peatless mix?

[johno]

Someone at idig suggested that peat is bad for pepper seedlings. Does anyone want to weigh in on this idea?

[feldon30]

I see we are responding to this post at IDig suggesting that peat moss by itself or potting mixes that contain largely peat moss are somehow not ideal for starting pepper seeds. Ultimately we are talking about the pepper growing advice given at www.EcoSeeds.com which is the Redwood City Seeds Company.

I would agree that peat pellets and peat pots can be very problematic and I will not use them. But peat itself? I use soilless seed starting mix, which is almost entirely screened peat. Maybe folks are starting pepper seeds in unscreened peat? Unscreened peat is not fine enough, so there is not enough contact between the growing medium and the seed and/or roots, so the seedlings grow very slowly or not at all. But this same problem applies to tomatoes and other seeds.

They mention the acidity of peat-based seed starting mixes. Suze has told me that she always adds a bit of dolomitic lime to her seed starting mix to counteract the acidity of the peat.

It is important, nonetheless, to use something which won't give you damping off.

[johno]

I see you have done the impossible!

But seriously, I thought the question stood on it's own...

The post you linked is the one I was referring to, and the ecoseeds link is the one they were referring to - look under 'pepper growing tips.' In the future I will post the links...

Thanks for your response. The screened/unscreened distinction makes sense.

Has ayone found it true through their experience that soil mixes heavy in peat are detrimental to germination and/or seedlings?

[montanamato]

I have had the best germination and growth this year in my peppers, and I have done pretty fair in the past. This year I was ordering a few items from Johnnys and included a bag og their seed starting medium...The label stated it was " Johnny's 512 Mix with extra spagnum peet and perlite to lighten the texture and lower the soluble nutrient level....Recommended for plants which prefer low-nutrient soils...
I really prefer this for my peppers and rarely can even find seed starting mixes locally when I am starting seedlings...Tomatoes I start in most anything , but peppers really like a light , airy medium...

Jeanne

[johno]

So, if I added perlite to a soil mix, I would be on the right track?

[feldon30]

I apologize if my post sounded accusatory or harsh.

Perlite will lighten up a potting mix. One possibility is to put coarse peat in the bottom of the starting cell and the denser, finer seed starting mix just in the first 3/4 inch or so. The seed will be able to get established, and then it will have more room as it gets bigger.

[gardenmaniac]

I guess I don’t follow the rules very well either.

I have always started peppers in something with peat. I usually use a soilless seed starting medium as discussed above. Some years I use peat pellets and then transplant before or just after the first true leaves emerge into a 4" plastic pot (yes, I peel off the netting) containing a non-fertilized tree and shrub soil. I use this because I usually have it around for planting potatoes.

The trick I have learned about the usual soilless pr regular garden soil is as said in the above posts, you need to lighten it up a bit. It can be really dense. Once I have added something like perlite and whatever soil amendments I want, I load my 4” pots with dry soil to the top, then set them in a tray with no holes in the bottom and water from the bottom only. It takes a while to initially wet the soil. Then I use a spoon and dig out the center for the transplant trying to not compact the soil. Add plant, fill in, and barely water in to settle the soil around the plant. Until the plant gets fairly large, I only water from the bottom. I try my best to keep air spaces in the soil. One year, I wet the soil before I added it to the pots and it created a block of soil with no air spaces for the plant’s roots. The roots barely grew and I had very sick plants for the rest of the growing season.

I have not had any dampening off issues for about 15 years. I had it when I relied on my windowsill as a light source no matter what soil I used. I now use grow lights, so that may make a difference. The grow lights might dry things out faster. I just don’t know.

I have great success germinating pepper seeds. The germination rates are what I see when I pre-sprout them on paper towels. I have found that I like the peat pellets because they are cheap, convenient, and as long as they are watered correctly are perfect for germinating some of my more difficult old seeds. This is not my only method I use, but one I use the most often as I am a busy mom.

I hope I helped. I just know after trying many ways, this works best for me.

Tiffanie

[johno]

So, you have found that pure peat works fine (peat pellets.) Interesting - I guess peat isn't the culprit, after all. Lack of airspace seems to be the consensus.

Any other thoughts?