When it’s time to plant seedlings of tomatoes, cucumbers, etc., very often, especially among beginning gardeners, the question arises: “What container should I plant the seedlings in?” Cups for seedlings can be completely different: peat, paper, plastic, polyethylene, etc. Sometimes people use unusual ways: planted in egg shells, helium balloons, etc.
I want to tell you about the most popular types cups for seedlings, which are used by many gardeners. Each of them has its own pros and cons, and at the end I’ll tell you what we’ve been planting seedlings in for many years.
So, the most popular pots for seedlings
1. Use of peat tablets and pressed cardboard cups
Until recently, summer residents widely used peat tablets. It is possible that once they may have been of high quality, but now many low-quality specimens have begun to appear.
The advantage of such tablets is their convenience and compactness, so there is no need to dig in the ground and fuss around the container. A soaked tablet can take the shape of a liter jar (depending, of course, on the size).
Their disadvantage is that the seedlings need frequent watering, since the tablets have great moisture removal. Seedlings can dry out within a day if they are left on the windowsill in the morning without watering and under sun rays.
It is risky to use poor quality tablets - there is a danger that the seedlings will die in the summer if they are planted in the ground. The reason for this is the insufficient development of the pepper root system due to the fact that the peat pot could not decompose normally.
Similar properties have been observed in pressed cups, except that they must be planted with soil.
If selected this method, do not leave the seedlings, but before planting them, achieve good swelling and accelerate the humus of the container by placing it in a tank of water. It wouldn't hurt to make a cross-shaped cut at the bottom.
2. Use of plastic cups (from tetrapacks, ordinary disposable ones)
This method is convenient because the container can be easily placed on the windowsill. Before planting in the ground, water the soil well in a glass, then carefully turn it over and tap on the bottom to allow the bush with the soil to fall into the dug hole. Its roots will not be damaged. The cups can be used for more than one season if they are then placed in a potassium permanganate solution.
One unpleasant nuance is that the cups with dacha seedlings are very unstable (in cardboard box) while traveling by car or train. So be sure to push foam or newspaper between them to prevent them from falling. However, is it worth doing this when there are plenty of other ways.
3. Using newspaper to make cups
This is the simplest method, once massively in demand among summer residents. So, in order to get identical cups, you need to make them according to a template, the dimensions of which are determined by your wooden box, which can hold up to 50 cups. A wooden box needs insulation, for which the bottom is tightly wrapped with waterproof polyethylene to prevent water from leaking out of it after watering.
You can use any tin can as a template in the form of a square frame. A wooden nozzle of such a size is inserted into the base of the frame that it acts as a damper inside (to prevent the soil from spilling out). Next, several newspapers (the more, the better) are wrapped around the template and the inside is covered with earth. Then we take out the damper, support the bottom of the glass with our hands and secure it in a wooden box. The glasses must be tightly and compactly fixed to each other.
I’ll show you a short video on how to make such a cup, or rather, one of the ways to make paper cups with your own hands.
The disadvantages of such a box are that you cannot plant tomatoes and overgrown seedlings in it. Another disadvantage is that such a box would be best placed on a warm balcony or on window sills with low windows. Cabbage and peppers really like this type of planting.
4. Wooden boxes
This method planting was popular in the old days and may still be in use somewhere among village old-timers. Of course, modern conservative summer residents who like ancient dacha methods and don't like the new ones. The essence of it is that the box is filled with earth, you plant your seedlings there and they grow there until the time comes to plant them in the garden.
home negative side method - when the seedlings begin to grow, their roots may become entangled with each other. Due to the shallowness of wooden boxes root system will be poorly and superficially developed. Seedlings that have been transplanted may end up being undersized, since it will take time to restore the integrity of the roots, and the condition of the grown plants will be at risk in the summer heat.
5. Use of soft plastic bags (from dairy products, for example)
If you have a lot of milk, sour cream, and kefir bags at home, you can bypass the second method and use this. The ends of the bags are tucked and turned away as needed to allow the plant to grow. The soil is also added. This is optimal for nurturing tomatoes, since their root system will lengthen, and the stems located in the ground will soon produce root shoots. On hot and dry days, the long roots, of course, will not dry out from dehydration, but will find water.
The disadvantage of this method is that soft bags require strong fixation in a reliable container, for example, in wooden boxes, to avoid accidental tipping. To lengthen their edges even with the height of the packages, lining the perimeter with durable cardboard will help.
6. Plastic containers
Once upon a time there was a whole craze for using such containers at dachas. Plastic cups are conveniently placed on window sills due to their stable structure, do not leak, and have a wide variety of volumes. But their main drawback is that the root system of seedlings can emerge with roots into cracks at the bottom and be injured during transplantation.
So it’s better to play it safe and wrap the bottom of the container with plastic. However, there are still some perplexities: how safe can the inside of such a container be? Some believe that due to the presence of antibacterial protection, the development of beneficial components characteristic of the soil is suspended, which is why seedlings may grow poorly.
7. What kind of cups for seedlings do we make with our own hands?
In one of the articles I already wrote that we plant our seedlings in cups made of film. We made them from film bags of fertilizers, which were left over from the times when collective farms were. Making a cup from film is very simple:
- 1. Cut strips approximately 10 cm high and 30 cm long. It is better to use a thicker film for the pot, then it will be stable.
3. Scroll the second end around the fingers, forming a glass.
4. Place the resulting pot in a wooden box, with the joint facing the wall, and add a couple of pieces of earth.
5. Fill the box with cups like these. When the pots are made, take some round thick stick and compact the earth. Then fill the glass to the top.
I like the last method of making cups with my own hands the most. Of course, you will have to tinker, but when the time comes to plant it in the garden, you simply unwrap the pot and plant the seedlings without damaging the roots and the plant. Which method do you like? What kind of pots do you use?
To grow seedlings at home, you first need containers. Seedlings feel best in cups; in them, the roots of the plants are not intertwined like plants planted together in one box. When planting seedlings from cups in the ground, the roots of the plants are not damaged, since the plant removed from a separate container with a lump of earth is transferred to the hole without destruction, so seedlings from cups take root faster. Crops such as peppers and eggplants do not like transplants and suffer for a long time if the root system is damaged; it is recommended to grow their seedlings only in cups.
There are many types of cups on sale. different sizes and from various materials. The most popular are cassettes or cups made of dark plastic. However, many people do not have the opportunity to spend money on purchasing containers for seedlings. additional funds. That's why they collect juice tetra bags, plastic bottles, then cut them to the desired height for planting.
The simplest and cheap way make your own paper cups . It is best to use glossy magazines. You can use newspapers, but they need to be folded in several layers, since after heavy watering, newspaper cups get wet and can tear. Glossy magazines have thick, polished paper, and besides, the page size of magazines printed in A4 format is perfect for rolling cups - this is a regular landscape sheet.
How to make cups for seedlings:
To work, you will need a couple of magazines, wide tape and a glass or tin can of the required diameter. You will twist the cups according to the size of the glass, for example, for tomato seedlings we use containers up to 400 ml, for this we take a glass with a diameter of 8-10 cm, for pepper and eggplant seedlings the diameter of the cups should be approximately 6 cm. The height of the cups for paper seedlings can be adjusted according to the size of the glass. the process of twisting them.
From the center of the magazine, tear out the sheets in pairs, so you get paper in two folds.
Place a glass at the bottom edge and wrap it in paper.
Cover the edge with tape, using several pieces of tape, starting from the top.
Move the glass in the paper to the desired height of the seedling glass. Crumple the remaining free edges of the paper tube along the bottom of the glass inward and seal with a piece of tape.
Place a paper cup and use the glass inside to press down on the bottom so that it becomes stable.
The seedling cup is ready, place it in a box or box. It is better to place paper cups tightly next to each other in a box or box with high sides so that they do not lose their balance.
Do-it-yourself cups are filled with soil, then you can begin replanting or sowing seedlings.
Cups for seedlings from magazines are well preserved until planting, do not get wet, and do not tear even when moved. There are holes in the bottom between the leaves through which excess water flows out after watering, to prevent waterlogging of the seedlings and rotting of the roots.
As the new one approaches summer season gardeners are again beginning to think about what to use for seedling pots or how to make them with their own hands. Options for containers for temporary cultivation small plant, indeed, there are a huge variety, all you have to do is choose.
Options for containers for seedlings
It so happened that various containers that have already been used for food and other products are traditionally used as pots for seedlings. It is extremely rare that gardeners turn to the assortment of stores for these purposes simply due to the fact that the opening of the summer season already brings with it considerable expenses, so if you can save money, it is better to take advantage of this opportunity.
So, containers for seedlings can be:
- Tetra-pack boxes for dairy products, juices and other things.
Such a half-liter bag can be used as a pot for one plant, and if a two-liter box is placed horizontally and the side wall is cut off, then at least three plant roots will fit into it.
- Plastic cups for sour cream and ice cream.
They can be used without cutting. Small cups of fruit yoghurt and various curds are still too small for growing seedlings.
- Disposable cups, both small and “beer” ones.
Due to the different volume and low cost, plastic disposable tableware is chosen for seedlings, perhaps most often.
- Plastic bottles of any size.
Plastic bottles for carbonated drinks with a volume of up to two liters can be cut off by about a third of the height from the bottom. But the big ones plastic canisters from under drinking water With a volume of 5 to 10 liters, it is more rational to cut them lengthwise and plant more seeds in them.
- Tin cans food products and beer.
When using such containers for growing seedlings, the most important thing is not to get hurt on the sharp ends of the wall.
- Shoe or similar boxes made of thick cardboard, lined with polyethylene on the inside.
You can not only plant the plants themselves in them, but also use them as a box or tray for several cups of seedlings.
Usually, from the wide variety of options, those containers that are on hand at the time of planting seeds for seedlings are selected.
How to make cups from scrap materials.
Of course, recycling food packaging brings more than just cost savings. The environmental component is no less important, when garbage is not just thrown away, but is put to excellent use.
But if a person does not eat, say, store-bought dairy products, the cups and boxes from which could become pots for seedlings, or he fails to save up over the winter required amount containers, that is, a simple way out is to make cups for seedlings with your own hands.
From paper (newspaper)
Paper cups are made according to the same principle: a cylinder or block is taken as a basis, which is wrapped with a strip of paper, preferably without traces of printing ink. Then the base is removed, and the resulting cup serves as a pot for seedlings.
This simple mechanism can be supplemented and improved with various small devices, for example, a loop at the bottom of a glass cut from a plastic bottle.
You need to fill the glass with soil for the future plant, and then wrap it with a strip of paper, and make a bag on top.
After this, turn the cup over onto your palm and pull the plastic cup out of the paper cup by the loop. The soil will remain in the paper cup and the plant seeds can be planted in it.
Thus, you can use a plastic or other base indefinitely and make as many cups as you need.
Paper cups are good because sometimes you can plant seedlings in the garden right in them without removing them. If this is not required, then they cannot be reused either, because while seedlings are growing in them from the soil and watering, they become unusable.
From film
The principle of making cups for seedlings from polyethylene film is the same as from paper, if not simpler, and they can last for more than one year.
For such a glass you will need transparencies, which is used for greenhouses, as well as a stapler or paper clips. You need to make a cylinder from a strip of polyethylene, and from the bottom part - a bag, secure the walls with a stapler and use it as a container for seedlings.
Thus, if you were unable to accumulate the required number of boxes and cups for growing seedlings over the winter, you can always make them from paper or polyethylene using quite simple devices and without spending a lot of time.
DIY cups for seedlings (video)
DIY box for seedlings
Work with seedlings is in full swing, and it’s time to talk about containers for them. It’s amazing how many simple, easy, fast – and most importantly, effective – ways to make seedling containers are offered by readers. Read and choose, friends!
I've been using it for over 10 years plastic glasses from under mineral water, drinks or beer for growing seedlings. I take a plastic bottle (for example, 1.5 l), sharp knife I cut off the top and bottom parts (Fig. 1). The cut out part of the bottle should be smooth, without protrusions or ring-shaped recesses.
I place this workpiece on the table, squeeze it along the diameter, and along the edges with pressure I draw the knife handle several times along the entire length to get a clear line on both sides of the workpiece (Fig. 2). I align the clear lines of the workpiece against each other along the entire length and again draw the knife handle along the entire length of the workpiece several times (Fig. 3). The result is a square glass (Fig. 4) approximately 7x7 cm from the long, flat part of the bottle.
Then I place the glasses close together in a rectangular box with dimensions that are multiples of 7 cm (Fig. 5). Since square glasses have sufficient rigidity, the height of the sides of the box can be made half the length of the glass.
When growing tomato seedlings, I plant the sprout at the very bottom, and as it grows, I add soil on top, and the resulting seedlings have a powerful root system.
You can water both from above and to the bottom of a waterproof box lined with cellophane film. After use, I store the washed glasses flattened, inserting several of them into the same flattened blanks from 2-liter bottles. In this form they do not take up much space.
DIY universal tray for seedlings
I would like to suggest the following: take a tray of any size or make it yourself from glass, plastic or other material. We place a stencil on it measuring 4x4 cm or 5x5 cm and a height of 4-5 cm or 6 cm. The material is one that is convenient to saw.
I personally made it from plastic: length 42 cm, width 27 cm. I sawed it exactly in half - 5 cm. The longitudinal plates can be of any size, multiples of 5 cm, and at the ends + 1.5-2 cm for a bunch of cells. This tray holds 21 (7×3) cells measuring 5×5 cm. I fill the cells with soil that was prepared in the fall (a little more than half) and sow the seeds. As the seedlings grow, I add soil. When the time comes, I plant in greenhouses, and from there into open ground.
I remove the seedlings from the cells by removing one of the plates - for example, the transverse one. I made a device for this: aluminum pipe 0 TOO mm or 120 mm. Bottom part- like teeth crosscut saw, slightly bent inward to hold the ground, and on top - wooden handle. The cut in the upper part of the pipe was bent into an “G” shape. A handle is attached to them. Three or four turns - the earth is inside, take it out - and the hole is ready. We plant together - we are pensioners with experience.
Pour 1.5-2 liters of water into the hole, about 1/2 tsp. nitrogen fertilizer, ash. Mix the soil and plant the seedlings, slightly compacting the soil. After that we don’t look back for a long time. Next comes weeding, watering, etc. We always have a harvest, but we moved here from the Murmansk region.
From personal experience
I do planting with early age. Peppers and eggplants do not like transplanting. Therefore, I plant them in cups, sow them in mid-April, lightly soak them, and as soon as they hatch, I plant them in cups in a slightly deepened hole. I fill the soil up to halfway so that I can top it up later. I water the hole, and then I put the seed and cover it with soil.
And I sow tomatoes in any container. When the first leaves appear (not cotyledons!), I replant them into what I have. Tomato roots can be pinched, but peppers and eggplants cannot. And one more thing: raspberries are not a hindrance to an apple tree, I have raspberries growing under an apple tree, they are friends. But strawberries and raspberries are not neighbors. They have the same disease. Weevil loves both.
Sewing according to a pattern
Cups for seedlings can be made from old oilcloth, unusable plastic bag, milk bags, salt, pieces of unnecessary film... I make a template from thick paper according to the attached drawing. With its help, I prepare a pattern and, stepping back 10 mm from the edge, sew with large stitches from top to bottom, and then from bottom to top, following the same tracks, I go back and tie the ends of the thread. It turns out dense, reliable seam. One condition: the threads must be made of synthetic yarn, as they do not rot, which ensures the durability of the cups.
Now I lower the glass onto a solid surface and pour in a handful of plain wet garden soil, compact it with my hand, and you get a bottom 1-1.5 cm thick. I move the glass onto a used tin lid and fill it to the top with prepared soil.
I plant one sprouted grain in each glass, water it, put it on a rack and cover it with a piece of film. When cotyledon leaves appear on the soil surface, I remove the film. I germinate seeds at a temperature of 20-25°.
But seeds, especially pumpkin seeds, germinate best if you warm them with your body. My cups are durable, take up little space, and I have hundreds of them. I grow all vegetables in cups, except for root vegetables (potatoes, beets, carrots). The seedlings do not get sick; they can be left at the dacha unattended for several days.
Popular today peat cups for seedlings. Pros: durable, non-toxic, porous walls allow air and water to pass through (so the roots do not turn sour), replanting is carried out directly with the pot (the root system is not damaged), decomposing peat serves as a fertilizer. But there are also disadvantages: not all cups in stores are different good quality, such containers are not cheap, they tend to get wet, and can become moldy. In such cups, the soil dries out faster, which means you need to constantly monitor the humidity to prevent it from drying out.
Ready-made free containers for seedlings
Walking past a pile of empty plastic beer bottles one day different color, I suddenly realized how to use them in the country. I think that there are more summer residents than beer lovers, the issue of recycling these same bottles can be partially resolved.
When sowing vegetable seeds, in order not to confuse the varieties, you can choose a different bottle color for each variety. Moreover, any bottles, both in shape and color, can be used. Dark - for sowing seeds and picking if cut top part And sharp object Poke holes in the bottom to prevent water from accumulating when watering. And light bottles, if you cut off the bottom, can be used to cover pickled seedlings. With this method of growing seedlings, it is very convenient to grow them on a windowsill in an apartment, put them in bags and take them to the dacha. It will be protected from accidental damage. For the convenience of planting seedlings in holes, so that the clod of earth does not crumble when removing the bottle, I saw the bottom with a hacksaw before sowing. In this case, a narrow gap is formed, the earth does not pass through it when watering, and excess water flows out. I made a cut about a centimeter and a half along the vertical walls. And when planting, with a sharp knife in the hole, I cut the cuts upward on both sides and take out both halves of the bottles in turn.
The upper parts of light bottles can be used to cover the seedlings at night, and the lower parts of dark bottles can be used for next year, having previously glued it with tape on the sides.
Several problems are being solved at once: less empty containers are lying along the roads, in the forest, on the streets. And the most important thing for a summer resident is the opportunity to receive free containers for seedlings of any shape and any color.
“Quick” cups for seedlings
For a cup with a diameter of 7 cm, it is enough to take a sheet of paper or stiff cellophane measuring 30x18 cm. We bend one side of the sheet (30 cm) and make a cut 5 cm long on the folded edge, also 5 cm away from the edge (see figure).
Then we bend the tongue and wrap the sheet with the curved edge inside the glass (it is more convenient to twist the cups on the bottle). We press down the bottom, remove the product from the bottle and bend the tongue inside the glass. When filling the soil, the tongue will prevent the cup from unfolding.
It is better to iron the folded side and bottom of the cellophane with a hot iron through the paper. We have been making cups like this for 20 years.
We make “seedling” glasses ourselves
So, you need a thick film. From it I cut strips 30 cm long and 20 cm wide. On the long 
on the side I make four cuts of 6 cm each, resulting in 5 strips of 6 cm wide. That's all - the glass is ready. There is no need to glue or fasten. You can make any sizes. In such cups I grow seedlings of peppers and eggplants without picking and sow them directly. Before sowing, I fill the cups with soil and place them in boxes in two rows. I cover the bottom of the boxes with film and pour expanded clay. And the cups are easy to make. I take a strip of film in left hand, and with the right I put the outer stripes one on top of the other. It turns out four stripes, I bend them - the bottom is ready. I put it on my palm, hold it with my fingers and pour soil up to half the glass.
I carefully put it in the box with the cut in the middle, then I put the second one next to it with the cut facing the cut. The cups must be placed tightly to each other so that they do not fall apart. When I put everything in place, then I fill up the soil.
And it’s easy to plant in the ground: I unroll the film and plant the seedlings into the hole with a lump. The roots are not damaged, the seedlings do not get sick. I wash the strips and store them until the next planting; they serve me for many years.
Two in one
Take note!
I offer containers for seedlings, which I have been using for over 30 years. These are plastic glasses for sour cream, yogurt and other products. The container consists of two glasses: an outer one with a hole in the bottom for water drainage and an inner one - cut along the center of the bottom. When transferring into a large container or when planting in the ground, you need to water the seedlings and, carefully pulling out the inner glass, spread the sides of the glass, tip it upside down onto your palm, carefully remove the seedlings with a lump of earth and plant them in the ground. Wash the glasses, dry them and use them for many years. I'll add a couple of tips:
Shovel for a pensioner (make the shovel lighter by cutting out part of the blade) (see figure).
Vertical bed:
1 – box made of any material (board, metal, plastic, h = 250 mm);
2 – pipe made of any material, perforated at the bottom;
3 – before filling with soil, lay compost in the form of a cone (grass, kitchen waste, cardboard, paper, sawdust, manure), water through a pipe.
Movable bottom
I bought clear plastic ones disposable cups for drinking kvass and various drinks. One hundred pieces with a capacity of 200 and 500 ml. I take a glass and make a cut at the bottom, but I don’t cut the bottom completely, leaving 2 cm uncut.
Then I take newspaper paper, fold it carefully in several layers and make a circle on it slightly larger than the bottom of the cup. I immediately cut out a batch of circles and notches (see figure). Holding the glass in my left hand, I insert two paper circles inside the glass, holding its half-cut bottom. Then I fill it with soil and put it in plastic boxes and water it. The soil does not spill out of the cup, because the bottom is made of newspaper in two layers.
I plant one seed at a time. When transplanting seedlings into open ground, I water the cup well. I move the bottom to the side (it is attached to the glass by 2 cm), using a wooden masher I gently push the half-rotted paper circle up - the seedlings easily come out of the glass with a lump of earth. Now I lower it into the previously prepared holes.
This is how I plant tomatoes without diving. Having planted tomato seedlings, I put the cups in a large box, and at the first opportunity I wash them with a brush in a solution of potassium permanganate. I dry it in the sun and put it away until next season. Individual seedlings are easier to transport and plant.
For cucumbers I take 500 ml cups. The technology for processing the bottom is the same as for tomatoes. But when transplanting cucumber seedlings into the ground, I bend the bottom to the side and place the seedlings in a glass in the hole, and press the bottom, pushed to the side, with earth. And I place the cups so that when watering the water does not touch the stem of the plant. Cucumbers do not like transplants. In the fall, I dig the cups out of the ground, wash them and store them until the next season.
Microchamber for seedlings
I tried many ways to grow tomato and pepper seedlings. Lately I've been using cake box lids. I take two lids: one is smaller, the other is larger. I make holes in one of them for drainage. excess water. I fill 1/2 of the volume with pre-prepared soil. I sow seeds in the furrows, and stick price tags on the walls with the name of the variety: each variety has its own color. I cover it with a larger lid on top - it turns out to be a microchamber with light walls.
I put these double lids in the third one, bigger size(so that water does not leak out). I install it on the battery, laying foam rubber to avoid overheating of the ground. As a result, you can always see how the seeds germinate, and if there is a threat of dampness due to condensation, then by tilting the cap I rid the seedlings of excess moisture. The temperature is always the same.
Top 7 cheap containers for seedlings
You can save on cups for seedlings if you use equally convenient containers at hand instead of store-bought ones...
- Cut off milk, kefir, and juice bags. Will also fit plastic cups from yogurt and sour cream. Wash and dry all this.
- Bushings from toilet paper place in a tray and fill with soil (photo 1).
- Around tin can(bottles, glasses, etc.) wrap a thick sheet of paper or newspaper folded into several sheets (photo 2, 3, 4). Secure with tape or paper clips, place in a tray and fill with soil.
- Cut rectangles 20 cm long and 10 cm wide from black film. Fold them in half to make a square. Seal the edges with an iron or fasten with a stapler.
- Cut 1.5 liter plastic bottles in half. Place the upper part, neck down, into the lower part, which will serve as a water reservoir (photo 5).
- Wash the eggshells with the tops neatly broken off, place them in an egg carton and fill them with soil. Use for growing seedlings before picking.
- For the same purpose, cut off the top of used tea bags, rinse them and dry them.
Not easy. For the success of this business, you will need to comply with the conditions necessary for seed germination. One of these moments will be the choice of container.
Pots for seedlings
From an agronomic point of view, the optimal container for growing seedlings is peat or peat humus pots. They have 3 advantages over any container:
- ensure 100% survival rate of seedlings, since they are planted in the garden bed along with the container - and not a single root, even the smallest one, is injured;
- suitable for growing seedlings that do not tolerate transplantation: eggplants, cucumbers, melons, watermelons, sweet corn and delicate flowers.
- after planting the seedlings, the container turns into a useful young plant fertilizer.
Peat pots for seedlings are pressed on special machines from peat or a nutritious peat-humus mixture. Products can be cylindrical or square in shape. The latter are more convenient, since they can be placed more compactly on the windowsill.
Important! To reduce the cost of production, unscrupulous manufacturers add cardboard to the mixture. Such pots are not suitable for growing plants, since the roots pass through a layer of cardboard with difficulty, and after planting in open ground the plants will lag in growth. Products with the addition of cardboard have smoother and denser walls than ordinary peat pots.
There are rules when growing seedlings in peat pots.
- The soil should always be moist; if it dries out, the plant's growth will sharply slow down.
- The pots are placed on a layer of gravel, expanded clay or sand.
- As the plants grow, the pots are placed, increasing the distance between them so that the roots of neighboring plants do not intertwine.
Growing in peat pots has one drawback - the soil quickly dries out, since evaporation occurs not only from the surface, but also through the air-permeable walls. This means you will have to water the seedlings almost daily.
Peat tablets
IN last years appeared on sale peat tablets. They are easier to use than pots, since there is no need to prepare and store the soil mixture until spring - the seed or cutting is placed in a tablet of compressed peat. Fungicides and growth stimulants have already been added to the peat, so the seeds germinate quickly, the seedlings do not get sick and grow quickly.
Before sowing or picking, the tablets are soaked in warm water. When swelling occurs, only the height of the tablet increases, but the diameter remains the same. After 10-15 minutes, the excess water is drained and a depression is made on the surface of the swollen tablet, into which a seed, preferably sprouted, or a cutting is placed.
Many gardeners grow seedlings in plastic containers. Plastic containers for seedlings there are two types: cassette, that is, divided into cells, and ordinary boxes.
Plastic
Plastic boxes are not suitable for seedlings. In such a container, the roots are so tightly intertwined that when planting them in the ground, you almost have to cut them with a knife. If low containers can still be used for gardening purposes - to keep seedlings in them until picking, then deep boxes are suitable only for balcony gardening.
Cassette
Cassette containers for seedlings are pots fastened together, each of which will contain one plant. The products are made of smooth plastic, so the seedlings are easily removed from such cells with a clod of soil and their roots are almost not damaged. When purchasing containers, it is better to choose models with a pallet, otherwise you will have to make the stand yourself.
The disadvantage of this method is that the cups cannot be spaced out and the grown seedlings will soon begin to crowd each other and stretch out. Containers are not suitable for seedlings that need to be grown for a long time, but they can be used for cabbage and asters - plants that do not grow before being planted in the ground. large mass leaves.
The best containers for seedlings with your own hands
Most gardeners rightly believe that best containers for seedlings, not those that look beautiful, but those that you don’t need to spend money on. To receive free containers, you only need to use the packaging materials a second time.
So, if you cut off the top part of a tetra pack from under any dairy product, then you can get a voluminous container with laminated, and therefore non-wetting walls. This is the most popular way provide yourself with containers for the seedling period.
People over forty have seen a time when the only containers available for seedlings were homemade wooden boxes. Gardeners made them from boards, plywood and packing boards. The boxes were made of different depths and sizes, and they made do with this simple container. Then in middle lane did not grow many seedling crops. Mostly tomatoes were sown in the boxes, occasionally peppers, white cabbage, hardy flower crops. For a summer resident of those years, this was a standard set of seedlings. Few people had heard of leeks, root celery, and broccoli at that time, and only a few were grown.