transplant containers

[where_with_all]

Does anyone know where to get cheap plastic conatiners that could be used for transplanting my seedlings. Ideally, those cheap nursery flats would be perfect (5" or 4") containers would work for me. I need only 2 dozen or so, so I really don't want to buy 500 of them. What do other people use? love to hear some ideas

[feraltomatoes]

Some of the plant nurseries around here have a large selection of things they throw away when they transplant that can be bleach-water washed. 10% bleach

I think the sizes on the common flats are 11"x17" or 17"x17"

One nursery I know of has a mountian of plastic and most of it is perfectly good and going to be thrown away.

Brad......

[sirtanon]

16- or 20-oz plastic drinking cups work GREAT! I use the slightly smaller styrofoam cups for mine, but that's because I want to fit a few more in the same tray.

Nice thing is, you can get a pack of about 20 of the plastic cups for under $2. Just drill some holes in the bottom and you're ready to rock.

[feldon30]

I did bite the bullet and buy 4" pots from Charley's Greenhouse (discounts start at qty of 90), but for 2 dozen plants, Styrofoam or plastic cups with holes drilled in them is probably perfect for your needs.

Of course if you start growing other crops like cucumbers and squash from seeds you start yourself, or flowers, etc. etc. pretty soon you'll find a reason to buy 4" pots.

[where_with_all]

Are the 20 oz plastic cups big enough? I used them last year only to have to repot them again when the plants outgrew them. That was why I was shooting for 4" pots. Seems to me that the styrofoam cups are great if you can get the plants into the ground quckly

[feldon30]

4" pots are 3" x 3" x 4". A 20 oz plastic cup should be that big or bigger.

[Tomstrees]

I really cheap out; go to the $1 store and buy 20, 16 oz plastic cups and use them for transplants after I poke a hole in the bottom and put a small piece of paper towel over the hole - fill 1/4 of the way - put the plant in the cup ? and back fill ~
Has worked great every year & supa cheap ~

Tom

[sirtanon]

Okay, I did some looking.. 1 cup = 14.4375 cubic inches.

By this figure, a 20 oz. cup should hold roughly 36.09375 cubic inches.

Feldon's figures of 3" x 3" x 4" = 36 cubic inches.

That's a pretty close comparison, if you ask me

[dirtdigging101]

oh boy , i use the foam cups too, first i use the 11 x 20 inch trays with 72 count cells then trans plant to 8.5 oz foam cut then the 16 oz cup, if u buy a lot go to sams. holes in the bottom, hym gas stove old phillips screwdriver heat and burn makes a nice hole or holes i like 3 and can burn thru 5 cupa at a wack.

going to a green house show in juce with lots of vendors and will be looking for trays that fit the cups to make life more stable
taking foam cups with me in a bad to test fit samples
lol

[Adenn1]

Yep...use the 16 ounce styrofoam cups. I just bought 20 for $1.24. I poke four or five holes in the bottom and place the seedling where just the top of the plant is evern with top of cup. I back fill up to the leaves and then add more as the plant grows...this really allows for great root development.

[Elayne]

I use the foam cups---they are really easy to tear away from the plant without disturbing the roots at all. I just bought a pack of 60 for a $1. (at the Dollar Store!)

[where_with_all]

Sirtanon, are you an engineer? very impressive analytical skills

Anyway you guys must transplant outdoors when the plants are smaller than mine. My plants outgrew 16" cups last year and I had to go for bigger.

What is the height of your plants when transplanting? Mine are about a foot high- usually-maybe not this year if all goes according to plan. I know they have 32" cups as well but I guess its a trade off with how much money I spend on the xtra dirt

[Granny]

If you need bigger, save your half-gallon and gallon milk jugs. Cut off the top part of the jug to just below the handle. Wash thorougly with soap & hot water, then rinse with a 10% bleach solution and follow it up with a thorough rinse in plain water. I just stab drain holes with a tiny kitchen knife. And I use a knitting needle on the styrofoam cups.

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by where_with_all

What is the height of your plants when transplanting? Mine are about a foot high- usually-maybe not this year if all goes according to plan. I know they have 32" cups as well but I guess its a trade off with how much money I spend on the xtra dirt

Of course everyone has different growing techniques. In Houston, because temperatures ramp up dramatically from plant out, we tend to grow and plant larger plants so they will hopefully take off faster. So we do pot up from 4" pots to half gallon or gallon pots when the plants surpass 8".

But in New York, I think you could probably just start seeds a week or two later and not have to fool with potting up after 16/20 oz cups or 4" pots. Because of cool temperatures around the time you plant out, the smaller plants will probably catch up quickly to the ones in gallon pots. It really comes down to soil temperature. If you can check your soil temperature at time of plant out, that will tell you if the tomato plant is going to stall or take off.

Based on no scientific analysis but just looking at my garden, I will say my plants that were in gallon pots have about a 2 week advantage over the ones that were still in 4" pots and much smaller transplants. But then again temps at the time of plant out were mid-70's during the day and mid-50's at night. And we're back to that for the foreseeable future, until the furnace kicks on.

[sirtanon]

Originally Posted by where_with_all

Sirtanon, are you an engineer? very impressive analytical skills

Anyway you guys must transplant outdoors when the plants are smaller than mine. My plants outgrew 16" cups last year and I had to go for bigger.

What is the height of your plants when transplanting? Mine are about a foot high- usually-maybe not this year if all goes according to plan. I know they have 32" cups as well but I guess its a trade off with how much money I spend on the xtra dirt

Engineer? No, can't say that I am... although I did study Nuclear Engineering in college. Got bored with it, actually

I work with computers now.. much more interesting. I have always been good with numbers though, so that would explain it.