How to Water Peat Pots
Peat pots are made of compressed peat, sometimes combined with paper scraps or other biodegradable materials. Peat pots are especially useful if you are planting seedlings that do not tolerate transplanting well, such as squash or sunflowers. When you transplant a plant in a peat pot, the entire peat pot is planted into the garden, minimizing damage and disturbance to the plant's roots. But peat pots wick moisture away from the soil inside, so proper watering is vital. Otherwise, the soil will quickly dry out and the plant inside the pot will dies. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Fill a tray with 1 inch of water. Use a seed-starting flat or any other tray that can hold the proper depth of water and is large enough for the peat pot to sit inside.
-
2
Set the peat pots, once they are filled with soil and seeds or seedlings, into the tray of water. Leave them to soak until the surface of the soil inside the pots becomes moist. This may take an hour or longer, depending on the size of the pot.
-
-
3
Pour the excess water out of the tray once the soil in the pots becomes moist. Return the pots to the tray and arrange them so there is at least 1 inch of space between the pots. The space provides air circulation so that fungus doesn't grow on the sides of the pots.
-
4
Water the pots whenever the soil surface begins to dry. Pour 1 inch of water in the tray and let the pots soak until the soil surface moistens. Always drain out the extra water once the pots are properly watered.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
When transplanting peat pots to the garden, tear of the top of the rim. If the peat pot protrudes from the soil surface, it prevents moisture from the soil in the bed from reaching the soil inside the peat pot.
Some peat pots come as four or more attached cells. Simply cut these apart before planting them in the garden.
Never let peat pots sit in water once the soil surface is moist. This can cause the pots to prematurely fall apart and also makes them more prone to fungal problems.
References
- Photo Credit seeds and pots image by Richard Seeney from Fotolia.com
