This came to me after everyone I talk to say to remove as much as possible of the peat pots/poo pots/ coco pots from my seedlings so they have clean access to the new soil. So I thought I would share my ideas and get some more ideas rolling. I am thinking that taking a razor blade or sharp knife and perforating the pots in 6-10 places around the entire pot will help one remove it without disturbing delicate roots. I will have to experiment with this to see how sturdy the pots stay but I think that a series of small slits all the way down leaving small connector spots would makes it really easy to remove the pot when it is time to transplant and still keep the plant protected and not hinder the pots effectiveness. You could also do the same to the top and/or bottom around the whole pot to make it easy to take off the upper portion and to remove the bottom if you want to. Maybe a pattern like this: _______ ____ ____ ____ _______. Maybe just the width of a utility knife pushed in at regular intervals. Please share your thoughts, This is still just an idea off the top of my head so it has a long way to go but might be helpful for those vegetables that do not like their roots to be messed with when transplanting.
The easiest way to remove those pots are to soak them in water for a little while, then they will peel away pretty easily. Your idea should work too
I was wondering the other day about how to remove the pots. I bought some of the Coconut fiber pellets that expand with water for the first time this year. They didn't come with directions on how to safely remove the pot or the seedling at the time of transplant but I think your idea of cutting would create less disturbance of the roots. Soaking the pot would also weaken the soil around the roots, remove the pots and the soil sloughs off leaving the roots exposed, that might cause problems. Thanks for the tip fish_4_all.
Well I will experiment with them in the coming weeks to see how they do under different cuts. Is nice to have a walmart locally with 22 pots for $2. I just know I want to remove them as much as possible to give my cukes the best chance and for all the other plants to really get a nice root system going. The cuts in them will make it easier to cut them if needed to remove them completely. At least I hope so.
Yes, I am sure the cuts will help, I should have made my idea of soaking a them a little clearer, just for a bit, not for hours because Toni is right, it would disturb the roots. I have never used the coconut fiber pots and have no idea on them. Did you goggle for it? Sandra
Gee.. I'll start thanking you now as i see i have a lot to learn, and I think I'll be learning a lot here! I have never used the peat pots, and was under the impression I could plant the whole thing sooo glad I read this thread!
Beck, you can plant the peat/coco fiber pots without removing them. For strong root plants the pots "should" not get in the way. I just want to remove them completely so the plants have faster access to the nutrients I put in the soil. It is always best to remove the bottom of the pot if you can and you always want to make certain that the top of the pots is removed to below the soil line. I didn't do this with my strawberries last year and it hurt them big time until I buried the pots. I had to water them way too often to keep them from drying out.
Thanks Fish for that info.. I would assume since you had to water more frequently on your strawberries that is would indeed me the best policy to remove the peat pots on everything. I used the little "green house" kits with the 72 cells last year. They were great until it was time to try and get every plant out. Hopefully I learned something last year and it won't be as hard from now on.
I hate this little seed trays. Will never use them for cucumbers or anything else again if I can avoid it. Peat and coconut fiber pots are going to be what I use this year. easier to transplant and more room for roots so I don't have to transplant so early.
I have never started seeds for vegs (that I can remember..). I was thinking of using a thing from Burpee that has 72 cells --sounds like the same that Beck mentioned -- with peat growing pods... Maybe I won't... What problems have you guys had with them? Why was it hard to get the plants out Beck? And Fish4 -- what do you do with the peat pots after you plant the seeds in them? Where do you keep them, etc?
The pots can be used to loosen up future soil for plants. Break it up, soak it and pulp it then let it drain, I have done lots of things will the old peat pots. Peat growing pods should work fine, just make sure to remove the mesh before repotting the plants. I have even used old pots as a light layer before I added soil and it worked well for some nice zucchini. With cucumbers specifically you want to transplant before the roots start to go through the mesh on the pods. I tried to be so careful last year but every cucumber I transplanted died or didn't grow more than a couple inches long except for a select few and none of them produced fruit. Most if not all the peat pots I use don't have much use for anything but filler when I am done with them anyway.
fish... none of my vegies did well last year... we had a severe drought about the time it all came in. On the peat pots... OK I have to back track... yes i have used those but i call the "hockey pucks"...LOL. You are right in that you have to transplant some of the vegies faster than other Diane.. the trouble i had on the kit was I think I had waited too long and the plants were too large. I used a knife and pushed it down on all four sides trying to be careful not to damage the cells. Mine was also 72 cell, but i have seen larger cells online that would be easier. Anyway, I separated some of the roots system, or think I did, cause not all the soil came out with the plant... not that it hurt them any. They still grew fast, and the tomatoes had a few tiny ones on the plants before i could get them out of the GH Sorry fish for getting off topic on the green house kits!! :-D
No worries on that, the peat pots and the "hockey pucks" both need to be dealt with for best results with plants. I don't think you can pre cut the disks though, they would likely faall apart. I got a bunch of them today andwill see what I come up with as far as cutting the slits in the peat pots. Gotta get some cocnut fiber pots to try them also. The coco fiber is gonna be around a lot longer than peat. Waiting for the price of peat to start going up in the next few years.
