When the last snow melts and the sun starts to warm more and more, novice summer residents have to grow seedlings. By itself, this process is quite laborious, but you can do it easier and save yourself from difficult work, while achieving high quality sprouts. This can be done by using pressed peat containers as planting containers.
A couple of decades ago, many gardeners had to plant seeds for seedlings in their available materials. For these purposes, they adapted boxes of juice, milk, cups of yogurt, sour cream, often used homemade devices... However, all the same, the characteristics of these devices did not meet the expectations of summer residents.
This also affected peat pots, which until recently were very popular. Everything changed when compressed peat tablets appeared. Despite the fact that it is very convenient to plant seeds in such containers, and after sowing, almost all seeds germinate, they have one serious advantage - these pots do not decompose in the ground for many months, since dense pressed cardboard is used for their manufacture.
Previously, the process of planting seedlings required a lot of effort, since you had to carefully cut the edge of the pot with a knife or other sharp object and carefully pull out the seedlings to place them on the garden bed. It didn't always work out the way it was intended. Therefore, if the owner provided proper care for the seedlings throughout the spring, then when they were transplanted into the ground, they often received damage. As a result of the fact that many of the seedlings were injured, at the end of the season the harvest turned out to be less than the summer resident expected.
Peat seedling tablets are dry containers, washer-shaped, made of thin pressed wood material, inside which is pressed peat. To make it easier to use the pots, they are made using the most suitable components, which are dried and pressed. After contact with warm water, the tablets begin to react and swell. As a result, their shape and size change. After that, they can be used for their intended purpose.
Content
Instructions for the use of peat tablets for seedlings
The process of using peat tablets assumes the following actions:
purchased tablets are placed in a plastic container with high sides;- further, the pressed peat must be moistened using warm water;
- then you need to wait for a pause so that the disks can increase in volume;
- seeds are placed in the middle of the discs;
- finally, stretch the film over the container.
The tablets contain many useful substances:
- additives;
- fungicides;
- growth accelerators.
Therefore, when using peat tablets for growing seedlings, you can reduce the risk of infection with various diseases and decay.
Features of peat tablets
The cylinder is located in a thin mesh material, thanks to which the peat retains its original shape during transportation, as well as when growing and watering seeds. Peat has optimal acidity for most plants. Mean ph ranges from 5.4 to 6.2... These tablets do not lose their original properties even after 5-10 years. However, for this they need to provide appropriate storage conditions: they must be kept in a dry place.
Peat briquettes are available in stores of various sizes. They can be from 2.5 cm to 7 cm in diameter. However, experts advise choosing 4 cm briquettes, as they are ideal for garden seedlings.
If you need to grow seedlings from small seeds, it is best to purchase discs with a smaller diameter. If you plan to grow eggplant, pepper and tomato seedlings, then the largest briquettes are best for you.
What are the advantages of seedling peat tablets?
Peat discs are a universal fixture for growing seedlings. Therefore, you can plant in them whatever you want, not only garden crops, but also flower crops.
Peat tablets are perfect for growing seedlings of delicate sprouts of petunia, lobelia, certain plant species, which are contraindicated for picking. Considering that the tablets contain additives, a high percentage of seed germination is ensured. This moment is of particular importance if it is necessary to grow seedlings of expensive and rare crops, as well as seeds placed in a shell.
It is advantageous to use these briquettes also because stem and leaf cuttings take root in them. Thanks to peat tablets, you can save a lot of space, which is used for planting. This moment is of particular importance for an apartment where there is not always enough space for seedlings.
Thanks to peat containers, it becomes possible to arbitrarily choose places for placing seedlings, to change seedlings in places, if some have emerged earlier than others.
Considering the price of briquettes, and one such a pot costs about 5 rubles, they are not suitable for growing a large number of seedlings. Peat discs will be primarily appreciated by summer residents who need containers for growing seedlings in a small volume.
How to use seedling tablets?
Before sowing in peat briquettes seeds need to be prepared:
first of all, briquettes are poured with warm water. However, first you need to install them correctly, and for this you need to find out where the upper part is. The deepening of the briquettes is the place where the seeds are sown;- during the swelling of the peat, the cylinder begins to increase in size, while the pot itself retains its original diameter;
- prepared water for irrigation should be poured in small portions, waiting for the completion of the reaction after the previous one;
- when, after watering, the peat tablet acquires its maximum size, and usually it increases by 5 times, they begin to sow seeds. This operation usually takes about 20-30 minutes;
- to make it easier to work with small seeds, it is recommended to lay them with a wooden stick. To do this, you need to hook the seed with the tip of the stick and carefully transfer it to the container;
- for sowing large seeds, special devices are not required; they can be placed on the briquettes manually.
In some cases, you may need cover the sown seeds... For this it is necessary to use special peat. After sowing, the seeds must be slightly deepened inward, and only then high moor peat is placed on them.
For planting, you can use dry or wet seeds. In the latter case, they must be placed in water for 2 days, waiting for their germination. In this case, they must be sown into peat tablets very carefully, using a spatula or a thin wooden stick.
When the seeds are in the tablets, they must be well watered with a pipette. When the shell becomes soft, the shell must be spread over the peat with a toothpick. Thanks to this technique, you can speed up the process of seed germination.
Peat tablets are great for growing strawberry seedlings. You can use a match to sow the seeds of this crop. To pick up a seed with a match, you must first moisten its tip. After that his transfer tablets into the recess... After waiting for seedlings to appear from the seeds and they get stronger, you can transplant them to a permanent place, placing them in the ground along with a peat tablet.
Planting seeds in peat tablets
After sowing the seeds, they take transparent trays into which the tablets are placed, after which they are taken to the windowsill or other warm place. For the role of a pallet, you can use a transparent plastic box from under the cake. If a suitable lid was not found for the container, then a film is put on top of it, creating an optimal level of humidity inside.
It is best to put peat tablets in mini greenhouses, in which holes are provided for each tablet. Water accumulation can be avoided if the greenhouses are installed on special pallets. While the seedlings are growing and getting stronger, the optimum moisture level should be maintained. In addition, they require regular ventilation, for which it is necessary to open the container lid.
It is also impossible to get strong seedlings without creating an optimal temperature regime. It is recommended to keep the planting on the west or east window. The north side is not very suitable for growing seedlings due to the too cold microclimate. At the same time, it would not be the best solution to install it on the south side, since the sun starts to warm here at lunchtime.
Gradually, drops of condensation will form on the walls of the container, at such moments it is necessary to open mini-greenhouses. For effective moisture removal, it is necessary to carry out airing at least once a day... Otherwise, you may encounter such an unpleasant phenomenon as mold, which will subsequently lead to the death of weak plants. When the first shoots appear, the lid is removed. At this time, watering should not be very abundant. To do this, you need to pour water into the bottom stand or use a spray bottle. When growing seedlings in room conditions, feeding is not required.
Transplant rules
When using peat tablets for growing seedlings, the gardener does not have to pick, so during transplanting it will be enough for him to transfer the seedlings directly with the peat ball. This method of growing seedlings is beneficial in that during transplanting, damage to the root system of horticultural crops can be avoided. This moment is of particular importance in those cases when you have to deal with seedlings with small shoots.
When growing seedlings, it is necessary constantly watch the cylinder... When you find that roots have appeared on it, know that the time has come for transplanting plants into more spacious containers. It is very important not to miss this moment, because otherwise the roots will intertwine with each other and grow. In this case, the plants will no longer be able to grow and develop normally. If peat tablets placed in a mesh shell are used for growing seedlings, then at the time of transplanting it must be cut to the root so that the seedlings can subsequently take root well. However, in some cases this is not necessary, provided that the peat is not placed in a net, but a thin layer of wood cardboard.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that today there are many methods available for growing seedlings at home, every year more and more beginners and more experienced summer residents choose the method of growing them in peat tablets.Knowing how to plant in peat tablets, the gardener gets rid of many difficulties. Its main advantage is that during transplantation it is minimized risk of root damage... This directly affects the future harvest of the horticultural crop.
