Pros And Cons Of Various Seedling Containers: Purchased Containers

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Now many gardeners have the hottest time: the time for planting seeds for seedlings is approaching, although some gardeners have already sown part of the planting material and are waiting for the time of the first pick. But most of the seeds are still to be planted by everyone. And many, wandering through specialized stores, solve a difficult question: what to choose for planting seedlings? Are the pots small, special plastic cups for seedlings?

Or maybe it's better to spend money on peat tablets? All of these containers have their pros and cons. Which? Let's take a look at them in the article. In the first part, we will focus only on purchased containers, in the second we will consider what you can do at home yourself.

Peat tablets

Let's start with the currently common peat tablets. It would seem like a perfect invention. And you don't need to bother with planting seeds for a long time, and when transplanted to a permanent place, the roots of plants are not injured, because the seedlings do not need to be pulled out of the earthen coma. And in a light peat substrate, plant roots develop easily and quickly, and the plant itself has enough nutrients for proper and good growth. However, these miracle pills have a couple of drawbacks: firstly, you need to carefully control the moisture content of the peat, since when the plant dries up in it, it quickly dies, because the peat turns into a dry lump, and when waterlogged, the root system of the plants begins to rot, and secondly, the disadvantages of tablets include their rather high cost. If you need a small number of pills, then, in principle, the cost will not greatly affect your family budget, but if you plan to plant all the seedlings in them, then this pleasure will cost you a pretty penny.

Peat pots

Also a very good thing. Firstly, each sprout will be in its own "nest", which will allow you to avoid picking seedlings, and, therefore, avoid unnecessary trauma to the root system and worry whether the sprout will take root or not. Secondly, peat pots are very easy to use, just fill them with soil and you can start planting. Thirdly, another undoubted plus - the seedlings are planted in the ground in the garden right in the pot, which means that time is not wasted for the plant to take root in a new place. Fourthly, later the pot will become a fertilizer for the soil, it is environmentally friendly and then it will not need to be removed from the garden.

But even such a wonderful pot has its drawbacks, but there are many of them and they are basically the same as those of peat tablets: you need to carefully monitor the soil moisture, avoiding drying out and excessive moisture.

Peat cassettes

In fact, this is the same as peat pots, only not separated from each other. The pluses are the same as in peat pots, minuses are the same, except for the important one. The only thing is that when planting at cassettes, the pots must be separated from each other and make sure that the cell is completely covered with earth, since the part remaining on the surface will dry out and dehydrate the part that is underground.

With the peat containers finished, let's move on to the plastic ones.

Plastic cassettes

Cassettes made of various types of plastic are very light, comfortable, often not very large, and fit well on window sills. Among the advantages, one can name the inexpensive cost, the possibility of repeated use (in connection with which significant savings are obtained on the purchase of containers), due to their small size, these containers are easy to store. The only thing, when buying, pay attention to the material from which the cassettes are made: PVC are considered dangerous because of their chlorine content.

In addition, the advantages of cassettes are ease of transportation, they are convenient to transport, they are stable and do not tend to fall constantly. It is easy to get seedlings from the cells together with an earthen clod and transplant them into open ground or a greenhouse.

In principle, there are no downsides, except for the material from which they are made, but if you are careful when buying, then this minus can be considered insignificant.

Clay and plastic pots

Let's start with the minus here. The most important, and perhaps the only drawback, is that the pots take up quite a lot of space on the windowsill. And it is inconvenient to transport them. One of the advantages is that each seed grows in a personal pot, and this will avoid picking and the plants will immediately move from the pots to a permanent place of residence in the garden.