Peat pellets—those little disks you rehydrate to expand into the perfect medium for starting seeds—are my absolute favorite way to start tomato and pepper seeds. In fact, they’re what I recommend to those who have had difficulty starting those vegetables in the past. However, they are a little pricey, and they aren’t really a DIY item. And besides, there are other things we can use—for free.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and predict that a lot more people will be growing gardens in the coming years. It’s really the only option for those who want to develop a little more food security in their lives. In the past, it’s been easy to go to Home Depot and pick up a cute little Jiffy mini-greenhouse, rehydrate the peat pellets, sow the seeds, cover, and put in a bright window or under a grow light. But with the supply chain breaking down, we can’t really count on peat pellets, mini-greenhouses, or Home Depot to deliver. Yes, we’re probably in shape for this year. But next?
This past year my sweetheart gave me a 6x8’ pop-up greenhouse for Christmas to tide me over until he and King of the Picky Eaters get the walipini built. With gorgeous temperatures for the past few days and for the forecastable future, all the tomatoes and peppers are currently out there. I started those seeds a bit earlier than I should have.
Actually, I don’t think that’s quite right. I started more seeds than I should have. Definitely. But see, I was trying out a few things. There were two packets of really old tomato seed—the ones I wrote about in the germination tests—the ones from 2008. I knew from the tests that they would germinate. I wanted to see if they would grow well. They did. And then I couldn’t just kill them off. That would be like killing kittens. And then there was that yellow pear tomato. The one whose seeds I never properly washed, dried, and saved for next year. The one that had been shriveling in a bucket and then on the counter for the past three months. The one that I really did want to save. I just decided to squish it open and put half a dozen seeds into each cell of the recycled pony pack. They all germinated, too. At least 36 of them. I couldn’t kill them either.
So now you see that I have ended up with a whole lot more tomato plants than I normally would. I decided they would be good for family, friends, and neighbors. And if I hadn’t saved those plastic quart yogurt containers for the past year, I wouldn’t have had enough pots for all of them. I had to start a whole year in advance. And that’s why I think we may need to start saving the materials we need for next year right now.
Cheap plastic pony packs and flats from the nursery. I saved almost all of these from clearance flowers we bought last summer. They were really convenient for starting vegetables this year. Because they are so cheap, however, they aren’t holding up and I won’t be able to reuse about 1/3 of them next year.
Egg cartons are an ideal size for starting seeds. The cardboard ones can be planted right in the ground and will decompose over the summer. The Styrofoam ones need holes poked in the bottom for drainage, and the seedlings will have to be removed from them before planting. They Styrofoam cartons might be able to be reused.
Dairy containers for products like yogurt, cottage cheese, and sour cream are an ideal size for potting up seedlings that outgrow their starter homes. I usually poke three good sized holes in the bottoms. These containers also work very well for starting dozens of onion seeds all together. I usually start 50-100 in an 8-16 oz container in early January, and they’re ready for planting outside by mid-March.
Milk and juice cartons (the cardboard-paper ones, not the plastic) make the most ideal containers for potting up larger tomato plants. Unfortunately, they’re usually a one-time use item. But they are fabulous for those tomatoes that have really taken off.
Toilet paper and paper towel cardboard tubes can be cut to size according to your purpose. Make 1 ½” tubes, pack them with potting soil or peat moss, and use them for starting seeds. Use longer sections to protect new transplants that are a little leggy from the wind, and to protect all seedlings and transplants from cutworm
Plastic salad containers make fabulous cloches, also known as hot caps, for tender plants. They can also be used to warm the soil and get an early start for cool season crops.
And finally, plastic milk jugs are a good choice for creating mini heat sinks, especially if you paint them black. Place them around plants where they can trap the heat of the sun during the day and release it at night to keep plants warmer. You can also cut the bottoms off and use them as cloches as well.
Links to related posts:
Egg cartons I find make small seedlings and I learned to use a pair of scissors to push into the wet bottom of the carton cell CLOSED and OPEN the scissors to do what we call in surgery Blunt Dissection. I do this just as I'm about to plant them into the garden. This avoids cutting the fragile roots and allows them to get past the cardboard.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I've found failure to thrive transplants with the roots barely showing through the egg carton cardboard.
Two layers of Newpaper rolled around a paper towel roll and the bottom crushed-tucked into it's self you can fill it with potting soil for a seedling transplant tube. Best used for bottom watering on a tray as they get soggy weak early.
We are going to have to get used to warming our raised bed gardens for earlier direct seeding I suspect as newspapers and all that are first to go when things get shortage level. Fire starting and such.
Thanks for the suggestions! Yep, it's looking worse each day with regard to our ability to buy food in stores in the near future.
DeleteOther thoughts are keeping screw top pill bottles for seed saving along with those reusable desiccant packs (just gently heat in a 200 degree oven for about an hour). My BJ's vitamin bottles are sturdy and large enough to hold a lot of seeds.
ReplyDeleteFood production also require food protection from pests. Well washed spaghetti jars (I like plastic here) hold a LOT of dried beans and such. Air dry in the sun generally gets rid of the smells in a day or three. Premade meals with all dried ingredients also do well this way. Just pour into the pot with water and boil.
Stryofoam cups (no, don't buy them, just save them when you get them) aka Jackie Clay also works for transplanting tomato seedlings into while waiting for the temps outside........
ReplyDelete