouse which includes their tray of 72 pellets with a dome cover and heatmat for $29.95. I believe that just the tray of 72 pellets with a dome but no heatmat costs $8.95. The replacement pellets are very inexpensive. I also bought a set of 72 seedling "pop-out cells" which I can transplant into and which will fit right into the tray, once the seeds have germinated and grown their first 'true' leaves. This way I can continue to use the heatmat and keep the little plants warm as they grow.

All in all, nowhere near as much as I thought my new set up would cost.
 
anyone have any problems as IGG stated about mold using jiffy pellets ?

they do stay wet for a long time i am noticing...
 
Its very easy for peat pellets to be too wet or too dry. They are fine for germination since really, moisture is all that is needed for that, but peat on its own is not a great growing medium and tends to crust up if it dries, or get mold when its too wet.
 
Hotpeppa said:
anyone have any problems as IGG stated about mold using jiffy pellets ?

they do stay wet for a long time i am noticing...
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I've never had mold problems with peat pellets, but there are lots of simple ways to prevent mold that have been discussed else site, everything from watering with dilute hydrogen peroxide or chamomile tea to sprinkling baby powder or baking soda on the surface of the rehydrated pellets.

The drawback to peat pellets is that you really must transplant the seedlings before they get too big or you can stunt the plant. If you're not a big ol' procrastinator like me, that's probably not much of a drawback, but it's why I start my peppers in something larger.
 
Jiffy pellets rot when wet and change the Ph, not so good.

Jiffy pellets will saturate and hold too much water and drown seeds if used improperly.

Jiffy pellets frequently are associated with fungi.

Rock wool does none of the above.
 
The top picture has Thai peppers. I forgot the exact date i planted them but they sprouted within 5 days. The bottom picture is an orange hab that i started in a jiffy. They are all leggy but it's because i only have 3x 14 watt CFL's on them. LOL. I got excited and planted before i bought any equipment besides jiffys. According to UPS i'll have my 2 105 watt 6500k's on Monday so on sunday i'll bury all of these guys to the bottom leaves and hope the increased light will be enough to strengthen them.
thai.JPG

hab.JPG
 
Pam said:
I've never had mold problems with peat pellets, but there are lots of simple ways to prevent mold that have been discussed else site, everything from watering with dilute hydrogen peroxide or chamomile tea to sprinkling baby powder or baking soda on the surface of the rehydrated pellets.

The drawback to peat pellets is that you really must transplant the seedlings before they get too big or you can stunt the plant. If you're not a big ol' procrastinator like me, that's probably not much of a drawback, but it's why I start my peppers in something larger.
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willard3 said:
Jiffy pellets rot when wet and change the Ph, not so good.

Jiffy pellets will saturate and hold too much water and drown seeds if used improperly.

Jiffy pellets frequently are associated with fungi.

Rock wool does none of the above.
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hmmm, thanks everyone.. the info is good and will help me...

just one more question, would you transplant the entire pellet once the plant is big enough into something bigger ? or would you shake off the peat pellet to the roots then transplant ?

i am a beginner so, sorry for the dumb questions..lol
 
here's another question that just popped up...smiles

would it be ok to transplant the entire pellet into coco coir since that is the medium i will be using ?
 
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