Homemade peat pellets... anyone ever

[Wayne C]

Has anyone had any experience with or info on making peat pellets using potting mix, peat moss, and geletin? From what I've read it SEEMS like a good idea but still I wonder/worry about whether geletin would prove to be a medium for mold/etc. and produce growth medium side effects. There wasnt any info about this sort of thing that I found so I was curious about the experiences and maybe "formulas" concocted by Tomatovillians. So whats the 411? Thanx. Wayne C.

[Lorri D]

I am not sure of the geletin as a "glue" to hold the pellet together, but I have heard of it used as a soil amendment for seedlings. I would worry that geletin used throughout the pellet might harbor bad fungus/bacteria, if not put in the ground quickly. I use soil blocks and they hold together really well just will a little compression and the peat fibers interlock and hold together. Lorri D

[Redbaron]

I use home made paper pots instead. Once you get the knack of cranking them out fast, there is no reason for home made pellets.

[kevn357]

Please explain.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by kevn357

Please explain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE5dualiOFw

The link explains it all. You can use a can too, if you don't have a pot maker. Many places sell the potmakers though. Burpee does.

If you want really small jiffy pellet size pots, it is simple enough with a piece of pipe or dowel. Pretty much anything round will work. The size of what you use determines pot size. Make them any size you want.

Once you get the knack of it, it becomes surprisingly fast. The benefits are you recycle, and also paper dissolves and composts quickly in the ground, much faster than peat. If it is above the ground, or just touching soil, paper lasts a while, but under the ground it becomes potato chips for worms! It also forms an efficient wick for bottom watering if you use a self watering system with trays.

All in all they are far superior to jiffy pellets, plastic, peat or coir pots, and are pretty much free too!

[kevn357]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE5dualiOFw

The link explains it all. You can use a can too, if you don't have a pot maker. Many places sell the potmakers though. Burpee does.

If you want really small jiffy pellet size pots, it is simple enough with a piece of pipe or dowel. Pretty much anything round will work. The size of what you use determines pot size. Make them any size you want.

Once you get the knack of it, it becomes surprisingly fast. The benefits are you recycle, and also paper dissolves and composts quickly in the ground, much faster than peat. If it is above the ground, or just touching soil, paper lasts a while, but under the ground it becomes potato chips for worms! It also forms an efficient wick for bottom watering if you use a self watering system with trays.

All in all they are far superior to jiffy pellets, plastic, peat or coir pots, and are pretty much free too!

Thanks for the link! I'm going to try this.

[Sun City Linda]

Yeah, 'splain.

[Crandrew]

I've used them before and can attest to the quick breakdown.

[gggeek]

One tip when using paper pots is to make sure you submerge the entire pot under ground when you plant it. If you leave the paper rim exposed it will wick moisture from the soil around the root zone.

[Stvrob]

I made a Round soil blocker out of PVC pipe. It works well but it awkward to use. But i can fit 48 of the 1" diameter size on a cookie sheet and they are great for lettuce and other greens. I would like to have one like in Johnny's catalog.

[dudeatlarge]

I just use different size tin cans as my form. I have been doing this for many years and it works just fine. Also it is free.

[dice]

I found that newspaper pots dry out faster than plastic pots
and wick water away from the mix that the seedling is growing
in. They are a bit like the old terra cotta clay pots this way.
Moisture evaporates from them from all sides instead of only
from the top. So one needs to pay closer attention to watering
and to how fast the seedling is drying out when using them.

When making them, I would stick a square piece of duct tape
or dollar store plastic packing tape on the bottoms to hold them
together until I transplanted into their final locations, then simply
tear off the piece of tape before they go into the planting hole.)