peat pots

[anemone]

A few of my chilli's, peppers and an aubergine have really not grown for a fair while. So last night I finally set about repotting them. The thing is that they hadn't got out of their peat pots from the last potting on.  So the peat pots were just inside a 3" pot but no roots had come out and filled the 3" pot.

I thought the idea of peat pots was that the roots just grew through them or is this only for bigger/stronger plants?

[anemone]

[Suzanne]

For the roots to grow through the pots the pots must be kept quite damp. The plants that were in my wndowsill trays before planting out were watered from the bottom, so the pots stayed moist - roots came out of these really quickly. The same with the ones I then planted out into the garden where the soil keeps the pot moist and starts to decompose it.

Hope this helps.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

I never understood peat pots, and gave up using them years ago, but that's because i'm stupid. There was a thing on TV a few months ago about how bad using peat was, and Peter Seabrook was on it (saying how good peat was) and he showed the way. You stand the peat pots in a seed tray, and fill the rest of the tray with peat. Like Suzanne says you keep the whole thing damp, and the roots grow out of the peat pots, into the damp peat. QED Simple!

[Duke Ellington]

There are alot of *peat pots* that are not really peat pots ??? they are made of cardboard to look like peat pots! They are usually sold in places like the poundshop.

Confused you will be after reading this.

Duke :)

[caseylee]

I used peat pots all the time last year,and they were very dmap, but the roots did not grow through, I had to take the bottom out carefully and then plant them.  I swear by newspaper pots now they work so much better and are so easy and cheap to make.  I make tons form just one newspaper.

[hopalong]

Cardboard toilet roll tubes work well for me.  Leek roots seems to find their way through them quite well.

[Eristic]

I can't work out why you all want to faff about and waste money tenderly nursing something as tough as leeks? Sow the seeds in a 3" pot, transplant to a deep seed tray then bang them out into the garden once they are big enough. They will grow better.

Re-use the pot and the tray. Both are free.

[anemone]

I think mine are the cheapo cardboard/fake peat ones (from wilkos).  The damp thing could well be a problem as I was trying not to overwater the chilli's in particular. I was using them as they were a nice size to squeeze more into the windowsill propogator and thought they would save me pricking out time :) I hope they catch up now that i've broken up the cardboard a bit and repotted them!

[Tee Gee]

I agree Eristic!

I recall when I started up; it was a case of if you can't eat it don't grow it, and pay as little as possible for it!

The other old chestnut was;

Q; What is the best green manure?

Ans; Pound notes!

I'm afraid today 'gardening' is being treated as a fad by the commercial people because of all the 'newbies' growing there own.

They have cottoned on to this and are charging some rediculous prices for stuff relative to what it once was..

For example; Multi-purpose compost has increased in price by around a third in the last year and much of it is 'crap'!!

And don't get me on about the 'common market' and what they are doing to the amateur gardener!!

Rant over!!

Nice to let of a bit of steam now and again  ;)

[GodfreyRob]

We use coir pots from Hairy Pot Plants. The pots are great and the service from the company too.
They are light (so good for us to post), roots grow through then easily and planting out is dead simple and fast, just put the whole pot in the ground. No non-biodegradeable plastic pots to dispose of. They are made in Sri Lanka and provide an income for some very poor communities. Oxfam sell them too, so its not a bad thing to buy them even if their are cheaper (but bad for the environment) ones around.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I wonder what it costs in pollution to transport them halfway round the world.

[lewic]

I inherited a plot that was covered in rubbish including hundreds of (mostly broken) plastic pots.. so understand the wish to use something biodegradable.

Was advised by an old guy at my allotment club at work (who swore he spent only an hour a week looking after 3 plots...hmm!) to always rip the bottom out of them before you planted them out. The plants I have done this with are doing a lot better than the ones I havent  A couple of sunflowers pushed themselves out of the ground and fell over before they got through the pot!

[1066]

They have cottoned on to this and are charging some rediculous prices for stuff relative to what it once was..

For example; Multi-purpose compost has increased in price by around a third in the last year and much of it is 'crap'!!

Tee Gee - is it the manufacturers or the retailers that are raising the prices? or its it both  :o

I wonder what it costs in pollution to transport them halfway round the world.

Same as the ones that are made of plastic !  :-X

[Baccy Man]

I wonder what it costs in pollution to transport them halfway round the world.

Same as the ones that are made of plastic !  :-X

But the plastic ones are reusable, I have polystyrene plug trays which are older than I am. I have not yet seen a peat/coir pot which can be reused once nevermind one that will still be usable after 30 years of annual use as my polystyrene trays are.

High quality plastic pots & trays probably won't cost you any more than a peat/coir pot would and they are reusable for many years whereas peat/coir pots have to be replaced anually so another load have to be shipped halfway around the world.

[Eristic]

The whole country is littered with 3" plastic flower pots. Put the word out that you want some and they will come to your door by the bagful.

My small pots must get used at least 3 or 4 times each year and last for decades. They only expire when dropped or stood on. I use seed boxes recycled from greengrocers or fish shops, the fish boxes being thinner typically last for only 2 or 3 fillings but the thick boxes from the grocers have a useful life of many years.

Both the plastic pots and the polystyrene boxes have already finished their designed life span before I even start to use them. They cost nothing and give sterling service. There is no need to spend oodles of money just to grow things.

I like the comment by Tee Gee about the green manure and pound notes but the people today feeding the garden centres have probably never seen a green pound.