They can also be used for additional space outside if your garden doesn't have room for more seeds. Plant and seed starter trays are perfect for growing within a greenhouse, indoor grow tent or any other indoor growing space within your home. When you're ready to cultivate some excellent plants from seeds or cuttings, you'll need plenty of high-quality plant starter trays to hold your crops and maximize their growth. Updated to add more information and improve readability.Why You Need Great Plant or Seed Starter Trays Please visit the links, below, for more information on starting seeds.įirst published January 2016.
I’ve written many other articles on starting seeds. Need More Help Starting Seeds? Check Out These Articles I’d fish them out and hand them proudly to my dad so he could start his tomatoes and peppers.Įvery time I smell peat moss or see packets of peat pot disks at the garden center, I smile, and wish my dad was still here so we could plant seeds together. Sometimes, I could hear them crackle slightly as the dried peat moss absorbed water like a sponge. It was like magic! I’d plunge my hands into the icy water just to feel the rough and slippery peat disks. I remember watching with excitement as the disks expanded in the cold water in the sink. He’d put the lid down on the machine and spread out his seed starting equipment. We had a heavy soapstone sink in the basement next to the washing machine. Each spring, he’d pull out his pots and trays and plant seeds. My dad loved to garden, and I loved tagging along after him no matter what he was doing. Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash My Job as a Kid: Peat Pot Duty These are peat pots fully expanded after soaking them in water. It’s a great way of starting seeds, especially for plants who hate to have their roots disturbed, because you never have to tug or pull at the plant or its roots. When you are ready to transplant seedlings into the garden, slip the whole pot, peat and all, into the soil. That is where you insert the seed.Īfter planting one seed in each pot, water the peat pots daily. Each pot has a small hole or depression in the top. Place the expanded peat pots into a tray. To use peat pots, remove them from any plastic or netted wrappers and submerge in cool water for 10 minutes. These may be purchased from your local home and garden center, plant nursery, or online stores. No one wants to find their plants swarming with newly hatched spiders, flies, or beetles! Using Peat Pots Instead of Soil to Start SeedsĪnother easy way to prevent disease is to use peat pots or disks. In your nice warm home, with a comfy moist environment, all of those will grow and thrive…and that’s NOT what you want germinating in your seed trays. Soil from the yard contains bacteria, mold spores, fungi, insects, and insect eggs. Why do professionals and master gardeners choose sterile seed starting soil instead of simply digging up soil from the yard? You may also use bagged potting soil, such as the kind sold to replant house plants.
HEAVY DUTY SEED STARTING TRAYS WITH DOME PRO
Pro Tip: Always Use Sterile Seed Starting SoilĪnother pro trick to prevent diseases in seedlings is to always use sterile, bagged seed starting mix from the local home and garden center rather than garden soil from your backyard. Rinse off any dust that has accumulated on them and they are ready to use. If you don’t use them right away, there is no need to disinfect them again before use.
The trays are now disinfected and ready for use. Then remove them from the solution, rinse with cool water, and let them air dry. Let the trays soak in the bleach and water solution for 10 to 20 minutes. You may wish to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands. Submerge the trays into the water and bleach solution. Mix the water and bleach in a large bucket. Make sure that all loose soil is removed from seed starting trays. You can adjust the amounts listed above by whatever you need them to be, as long as the proportion of bleach to water is kept the same. The ratio of bleach-to-water to disinfect gardening equipment is always 9 parts of water to 1 part bleach. 1 large bucket or a stopper for a big sink to submerge the trays.To sterilize your seed starting trays and equipment, you will need: Then store them in your shed or garage until next year. Use your garden hose with the setting on high or a strong spray to rinse trays. The first step is to always put away all seed starting equipment at the end of the season clean. You can prevent these problems by disinfecting equipment prior to using it each year.
Damping-off fungus, rot, mold and other microorganisms thrive in the warm, moist environment that many seeds need to germinate. Reusing seed starting trays without disinfecting them can cause several diseases. Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash Disinfect Trays to Prevent Damping Off
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