"Peat" pots

[MKG]

I should have known. I never used real peat pots because I've never liked the idea of disappearing peat bogs. But when the new stuff - reconstituted wood fibre - came out, I thought "Well, maybe". So this year I did. It's also the first year I've ever used a heated propagator. The propagator I would recommend to anyone - what a difference. I had chili seedlings within one week of sowing them - brilliant.

But I also sowed my courgette seeds and brought them up in the propagator - but this time I used the "peat" pots. No problem - they were up in four days. Out they came into the nice cosy box on the windowsill, where they thrived. Then out into the cold frame, where they thrived again. Then out of the cold frame on sunny days, back in at night etc. until, finally, I had large, healthy and fully hardened courgette plants just waiting to go out. So - out they went, into the specially prepared bed for this year. What I mean is out they went, peat pots and all - I thought this was the whole point.

How wrong can anyone be? I've watched my poor little courgettes stop, droop, and finally start to turn yellow. Well, I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but yellowing was too much. Thinking I'd completely lost them, I gently dug one up. The peat pot was still as solid as ever (despite being continually moist). I decided to peel the offending object off. What did I find? A whole ball of spiralling roots - not a single one even vaguely threatening to penetrate this "just plant the whole thing" miracle. Needless to say, the potless courgette was immediately replanted and the same operation commenced for all of the others (unsurprisingly, by now, with the same results).

I think I may have recovered the courgette situation. It was only after this mission that I remembered that all of the tomato plants in the greenhouse had been nurtured and planted using the same method - and they were looking a tad unhealthy too!!!!!!!!

I am not a happy chappie. I am a very disgruntled chappie. In fact, I am a peed-off chappie.

BAN THESE BLIGHTS ON THE POTTING WORLD.

Mike

[Durgan]

Peat pots are a disaster in the making. At first look they appear ideal, but they rob moisture from the roots by wicking. The walls are too strong for roots to penetrate. They don't biodegrade readily. I never use them anymore. Now I use plastic cups for starting, then move to larger plastic pots as required.

[seasidegirl]

Hi, i've been away for a while but anyway ...

I used peat pots for the first time this year. Got them from the poundshop in the hope that they were more cardboard than peat, well they certainly look like cardboard.

Like you I won't bother again although for different reasons. My roots did grow through the pot pretty well but my problem was that my seedlings needed potting on into large pots because it wasn't warm enough to plant the whole thing out. So I potted on into plastic pots which made the original peat pot a pointless expense.

I've always had doubts about these planting the whole thing systems because years ago I had a lot of problems with loo roll tubes. Whereas I think the systems work well in perfect conditions, in dry conditions then young plants could well be robbed of moisture from the very material they were planted in.

I think probably you need to water a great deal when plants are young to counteract the problems. Maybe more water might have got your roots through the pots?

Also are were your courgettes planted outside? Most of mine are still under protection. Even though we only just had a couple of light frosts this week the very cold winds of last couple of weeks are very hard on young plants.

[Millymollymandy]

I tried peat pots once and once only for the same reasons as above. They absolutely inhibit the roots of the plants and just don't want to break down.

[dave45]

Agreed I too found peat pots useless.. Try newspaper pots http://www.selfsufficientish.com/newspaperpots.htm

google will throw up many more origami designs

but you may find the opposite effect if you let them get too wet...

[citizentwiglet]

Oh dear. Thanks for the warning - I have four baby courgette plants in peat pots at the moment. Will risk disturbing their roots to transplant them now.......

Grrr. I hate it when a plan, erm, doesn't come together as well as it ought.

[paul123456]

hello there ,

have you tried using cardboard egg boxes ?
seems to work for me ,

regards,

Paul

[Shirley]

We used them this year - Andy's mum had some in her shed so we thought we would use them (although would normally avoid peat based anything) - Just transplanted some chillies today and although some roots have made their way through the walls the bottom of the pots in particular are fairly intact. I broke the walls and base from the pots when repotting - hope it doesn't cause the plants any problems because I'm quite impressed with my chillies so far.

Won't be using them again though - but they were better than the compressed cardboard ones we got from the £ shop.

[Enormous Sage]

I was digging the rotted compost out of my heap a couple of months back and actually found some peat pots I'd peeled off and thrown in....Still sitting there, fully intact.
I've also found the intact remains of them in the soil, where I've planted beans grown in them.