The choice of containers for seedlings is huge. But not every summer resident can fork out for a purchase every spring. Healthy and strong seedlings also grow in homemade containers - especially if you take the time and make nutritious seedling pots with your own hands.
So homemade seedling pots They compare favorably with purchased options in that their composition is under the control of the vegetable grower.
In RuNet there are several dozen recipes for preparing a substrate for nutrient cubes. The main thing is that such mixtures meet the requirements of breathability, moisture capacity, high nutritional value and are free from diseases and pests.
The composition usually includes peat, garden, turf and compost soil. To normalize acidity, they sometimes include lime, and to add looseness - cut straw, sand, and sawdust. Proponents of “mineral water” add complex fertilizers to the substrate.
The binding component, thanks to which the container retains its shape, is mullein soaked in water.
Let's look at the optimal proportions of each of the components when making pots for seedlings with your own hands. Please note, for different cultures they will be different.
For squash, zucchini, cucumber and pumpkin, take five parts of decomposed peat, three parts of humus soil, one part of turf soil and one part fresh manure(better than mullein). If peat is not available, use mature compost in the same ratio instead.
No less good result it turns out if you prepare a mixture for pumpkin vegetables of the following composition: seven parts of ripe humus, two parts of turf soil and one part of fresh cow manure.
Here is a simple recipe for preparing universal pots or cubes for growing seedlings.
- Combine in equal parts garden compost and humus soil.
- For 8-10 liters of mixture, add 1.5-2 cups of ash.
- Mix one part cow dung and nine parts water.
- Moisten the soil mixture with the nutrient composition so that it does not fall apart when molding.
Just don’t add too much mullein, otherwise the substrate will become very compacted and the plant roots will experience oxygen starvation. 
It is convenient to make pots for seedlings with your own hands from paper. To do this, you will need a 1.5-liter bottle and paper blanks measuring 25 x 16 centimeters or 20 x 12 centimeters (for smaller cups). The diameter of such containers will be 7 and 6 centimeters, respectively, and the height - 10 and 8 centimeters.
I recommend making the cups two-layer: the first strip is wrapped around the bottle at the selected height. And the second is applied so that its middle falls on the seam of the first. Then the loose piece of paper at the bottom is pressed to the bottom of the bottle. And that's it, your free seedling pot is ready to use.
A variety of containers are suitable for growing seedlings. Milk cartons, glasses of sour cream, ice cream, mineral water, mayonnaise buckets, and so on are suitable for this purpose.
Just don’t forget to make at least 5 holes with a diameter of 2-3 millimeters each in the bottom of the cups before adding the soil mixture. This will facilitate air access to the roots of the seedling and protect them from getting wet due to excessive watering.
I also advise you to read detailed review all options.
Watch the video instructions on how to make cups for seedlings in just 5 seconds.
If you have moved to live on the land or you have a long-awaited dacha, where you plan not only to indulge in barbecue, but also to have a vegetable garden and even grow seedlings yourself, then, undoubtedly, they will come in handy various containers for its cultivation: pots for seedlings, seedling boxes, pallets. All this wealth is now sold in abundance in any specialized store - the choice is simply huge! Let's try to figure out which seedling containers will definitely be useful to us, and which ones are not worth buying.
Or maybe not buy it, but make it yourself?
I was lucky enough to be born and grow up in a wonderful country, where most people were smart and had “golden” hands - it would have been difficult to survive in an era of total shortage otherwise. At that time, pots for seedlings were also in short supply, and my dad made them himself wooden boxes and flower pots. They were terribly heavy and constantly leaked, but they WERE there!
Now the situation is completely different on store shelves large selection light and practical plastic containers for growing plants, and I think there is no point in making boxes from boards the old fashioned way.
Although you can still save money! For example, use juice and dairy product bags, yogurt boxes and sour cream glasses as containers for seedlings.
At the beginning of my gardening practice, I did just that, but quickly realized that this was only a temporary replacement: a motley group of pots and yoghurt boxes did not want to fit compactly on my seedling table (their wide necks got in the way), they tended to tilt or turn over ( unstable bottoms), containers made from milk cartons and Tetrapacks gradually became soggy. And how much space all this “good” took up later during storage was simply terrible!
Growing plants – creative process! And in this process important place occupied by the aesthetic component, in other words, beauty. Maybe this is purely feminine, but for example, I really want my plants to grow in beautiful, comfortable pots that are specially designed for this! And so that later, when these pots are free, they can simply be inserted one into the other and stored compactly.
That's why I made my choice in favor of purchased containers for seedlings! From my point of view, it is more practical, durable and aesthetically pleasing!
Seedling boxes are convenient to use for growing seedlings that tolerate picking (tomatoes, basil, flowers), as well as aromatic and other perennial herbs(mint, lemon balm, sorrel, etc.) and various onions that can be grown without diving until planting in the ground.
Thanks to the drainage grid, excess water after watering does not accumulate in the lower layers of the soil, which can lead to acidification, but enters the reservoir under the grid. And since seedlings in boxes, most often, are not grown for so long (2-3 weeks before picking), the tank does not have time to be completely filled with water.
Even if you overdo it with watering, you can always drain the excess water by carefully tilting the box. My husband came up with the idea of using a hot nail to make a hole at the bottom of the box for drainage. excess water, but I liked it less: as soon as I tilt the box slightly, water pours out of the hole, and for some reason it always comes right at me!
Boxes - pallets
Boxes made of thick plastic are convenient to use as trays for pots with seedlings. The only thing you should pay attention to is that the pots are tightly adjacent to the walls of the box and to each other, otherwise they will turn over (the most best option, if during the purchase you have the opportunity to try on your pots to the box).
Pots with removable bottom
Pots with a removable bottom are suitable for growing any seedlings, but primarily, of course, seedlings that do not tolerate pickling (peppers, eggplants, celery, etc.). They are not cheap, but very comfortable and durable! I’ve had these for nine years now, some have faded, but they’re ready to serve for more than one season, which makes me happy!
One of the disadvantages of these pots is that the bottoms are periodically lost, but I cut out new ones (from plastic yoghurt boxes). Well, it still takes a long time to wash them...
Typically, such pots are sold immediately with trays, and this is a huge plus, because when watering seedlings, water can be poured not into a pot or cell, compacting the top layers of soil, but directly into the tray. The roots themselves absorb moisture, and this is more natural for the plant than surface watering.
The salad set has a very low tray, pots constantly fall out of it. In the black set, the tray is correct, but the round, elongated shape of the pots themselves is very unstable, they constantly strive to tilt and jump out of the tray! When choosing pots with pallets, you should consider the following:
- Pallet height: it should be at least 4 cm, because you will be pouring water into the pan! In addition, on low pallets the pots are very unstable and constantly fall whenever the pallet is moved.
- Pot shape: choose rectangular pots for seedlings, round ones are unstable! Even if they fit well into the pallet, they still often tip over when moving.
- Pot size: the smallest ones (3.5x3.5cm) are only suitable for flowers or long, non-bushy seedlings such as onions and corn. Medium (5.5x5.5cm) are convenient for growing seedlings of cucumbers and other melons, celery root. Large ones (8x8 cm) are suitable for eggplants, peppers, and early-ripening tomatoes.
By the way, sometimes fakes are sold - pots made of thick plastic on a pallet that look like real ones, but without a removable bottom. It’s very inconvenient, there’s no way to remove the seedlings from the pot, and the tray can almost be called a tray, the pots are not secured to it in any way and constantly fall. I once bought such a set through carelessness, but don’t buy it and don’t buy it!!!
Collapsible trays
Collapsible trays are quite convenient; the cells in them are not wide, but deep. Peppers can be sown in such cells and grown without picking right before planting in open ground. This size is also suitable for corn, and for leeks. I add basil into the same trays.
To get seedlings out of such a tray, you just need to remove the top plate, very convenient! Collapsible trays are also good because they take up minimal space during storage, which for me, for example, is very important.
The downside is that the cells are stationary, and if suddenly the seed doesn’t sprout, the space will remain empty. You can, of course, annoy, but the surrounding seedlings that sprouted earlier will shade the new shoots. This is why, by the way, I prefer separate pots for seedlings: they can be swapped if necessary.
Thin-walled black polystyrene pots
I also have black thin-walled polystyrene pots in my arsenal, which I would happily replace with something more convenient and environmentally friendly. The only thing that attracts me to them is required volume(9x9 cm is suitable for tall tomatoes). Someone else may be attracted by their cheapness.
Otherwise, these pots are inconvenient: without a removable bottom (it is inconvenient to remove seedlings from them), fragile (in the second year of use, cracks almost always appear, you have to put 2 cracked pots into one so that you can at least somehow use them).
And pallets made of this material generally deteriorate very quickly. Not only are they very thin and cannot withstand pots of soil at all, but they also crack quickly and break at the edges. Overall, this is my worst purchase and I don’t recommend buying it!
Peat pots for seedlings
A few words about peat pots. They are sold everywhere, they are quite cheap, and people are actively buying them. I, too, at the beginning of my “gardening career” fell under their spell: natural material, you can plant seedlings directly with pots in the ground, you don’t need to wash anything...
It turned out that the plants in these pots somehow don’t feel very good, the soil constantly dries out, and if you pour more water, the pots “bloom.” If the seedlings survive to planting on permanent place, then after planting in the ground, the plant dries out after some time, because the roots cannot overcome the barrier of the peat wall of the pot. Even if the pot has almost crumbled, the roots cannot cope with this obstacle, so the pots must be removed completely!
I will remember the year when I decided to use peat pots for seedlings for a long time! Never before or since have I had to plant the same seedlings twice! Seeing that the planted plants began to dry out after a couple of weeks, I dug up one and realized that I would have to dig everything up and remove these unfortunate pots... Perhaps I was just unlucky and the pots were of poor quality, I don’t know... But since then I have been avoiding peat products side!
A little exotic
And finally, a little exotic. I once read that you can grow seedlings in eggshells. I bought the largest eggs, prepared shells, filled them with soil, and sowed, as I remember now, strawberry seeds and garlic bulbs. The strawberries died a week after germination, the bulbs lasted longer, but they also all rotted. Conclusion: well, there is no need to torment the seedlings, even if you really want something exotic!
Sowing seeds for seedlings is a matter that requires preparation, but it is not at all necessary to go to a store or market and spend money on special containers. All you have to do is use our tips and make your own cups for seedlings.
Most of those described below homemade pots for seedlings can be made from natural materials, which means they are useful for the development of plants. The undoubted advantage of each of these methods is the opportunity to save money once again.
1. Citrus peel
If you like to squeeze juice from citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, lemon, pomelo, etc.) using a juicer, then you probably have a lot of halves of the peel of these fruits left over. Why not use them as seedling cups?
Make a small hole in half of the fruit, peeled from pulp (in the bottom), to allow moisture to drain out, then fill the peel with soil for seedlings and sow 1-2 seeds per “pot”, depending on the “dimensions” of the future plant and the size of the citrus peel. Subsequently, the seedling can be planted in open ground directly from the “pot”.
2. Eggshells
Egg shells - great option a homemade container for small seedlings or for growing seedlings before transferring them to larger containers.
Take the shell and make a hole at the bottom. To do this, you can use a pushpin or a thick needle. Fill each shell halfway with soil and sow the seeds. Place the egg “pots” with seedlings in a plastic egg container. To create a greenhouse effect, close the lid of the container. When the time comes for transplanting or transshipment, plant the grown seedlings along with the shells.
3. Egg trays
The egg tray is also used as a container for seedlings. It is convenient to place such containers on windowsills. To begin with, make a hole in the bottom of each container cell (if the tray is plastic, you can heat an awl and pierce it with it). Then the cells are filled with soil and the seeds are sown.
After some time, the roots of the plant will entwine the earthen lump, and for further picking it will be enough to carefully remove the seedling with the lump with a fork.
4. Newspaper pots
Old newspapers can be an excellent material for making a container for seedlings. To do this, you will need newspaper sheets (it is better to give preference to black and white pages), a cylindrical object (a bottle, a narrow tin), flour and water.
We invite you to visit the page with our master class on making cups for seedlings from old newspapers or paper.
You can plant seedlings in a greenhouse or open ground directly in cups, but if you wish, you can cut or tear the “pot”.
5. Plastic bottles
From a plastic bottle you can make not just a container for seedlings, but a functional pot with an automatic watering system and a greenhouse effect. Cut a clean plastic bottle in half, do not remove the cap, but make several holes in it using the same heated awl, needle or nail. Pull a synthetic cord through the bottom hole (this will be the wick).
Turn the top part with the neck over and insert it into the second half of the bottle. Add soil and sow seeds. Remove half of the bottle with soil from the tray, pour water into the bottom of the “pot”, then insert the half with the plant back into the tray. Take another bottle of the same size, cut half of it and use it as a lid for such a seedling “pot”.
You can do it another way: from a bottle (a square-shaped plastic bottle with a capacity of 5 liters is perfect, for example, from drinking water) cut off the side part, and use the remaining large part as a container for seedlings.
6. Plastic cups
Excellent containers for seedlings are made from yogurt or sour cream cups, disposable plastic and paper coffee cups. To make pots, first wash the containers thoroughly and then cut a hole in the bottom to drain excess water. If the hole is too large diameter, place a cardboard circle at the bottom of the glass. For convenience, you can write on the cup with a felt-tip pen or marker the name of the crop and variety that you are going to grow.
Place containers with seeds sown in them in a box or on a tray - it’s more convenient to store them this way. The advantage of such homemade pots is that they are easy to remove earthen coma when planting seedlings in open ground, just lightly press on the bottom of the cup and the lump can be easily removed, remaining intact.
7. Filter bags for coffee machines
If you brew coffee in a coffee maker, don't throw away the used paper filters - they make great cups for seedlings.
Fill each filter bag halfway with soil and place it in plastic box or a tray with high sides to give the “cups” stability. They will stand close to each other, which means they will not fall. Sow the seeds and place a box of coffee “pots” on the windowsill.
8. Toilet paper rolls
Cardboard tubes left over from rolls toilet paper, easily transform into biodegradable seedling cups. You can also use paper towel rolls.
If you need a short glass, cut the sleeve crosswise into two parts. Next, do the following with each part: fold it lengthwise and use scissors to make cuts approximately 1/3 of the height of the tube so that you get 4 blades. Then straighten the workpiece and fold the blades one on top of the other, bending them, as is done with cardboard boxes to make the bottom.
Seedlings can be planted in a permanent place without removing them from the cups, since paper and cardboard are biodegradable materials.
9. Waste paper and cardboard
To make such pots, you need to mentally return to school years and remember the familiar, but slightly forgotten papier-mâché technology. So, you will need paper or cardboard, water and a mold. You can use it as a form glass glasses, but it’s most convenient if you have a metal muffin tin with several cells.
Tear the paper into small pieces and place in a container of water, leave to soak. Then stick the resulting mass onto the mold: if you have glasses, then with outside, if the baking dish is from the inside. The workpiece should be left to dry for a day, after which it should be used as a regular glass for seedlings.
10. Ice containers
An unnecessary tray (mold) for ice can become an excellent container for growing seedlings before picking and serve in this role for more than one year. Make a drainage hole in each cell (if the plastic is durable, use a drill), take a suitable tray and place the container in it.
Next, fill the cells with soil and sow the seeds. After some time, plant the seedlings in a larger container. Just as in the case of eggshells, it is better to grow plants with a small root system in such a container, since they may become cramped in small cells.
11. Tetra Pak bags
Probably one of the most popular options among hand-made containers for seedlings is Tetra Pak bags. This multi-component material is distinguished from paper and cardboard bags increased strength and durability.
Tetra Pak is used for packaging juice and dairy products; in addition to cardboard, it contains foil and polyethylene. It is very simple to prepare such bags for sowing seedlings - cut them into 2 parts and the cups are ready! You can also make a tray for seedlings by cutting the bag lengthwise rather than crosswise.
Be sure to wash containers thoroughly before use.
12. Tea bags
The original method of growing seedlings in used tea bags can compete in efficiency with growing in peat tablets, since tea has a beneficial effect on plant development.
Each bag is cut off top part, then put seedling soil inside with a spoon and sow the seeds. It is better to place such “pots” in a tray, for example, a container with low sides. When planting in open ground, the bag is not removed.
For information on how else you can use sleeping tea in your household, read our material:
With a little ingenuity, you can adapt almost anything to seedling pots. The main thing is to ensure the drainage of excess water when watering seedlings in cups and to use a tray to collect the liquid.
Choose the right pots for seedlings it’s still science. Especially now, when all sorts of variations of these simple, but important and necessary garden devices have appeared on the market. Experienced summer resident knows very well what is the best way to grow this or that variety fruit crop, but what should a newcomer to the world of gardening do? Of course, study what types of pots for seedlings there are, what are the pros and cons of each type.
These pots can be purchased at any store, even those that do not have a gardening focus. They are made of plastic and can be of two types - round and square. Sizes range from very tiny (about 50 ml) to quite large (1 liter or more). There are also plastic pots large sizes, but they are no longer intended for growing seedlings - rather, only for indoor flowers or landscape design.
The ease of use of a pot often depends on its shape. According to gardeners, it is more convenient to fill round pots with soil, but square ones can be placed more compactly on the window. The disadvantages of square products also include the fact that it is not very convenient to remove the plant along with a lump of earth from them: if round pot You can “punch” it with your fingers, and a lump of soil will come out immediately, but a plastic one is more difficult to squeeze, especially if it is made of dense and high-quality plastic.
Note! To make life easier for gardeners, round inserts are often made at the bottom of pots, which help push the soil along with the plant out of the pot.
Plastic pots for seedlings usually have drainage holes, although the cheaper the container, the greater the likelihood that you will have to make holes in the bottom yourself.
Very often, pots for seedlings are sold as a set, and they come with a tray that will protect the window sills from moisture draining from them.
So, here are the benefits of using this type of container for seedlings:
- plastic pots optimal for growing absolutely any type of crop;
- they retain the necessary moisture well in the right quantity;
- can be used for several seasons in a row, as they are durable;
- perfectly protect root system plants from damage;
- they are very convenient to store.
Flaws plastic pots:
- non-compact and take up a lot of space;
- It is not always possible to carefully remove the root ball when planting seedlings;
- They are quite expensive and will cost a hefty sum if purchased in large quantities.
Below is a table that will allow you to select the required pot size for a specific type of plant.
Table. Selection of plastic pots for seedlings.
By the way, the following recommendations will help you decide on the size of the pots.
- To grow seedlings of crops that definitely need picking, use pots of the smallest volume - 50 ml.
- For small crops that grow without picking, 100-200 ml pots are suitable
- Pots of 500 ml and larger are suitable for tall and large crops that grow long period time and grow powerful roots.
Note! When choosing a pot, remember to consider the diameter and height, not just the volume. This is important for correct formation roots.
Peat pots
Externally, the walls of these pots resemble thick cardboard, but consist of more than 70% natural peat. And the rest of the pot, by the way, is just paper.
The main advantage of peat pots is that there is no need to remove seedlings directly from the pot for planting in the ground. To do this, just dig a hole required size in the garden bed and place the pot there without removing the seedlings from it. Gradually the peat will rot, turning into nutrient fertilizer, and the seedlings will grow into a beautiful and strong plant.
Peat pots ideal for growing capricious crops - as a rule, these are cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, and others. And they are extremely simple to use: just fill them with soil, spill them, place the seeds, place them on a tray and that’s it. Further work on growing seedlings proceeds as usual.
Peat pots come in various sizes and, like plastic ones, in two shapes - round and square in cross-section. However, here the shape does not play a special role, since there is no need to shake the seedlings and soil out of the container. Is it necessary to take into account free space on sunny windowsill– square pots can be arranged more compactly.
Advantages of peat pots:
- easy to use;
- make it possible not to injure plants once again by picking and not to remove them during planting in the ground;
- are themselves nutritious fertilizers;
- made from environmentally friendly materials.
Disadvantages of peat containers:
- they quickly become soggy from water, so you need to water the plants in them sparingly;
- if the pots are too dry, the soil in them may become too dense for plants;
- when purchasing there is a high risk of running into poor quality product, which will contain only compressed cardboard;
- Excessive watering can lead not only to soggy containers, but also to mold on the walls of the pots and soil.
Peat tablets for seedlings - how to use
A peat tablet is a puck of compressed peat that is small in diameter and height. Before the production of this type of container, peat is enriched with microelements useful for seed germination and seedling development. Read more.
How to use peat pots? It's simple.
Step 1. Select the required size peat pots and process them. To do this, soak them for a short time in a solution of mineral and organic fertilizers and then dry it.
Step 2. Make drainage holes at the bottom and place expanded clay there.
Step 3. Fill the pots with potting soil, but not too tightly, to create the cavities necessary for successful development roots. Spill the soil.
Step 4. Plant the crop seeds, each in a separate cup.
Step 5. Cover the pots with plastic and place them in warm room. Next, wait for the seedlings to emerge and continue to care for the seedlings, watering them moderately.
Step 6. While the seedlings are growing, you will increase the distance between the pots on the tray so that the branches and leaves of the plants do not interfere with each other.
Step 7 When the seedlings grow, transplant them into the ground garden plot as described above, without removing from the pots. Place containers 2-3 cm below soil level.
Homemade pots
Many gardeners do not want to spend money and buy ready-made pots for seedlings in the store. With persistence and fanaticism, they collect various containers or look for new ways to make containers for growing crops. And they often turn out to be right - why spend money on something you can do yourself?
Exists huge amount methods and master classes on creating containers for seedlings, and a variety of materials can be used.
Table. Materials for making pots for seedlings with your own hands.
| Material | Advantages and Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Almost the same as plastic pots purchased in a store, only free, since you still buy yogurts, sour cream, etc. in the store. The product is eaten, and the jar is washed, drainage holes are made in it and it is removed before planting the seedlings. Neat, with smooth edges, safe and convenient, such containers can be used for many years. The only disadvantage can be small size, and sometimes – soil mold. |
| It turns out that many people make pots for seedlings from plastic bags. This material has many advantages - it is easily accessible, cheap, and it is very easy to make pots from it. You can cut pieces of polyethylene and tie their lower part with thread, make holes for drainage. You can take whole small bags - and the pots are ready. Disadvantages: the material does not hold its shape well (especially large sizes) and can cause mold in the soil. |
| Both plastic bottles and plastic drink cups are practically free and easily accessible pots for seedlings. They are durable and can be used for more than one season. And if plastic bottles still have to be cut with scissors, then cups are almost ready-made containers. It is enough to make drainage holes and you can use it. And removing a lump of earth with a plant is as easy as shelling pears - just slightly dent the walls of the glass and the soil will come out by itself. Gardeners found virtually no shortcomings. The main thing is to take care of accumulating or purchasing this material in time. By the way, plastic cups are much cheaper than special pots for seedlings. True, they do not come in very large sizes. And one more minus - the edges plastic bottles where the scissors “got” may be sharp. |
| They easily and simply turn into containers for seedlings - just cut off one of their parts (top or bottom) and make drainage holes. Tetrapacks do not leak, do not become limp, and are soft enough to easily remove a bush from them. You get them for free (you buy juices and fermented milk products?), all that remains is to wash the boxes and store them until spring. The downside is the fragility. |
| An elementary and simple option for making pots for seedlings. It is enough to place such tubes on a tray, fill them with soil, and you can plant the seeds. But such containers are suitable only for plants that need picking, or those that do not grow too much, since the tubes are small. By the way, remove the seedlings from the container before planting summer cottage optional - this can be done together with a tuba. Gradually it will rot. |
Video - Pots for seedlings made of polyethylene
The main advantage of such homemade pots is the absence of costs, since the containers can be safely accumulated within a period of time. winter period, buying essential products. The most important thing is not to forget to make drainage holes in such containers.
Advice! Holes for water drainage are easier and more convenient to make using an ordinary thick nail. It must be heated well over a fire (for example, in a candle flame) and the sharp end must be used to melt holes in the bottom of the container. Be careful - hold the nail with pliers, as the metal heats up very quickly (you can get burned).
Unusual pots for seedlings
Pots for seedlings can also be made from very unusual materials. Gardeners are creative people, and they can’t come up with anything to make their work easier and provide their plants with proper care. Let's look at three types of unusual pots for seedlings - some are made from eggshells, the second - from aluminum cans, the third - from newspapers.
Aluminum can pots
A good option for those who are fond of carbonated drinks in 0.33 liter cans. This material is not afraid of rust, is durable, and quite strong. It is convenient to wrap several of these jars with tape together - you get a kind of aluminum “cassettes”.
Step 1. Using scissors or a knife, cut off the bottoms of the cans.
Step 2. Cover the neck hole with the remaining tongue, but not tightly.
Step 3. Place some eggshells or expanded clay at the bottom of the resulting container for drainage.
Step 4. Make gauze bags, place them in containers and fill with soil.
Step 5. Sow seeds and grow seedlings.
Step 6. Remove the grown seedlings from the containers using a gauze bag and plant them together in the ground.
Egg shell pots
Very interesting way. It is convenient because in the future the plants, along with the shells, are planted in the ground - there is no need to pick them up and remove them from the “containers”. And the “pot” will serve as additional fertilizer
Step 1. Take the egg shells and make a small hole in the bottom of each with a needle.
Step 2. Fill them halfway with soil.
Step 3. Plant the seeds and cover them with soil.
Step 4. Place the filled "pots" on the egg cell and grow the seedlings (as usual).
Gardeners prefer to use peat pots. The main element in the composition peat pots is peat, auxiliary elements– cardboard, wood.
The highest quality pots are those that are at least 70% peat. The right pots are very loose, so they perfectly allow air to pass through to the root system of the plants, which helps active growth strong seedlings.
The loose structure of the products allows roots to break through their walls with minimal effort. After planting the seedlings in the ground, the pots dissolve quite quickly - 33-38 days.
The density of the cups, which contain a lot of cellulose (cardboard), does not have such advantages, so there is a high risk that the plants will develop poorly, and after planting in the soil they may even die.
A high-quality peat pot should consist of at least 70% peat
Before buy peat pots You definitely need to familiarize yourself with their composition so as not to spend money on a low-quality product.
Pros of peat pots
The products are absolutely environmentally friendly - they do not contain toxic substances harmful to humans and the environment.
The material used to make cups does not contain pathogenic microflora that contribute to the development of various diseases. There are also no weed seeds in the mixture for making peat products.
Seedlings planted in this way have a high probability that they will quickly take root in a new location.
Accelerated process survival rate is guaranteed by early and high yield. Harvest dates are 14-21 days earlier, and the harvest quantity increases by approximately a third.
When the pot is completely dissolved in the ground, it produces a wonderful plant that feeds the plants for less than three months.
Disadvantages of peat pots
Despite a significant number of advantages, peat products have some disadvantages.
The soil often dries out due to the fact that the loose structure of the cup absorbs all the water and it quickly evaporates from it. The plant “freezes” because the soil cools during evaporation. If you do not water in a timely manner, the seedlings will grow poorly or may even die.
To prevent the soil from drying out, the pot is watered excessively, which provokes the development of mold.
There are often cases when, after a pot is planted in the ground, it does not dissolve, thereby taking the roots captive - subsequently they cannot obtain all the necessary substances from the soil and slowly die.
Excessive watering can cause mold to form on pots.
How to use peat pots?
A gardener who has decided to try such a container for growing seedlings for the first time has a very obvious question: how to plant in peat pots?
Peat cups must first be soaked in a mixture of organic and mineral supplements and then dry thoroughly. To ensure that the roots can break through the walls of the container, it is recommended to make small holes over the entire surface of the pot. An ordinary stationery hole punch will do an excellent job with this task.
Purchased soil or soil mixture, made independently, you need to pour it into cups. Please note that the soil must be loose and airy, so it should not be compacted thoroughly.
Seeds are planted in pots according to the required timing, as well as the depth recommended for planting the selected plant. Watering is best done with a spray bottle or small watering can.
In order for the plants to enter quickly and amicably, cover the container with polyethylene film and place it in warm place, the temperature ranges from 20 to 25C. Two days before planting seedlings on the site, the pots should be watered abundantly in order to speed up the process of their dissolution in the soil.
Before moving young plants to the site, they must be hardened off, otherwise they will react painfully to sudden changes in environment. Five days before planting, the seedlings are taken outside and the time they spend in the fresh air is gradually increased.
Mostly gardeners grow in peat pots tomatoes and pepper. In cups you can grow tower crops, or even bushes (raspberries, gooseberries, roses).
The photo shows tomato seedlings in peat pots
According to reviews of peat pots In order to successfully grow seedlings in such a container, you need to get used to it a little: often, but in small quantities.
Most amateur gardeners praise growing seedlings cucumbers in peat pots, because in this way you can sow seeds earlier than usual and, as a result, get a harvest in the shortest possible time.
Types of peat pots
Peat pots can be square or round. Pots are made individually or in the form of sections (a certain number of cups connected to each other).
The diameter of the pots can have different sizes: 5cm, 6cm, 7cm, 8cm, 9cm, 10cm. The height of the container coincides with its diameter - for example, 5cm width and 5cm height.
In the photo there are varieties of peat pots
Size peat pots is selected depending on what plants are planned to be planted. The wall thickness varies in the range of 1.5-2.5 mm. Packaged peat containers must have a label with the composition.
Peat pots It is advisable to buy in specialized stores in order to protect yourself from purchasing low-quality goods. Price of peat pots depends on the size and type (pieces, blocks). The minimum cost is from 10-15 rubles per piece.
How to make a peat pot?
To create peat pots for seedlings First of all, you need to prepare a solution with the correct consistency. Here are several recipes for the mixture: mix peat, turf soil and mullein in a ratio of 7:2:1, combine 60 peat and 20% humus soil, 15% turf soil and 5% mullein. The components are diluted with water to a relatively thick state.
After preparing the mixture, it is best to use a container made of stainless steel, which will not corrode during repeated use.
You need to take a glass with a removable bottom and pour a little mixture into it, then, using the second part of the equipment - a masher with a slightly smaller diameter than the container, force the excess mixture out of the mold.
The contents are thoroughly compacted with a masher, after which it is removed, and the glass is left for a while so that the contents dry out a little. At the end of production, the peat cups are dried outside under the sun or in a heated oven.
To make good pots, it may take some time to correct mistakes: add certain components, increase the drying time of the finished products.