Forming compact, not too tall bushes (from 40 to 70 cm). Such peppers can be either small-fruited or large-fruited. Varieties with small thick-walled fruits look especially decorative.

At the stage of physiological ripeness they acquire a bright red, pale yellow, orange, pink or brownish-brown color. Miniature forms that form bushes 10-30 cm high are perfect for growing pepper seedlings in peat pots.

Pepper seedlings can be sown in containers, but individual peat pots are much more convenient. Grown plants or into the greenhouse directly in a peat container. The roots are not injured, the displaced plant is not delayed in growth and forms ovaries faster.

Among additional benefits pots:

• accessibility;
• breathability, ensuring normal development of plants;
• variety of sizes.

The time for sowing seedlings depends on the variety. Early ripening peppers are planted in the ground at the age of 65 days, late ripening ones grow up to 75 days.

It is important to ensure the correct temperature regime and organize abundant, but not excessive watering.

What pots should I plant pepper seedlings in? Suitable for average pot volume. They are filled with a light soil mixture from equal parts garden soil and old compost. For greater nutritional value, you can add superphosphate and wood ash. The soil is thoroughly mixed and lightly pressed down.

To speed up germination pots can be covered with glass or a damp cloth. After the plant sprouts water with warm, settled water once every 5 days. It is important not to overwater young seedlings; the pots should retain their shape without getting wet.

Ideal temperature for germination – 26-28 degrees, after the sprouts appear, the temperature is reduced by 4-5 degrees. For successful development young peppers are exposed to bright light; in the cold season, plants are recommended to be exposed to electric lamps.

Transplanting pepper seedlings into pots, when to do it? After 2.5-3 months, young peppers are ready for transplanting. They can be moved to a greenhouse, open ground or transplant into a spacious pot for home grown.

Pots for home and garden: what to choose?

A variety of flowerpots and pots are a great option for placing peppers. Plants can be placed on a loggia or veranda, or even taken out into the garden.

With regular feeding and careful watering, adult fruiting peppers will feel quite comfortable.

Most economical option – plastic pots . They are inexpensive, easy to clean, and products are available in different colors and sizes. For one compact bush, a volume of 5 liters is sufficient. In larger flowerpots you can plant 2 or even 3 plants.

Small decorative peppers can be planted in small containers up to 3 liters. The shape of the pots can be any: cylindrical, round or square. Some gardeners use them as containers suitable dishes, for example, basins, deep pans or buckets.

When choosing a container, it is important to remember: how smaller pot, the faster the soil dries out. Plants in small pots will need to be watered more often. For home growing, you should choose containers with a hole and a deep tray for water drainage. This will help avoid stagnation of moisture in the soil, which peppers really don’t like.

Growing rules

How to plant pepper seedlings in peat pots? Before transplant new pots are thoroughly washed and soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate. Pots that have already been used do not need to be washed; it is enough to empty them of old soil and fill them with fresh humus-based soil. A drainage layer can be laid out at the bottom of the containers: pebbles or expanded clay. In very large flowerpots, only half of the soil can be changed.

Fill the pots purchased soil not worth it. It consists almost entirely of peat, which is poor in nutrients and does not retain water. If necessary, the finished substrate can be mixed with turf and garden soil. It is worth adding a little superphosphate or ash to the soil. Some gardeners also add crushed charcoal.

A hole corresponding to the size of the peat pot is dug in the soil. The plant is moved into it and sprinkled with earth.

The edges of the peat container should not rise above the ground surface. After transplanting, the peppers are watered warm water . In the first days, it is better to shade the transplanted plants from too bright sun.

The big advantage of pots is mobility. They can be rearranged anywhere on the balcony, veranda or garden. On particularly hot days, the peppers move to partial shade, but the plants should spend most of the day in the sun. Peppers very light-loving, with a lack of ultraviolet radiation they become smaller and fruits do not set.

It is best to place the pots on the south, southeast or southwest side.

It is important to monitor the temperature. On warm days, you need to open the windows or expose the plants to the air. With the onset of frost, the peppers are brought into the apartment or onto the glassed-in veranda. Peppers do not like cold temperatures below 15 degrees, optimal temperature for them – 20-25 degrees during the day and 18-20 at night.

Peppers love moisture and need abundant watering with soft, settled water room temperature. It is not recommended to water the bushes at the root, best option– irrigating the soil in a pot using a fine-mesh watering can. Mulching with humus, sawdust or walnut husks will help retain moisture in the soil.

It is worth taking care of fertilizers. The soil in the pot is quickly depleted, For normal fruiting, more nutritious soil is required. Plants are watered twice a month aqueous solution complex fertilizers. Peppers love nitrogen-containing complexes, but they should not be abused so as not to slow down flowering.

Grown bushes need support. It is better to place a peg for tying in a container when transplanting a young plant. Later insertion of the support into the ground may injure the roots.

Peppers in pots, placed in an apartment or on a balcony, may suffer from:. The cause is too dry air, crowded plants, and insufficient watering.

Every summer season begins with growing seedlings. Everyone understands why this is done - you can significantly increase the growing season and get not only an earlier, but also a much larger harvest. There are regions in our country in which heat-loving vegetables cannot be grown in any other way.

As the first stage of development passes, so will the subsequent ones - this is the law of nature. To improve plant development, many gardeners and gardeners use peat pots. How to use these little helpers? Is it worth purchasing them for growing seedlings? Let's look at the pros and cons of such cups.

What are they made of?

Before purchasing peat pots for seedlings, find out what they are made of. Such devices are made from peat, to which cardboard or wood is added. Most of all, gardeners praise cups with a ratio of the main substance of 70% and additives of 30%. Beware of low-quality goods; it happens that unscrupulous manufacturers increase the percentage of impurities, or even use only cheap cardboard. Before buying agricultural equipment, read what is written on the packaging.

Environmental justification

Peat products have many advantages over their counterparts made from plastic, paper or ceramics. It will be truly environmentally friendly for the plants. clean house. The peat used to make containers for growing seedlings does not contain pathogenic microflora or weed seeds. Such products contain significantly lower levels of harmful toxic substances, such as heavy metals, benzopyrene residues and pesticides. The concentration of such substances will be several times lower than permissible in agriculture standards for growing plants and crops. Light-weight peat is safe for use; it does not contain pathogens of various diseases of vegetable and flower crops.

When choosing peat pots for growing seedlings, carefully inspect them. For good quality products, the wall thickness should be one to one and a half millimeters. Such walls will be strong enough to last the entire period of plant development, but at the same time the roots of the seedlings will be able to develop unhindered. After planting in the soil, a high-quality pot will begin to quickly disintegrate, thereby facilitating the work of harvesting the fields. The decay period for quality products lasts approximately 27-32 days.

Peat pots for seedlings. Pros of use

1. Due to the porous walls, the best air-water regime of the root layer is ensured. When planted in the ground, plants freely take root through the walls and bottom.
2. Such containers do not contain pathogenic organisms and toxic substances, at the same time they have great mechanical strength in both wet and dry conditions.
3. When planting seedlings together with a pot in the ground, the survival rate reaches almost 100%. Later, when decomposed, the pot will serve as fertilizer.
4. Due to the accelerated establishment of seedlings, more early harvest, this is mainly why seedlings are planted in peat pots.

How to use? General requirements for the use of peat pots

1. The containers are filled with pre-slightly moistened nutrient soil and pressed down a little. After this it begins in peat pots. You can sow bulbs, cuttings or seedlings.
2. Place the prepared cups on pallets, pesos, plastic wrap, gravel or a layer of soil.
3. Seedlings should be watered frequently, keeping the soil moist.
4. Peat pots must not be allowed to dry out. How to use them correctly? Wrap each unit with film - this will help prevent drying out. Otherwise, the salt contained in the soil may crystallize and, in concentrated form, pose a danger to delicate seedlings.
5. When the plants begin to grow, the pots should be spaced more freely to increase light and aeration. In addition, with a more spacious arrangement, the intertwining of the root systems of neighboring plants is prevented.
6. Growing seedlings in peat pots ends with planting them in the ground. There is no need to dig up the plants; plant them directly with the old container.

Seedlings of zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins, eggplants, squash

Seedlings of these crops do not like transplanting. To ensure that the plants take root, use peat pots for growing. How to use them? Which size would be preferable?

For cucumber seedlings intended for planting in protected soil, pots with a diameter of 11 cm are suitable. The duration of cultivation is approximately 30 days. How to plant in peat pots? One germinated seed is sown in one glass.

If you are going to plant vegetables in open ground, then for seedlings of zucchini, squash and cucumbers you should choose containers with a diameter of 8 cm; for pumpkin, 11 cm is better suited and plant one in each pot. Planting depth is 1 cm. Cucumbers can be planted 2 pieces in one container.

On average, pumpkin seedlings will be ready in 20 days, and other vegetables in a month. You can calculate it yourself optimal timing landings.

The finished pots are placed on trays close to each other, watered thoroughly and left in a warm place where the temperature is maintained at 25-30 degrees until germination. When yellow-green sprouts appear, the temperature should be reduced to 20-22 degrees. This temperature regime is maintained for 2-3 days.

Watering

Should be watered cucumber seedlings warm water heated to 25-30 degrees. If there is cold watering, the plants may get sick or even die.

Hardening

To prevent plant diseases after transplanting into the ground, they are hardened off - 7-10 days before planting - the rooms are often ventilated, the temperature is reduced to 15 degrees, and watered less often.

Planting in open ground

Prepared plants are planted in the soil directly in pots. Before planting, some gardeners break the cups or take out the seedlings along with a lump of earth. You can do that too. However, gardeners who used peat pots to grow seedlings leave the following reviews about planting - they believe that it is better to first make holes in the containers. As they decompose, the cups will nourish the plant, helping to produce a large harvest.

Cabbage seedlings

In March, cabbage is sown in special boxes. After the seedlings appear, they are picked out and planting in peat pots begins. Cups with a diameter of about 7 cm are suitable. You can use round specimens or peat blocks, which contain 6 cells at once. At the end of April you can begin planting in

Lettuce seedlings

Lettuce seedlings for planting in protected soil are prepared by picking the seedlings into pots. Pots measuring 50x50 mm or, as they are also called, peat cells, are suitable. In about a month, the seedlings will be ready for planting in a greenhouse or greenhouse.

The roots of many plants can penetrate the bottom and walls of peat cups. However, most gardeners do not wait for this - they focus on the size of the above-ground part of the seedlings.

Experienced gardeners say that if you immerse peat pots in water before planting warm water until the discharge stops air bubbles from the walls, then in this case the soaked walls and bottom will not create obstacles and will be easily processed by soil inhabitants.

Disadvantages of peat pots

1. Not all plants tolerate the acidic environment that is inherent in peat. Some manufacturers add special mineral fertilizers to their products, as well as lime and chalk, which reduce acidity.
2. Frequent watering is required.
3. Evaporating from the surface of the pots, the water greatly cools the soil, as a result root system develops much worse.
4. Some plants cannot break through the peat walls and have to be removed from their containers when replanting.
5. Often mold appears on low-quality pots and the walls are destroyed
6. The high cost of peat cups, especially when growing large volumes of seedlings.

Unfortunately, some unscrupulous manufacturers produce pots made from ordinary cardboard, for high-quality peat products. Gardeners complain that sometimes in the fall, when digging up a plot, they find undecomposed pots with remnants of roots.

Several decades ago, universal containers for growing seedlings – peat cups – appeared in stores. Convenient shape and low price containers quickly attracted the attention of summer residents, thereby ensuring active demand for the products. Find out how to use peat cups in our article.

Traditionally, the products contain cellulose, humus and peat, the content of which in high-quality pots reaches 70%. In some cases, lime or chalk is added to the mixture to reduce acidity.

They are made by pressing in molds with a diameter of 5–10 cm. They can be round, trapezoidal or square. The wall density should be about 1–1.5 millimeters, thereby guaranteeing free development roots
The technology for using containers or peat tablets is quite simple: the plant is transplanted into the ground along with a cup. As a result, the root system is not damaged and the seedlings take root well. To prevent rapid evaporation of moisture, it is recommended to completely bury the cups in the ground, having previously made holes in the walls. Some owners specially wet the pots, after which they remove the plant and plant it in the ground along with the soil.

How to use peat pots

Within a month, the container decays and turns into fertilizer. Less quality containers for seedlings take a long time to decompose in the soil. This is due to the fact that some enterprises use large volumes of dense pressed cardboard in the manufacture of peat containers. As a result, the young root cannot grow through the pot. You can remove the obstacle by making holes in the bottom of the glass.
Directions for use

A drainage layer in the form of crushed water is poured onto the bottom of the container. eggshells. Then nutrient soil is added, previously washed with a solution of potassium permanganate. When filling the layer, it is important not to overcompact the soil. For the natural development of the root system, it must remain airy. The soil is spilled with warm water and the seeds are planted. For prevention, peat containers are treated with an antifungal agent.
As the seedlings grow, the containers must be moved apart from each other to prevent the roots of neighboring plants from intertwining.

Advantages and disadvantages of peat pots.

Peat does not contain weed seeds and pathogenic microflora.
When transplanting seedlings from a pot into the ground, the roots of the plants are not damaged.
The cups decompose naturally, fertilizing the soil with peat.
Convenient containers for sowing seeds. It makes sense to start growing seedlings in small square pots, and transplant the grown plants, along with the cups, into larger round pots.

The only drawback of such containers is the rapid evaporation of water. Therefore, seedlings need to be watered in them more often than when using plastic products. To slowly evaporate moisture, the container is wrapped in food foil or polyethylene.
Peat cups are used on acidic or neutral soils, including when growing crops with fragile roots. These include cucumbers, eggplants and tomatoes. It is not recommended to use such products for seedlings Chinese cabbage, onion, lettuce and garlic. As an experiment, you can choose peat containers for forcing plants with strong roots, such as pumpkins.

Sowing pepper seeds in peat cups video:

Peat pots for seedlings, or plastic ones, which one to choose:

Now you know what peat cups for seedlings are and how to use them. Grow seedlings using this container, because it has many advantages, as you saw above, and besides, everyone can afford to buy it. But according to other experts, these peat pots are not so useful, you can try to test it for yourself by planting some of the seedlings in peat pots, and the other in ordinary plastic ones, and check. With this we say goodbye to you and wish you good luck and excellent harvests in your garden.

The essence of the method is that when the tomato seedlings reach the required age, the peat pot is placed in open ground along with the seedling. With this method, the plants do not die, which often happens with other transplantation methods.

Important! Once the tomatoes have taken root, there is no need to dig up the pots. This can harm the root system.

What kind of containers are these?

Peat pots are small containers.

They come in the form:

• truncated cone;
• trapezoid;
• cube.

You can find peat pots connected into blocks of several pieces. The wall thickness is 1-1.5 mm, the transverse dimensions range from 5 cm to 10 cm.

They consist of a mixture:

• peat 50–70%;
• cellulose;
• humus.

Peat pots do not harm the soil, seedlings and crops.

Properties

Peat pots are used due to the integrity of the roots; when transplanted to a new place, the plants quickly take root and grow. The soil poured into such containers retains moisture longer. Roots of tomatoes from the moment of sowing until the period of planting permanent place are in the same substrate.

Located in pots, nothing prevents seedlings from receiving the necessary nutrition and oxygen. After planting in the ground, the roots quietly grow through the soft walls of the pot. They withstand soil loads well.

Pros and cons

The advantages of peat pots for tomato seedlings are:

• moderate porosity;
• natural moisture turnover when transplanting into the ground;
• free germination of the roots of a growing plant;
• strength.

There are no downsides to high-quality peat pots for seedlings, except that these products are disposable.

To use good products, you need to buy them in specialized stores. Purchasing a bad product, in which simple cardboard is added to the peat, leads to the fact that next year When digging up the ground, you can find paper residues.

Preparation

It is recommended to buy peat pots in specialized agricultural stores. The average price of one container is 3 rubles, and the cost of a set depends on the number of pots and varies from 120 to 180 rubles. You can make them yourself at home.

To do this, mix:

• garden, humus, compost and turf soil;
• sand;
• stale straw cuttings or sawdust.

To prevent the resulting cube from falling apart, you need to add water and mullein until it reaches the consistency of thick sour cream.

1. After thorough mixing, the mixture is poured into a greenhouse or box covered with film. The thickness of the poured layer is 7-9 cm.
2. After drying, cut lengthwise and crosswise with a knife.

The ideal size of a peat pot for tomatoes is 8x8 cm. To start planting tomato seedlings in peat pots, you need to prepare the soil.

To do this, mix in equal proportions:

• turf land;
• humus;
• sawdust;
• sand;
• vermiculite

The composition needs to be disinfected. To do this, you can heat it in the oven or pour it with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Glasses

At the bottom of the peat cups, you need to make small holes with an awl to allow excess water to drain. This will also allow the roots to emerge more easily. To prevent the pots from drying out, experienced gardeners it is advised to wrap each plastic film. Otherwise, the salt contained in the soil will crystallize and harm delicate tomato seedlings. You need to remove it right before planting the bushes in a permanent place.

Seeds for germination

consists of the following steps:

1. rejection;
2. disinfection;
3. soak;
4. stratification.

During culling, empty, overdried and broken seeds are removed. They are left in a solution of table salt for 5-10 minutes. Those that float are thrown away because they are not suitable for planting.

During the process of disinfection in 3% hydrogen peroxide or 1% solution of potassium permanganate, the seeds become resistant to various diseases. The soaking procedure helps the seed material to germinate faster.

The seeds are placed on a damp cloth or cotton wool, which is covered with a lid. All this is put in warm place, thanks to swelling they begin to germinate.

The stratification procedure involves placing the hatched tomato shoots in the refrigerator overnight, and during the day they are placed in a room where the temperature reaches +18°C...+20°C. This must be done several times. As a result of the stratification, the seedlings become resistant to temperature changes.

In the case when old seeds are used, they are advised to be treated with phytohormone compounds., which stimulate the growth of seedlings.

Important! It must be taken into account that if seeds from fruits that are deficient in manganese and potassium are used, their germination rate will be low. To prevent such seedlings from stopping their growth, they need to be soaked in the solution for 24 hours before sowing. complex fertilizer and dry before planting.

Step-by-step instructions for growing

Let's look at how to grow tomato seedlings in peat cups. To sow tomato seedlings, you need seeds and peat pots with suitable soil. A drainage layer is poured onto the bottom of the pot. This can be crushed eggshells with prepared soil on top. It should not reach the edge by approximately 1 cm. After sowing the seeds, the pots are placed on a pallet or in a box, which is covered with polyethylene.

Sowing tomato seeds

For sowing, you need to take dry seeds, then mold will not appear. Seed material is sown in pots 1-2 pieces at a time, immersed to a depth of no more than 15 mm. They are sprinkled with earth on top and sprinkled with water. If the temperature is +22°C...+25°C, then germination will take 6 days; if it increases to +30°C, seedlings may appear in 2 days. After their appearance, it is desirable that the temperature be reduced during the day to +20°C, and at night – +16°C.

The development of seedlings is negatively affected:

• drafts;
• lack of sunlight;
• very high temperature.

Stretching of seedlings and the presence of thin stems indicates a lack of lighting or planting density; they need to be thinned out. If several tomato seedlings have emerged in one pot, you should leave only one, choosing the most developed and strong one. It is best to pinch the remaining ones, otherwise the root may be damaged when pulled out.

How to care for seedlings before planting in the ground?

After 2 leaves appear on the seedling, begin picking. To stimulate the appearance of small roots, gardeners advise pinching the taproot by a third. At the beginning of their development, seedlings should not be exposed to direct sun rays. Peat pots with tomato seedlings should be placed at a short distance from each other. The dense arrangement interferes with air exchange.

After the second pair of leaves appears, the temperature in the room where the seedlings are located should be +18°...+20°C during the day, and +8°C...+10°C at night. Such indicators must be observed for three weeks, and then at night it must be increased to +15°C. A few days before planting in open ground, the seedlings are placed outside overnight to gradually get used to the place of their future growth.

A week after planting seedlings in peat pots in the ground, they need to be fed with liquid mineral fertilizers. It is recommended to water this kind of seedlings often, but not abundantly. Peat is a material that holds and retains water well. Bottom watering helps prevent the appearance of fungi and mold.

When and how to plant in the ground?

The growing cycle for tomato seedlings in peat pots is 60 days, and the date of planting in open ground depends on the tomato variety and region. Most often this is April in the southern regions, in the northern regions - May-early June. It is necessary to plant seedlings in soil that has already been warmed up to +12°C...+15°C, and also when the danger of return frosts has disappeared.

1. First of all, the beds are prepared and furrows are marked depending on the number of bushes in the bed and the density of placement.
2. Then they dig holes.

   Attention! The holes must be dug to a depth no less than the height of the peat pot. The most suitable option it is considered if they are 1.5-2 cm deeper.

3. You need to plant tomato seedlings together with a pot; before doing this, it is recommended to water them with water and treat them with a solution of Bordeaux mixture.
4. Planting sites are also spilled with water and installed in them. peat pots, which are sprinkled with soil on all sides.

After planting in the ground, you must not allow it to dry out, because the cups will become woody. In the future, you need to water the seedlings right to the roots.

Common Mistakes

When the seedlings lower leaves turn yellow, the cause is:

• lack of light;
• nutritional deficiencies;
• development of blackleg.

The technology for growing tomato seedlings in peat pots is not complicated. This method allows you to get healthy and high-quality seedlings. And in the future, reap a good harvest.

Pots for growing seedlings vary in size, color, density and the presence of pores that allow air to pass through. In order for the plant to be comfortable after planting in the ground, the walls of the pot must quickly dissolve when exposed to moisture. This allows the roots of the crop to easily penetrate the soil and supplies them with nutrients.

A peat pot for growing seedlings should have thin walls, the width of which is no more than one and a half centimeters.

Show all

Description

Peat pots or cups have been used by gardeners for about 30 years. At that time they had the shape of a truncated cone. Now pots have appeared in the shape of a cube or a truncated pyramid. Whole blocks of several shapes are sold.

You can choose the desired size from 5 to 10 cm in diameter. Wall thickness also matters. It can be 1 or 1.5 mm.

Peat pots for seedlings are made not only from peat. It's only 50 to 70 percent there. Humus is added to the peat. And in order for them to keep their shape and not fall apart, cellulose is added. After mixing these ingredients, they are diluted with water and pressed using special equipment in appropriate forms.

Device for making peat pots



Usage

Peat dishes are used to sow seeds or plant seedlings. Turn the pot upside down and inspect whether there is a drainage hole and what size it is. If it is not enough, it will be inconvenient to use. Therefore, they expand it so as not to damage the walls.

Pour crushed eggshells into the bottom of the pot. It will serve as drainage for the outflow of excess water, protect the plant from blackleg, and make the soil less acidic. Fill the pot with soil prepared specifically for each crop. Do not add 1 cm to the edge of the pot. Do not compact the soil.

Make a hole in the soil that matches the size of the seeds, lay them down and cover them with soil. O. Ganichkina recommends sowing 2 or 3 seeds in one glass, and then thinning out the seedlings. Water, cover with glass or film. It is better to place the pots in a special box or tray. This will make it easier to carry the seedlings, which will need to be done several times. It is good to grow such seedlings in a greenhouse where the air is quite humid.

Plant the seedlings into pots, the size of which corresponds to the size of the root system and the amount of soil on them. Before planting seedlings, water the dishes. Do this in advance, an hour before planting. The soil should be wet to the depth where the roots are located. Carefully separate the seedling from the main mass of plants, remove it from the soil and transfer it to a pot.

Sprinkle with prepared soil, compacting it. Water and place in a cool place until the root system begins to supply the stem with moisture. This will take about a week. Then transfer the dishes to a sunny place.

The time for planting seedlings in open ground depends on many conditions. When the plant produces the required number of true leaves (cucumbers), buds appear (tomatoes), or the soil in the garden reaches the desired temperature, the plants are immersed in the prepared holes. Its depth should be greater than the height of the pot. Sprinkle it completely so that the plants are immersed in the soil up to the cotyledon leaves. Water, mulch and carry out all procedures as with the usual planting method.

The seedlings fall into the ground with intact roots. Under the influence of moisture, the peat and humus in the pot should dissolve and pass into the soil. The roots of the plant will receive a supply of nutrients that they will use for growth and development.



Advantages

Peat pots have undoubted advantages:

• when planting plants, you do not need to remove them from the pots;
• the roots of the plant are not damaged, which is especially important for melons;
• the pots are environmentally friendly, because they are made from natural materials;
• contain nutrients, which, when grown, pass into the soil and are used by plants;
• The dishes are light and at the same time durable, withstand watering and rearrangement;
• the walls of the pots are porous, so they allow air to pass through to the roots;
• they are easy to recycle.



Flaws

But peat pots also have disadvantages:

• The root system freezes when grown in such pots. The soil is constantly moist. The moisture evaporates, and the soil temperature drops.
• Some pots do not dissolve well in water after planting. It happens that the plant cannot get rid of it. This is usually caused by the fact that the pots are made poorly and their walls are too thick.
• If you water too much, the soil in the pots becomes moldy, and if you don’t water enough, it dries out quickly.

But experienced gardeners have learned to work around these unpleasant features. To prevent the roots from freezing, it is recommended to wrap the pot in cellophane immediately after planting picked seedlings or sowing seeds. Remove the film immediately before planting the plant in the ground.

You can solve the problem of poor solubility of pots in the following ways:

• Use pots only for growing seedlings, and remove them before planting.
• Place the seedlings in the ground with a pot, but first soak and break the bottom. The roots of the seedlings will easily grow into the soil.

Pots in which mold has grown need to be rid of excess moisture. It usually accumulates at the bottom. Perhaps the pot size is smaller than expected. The walls are wiped with vinegar. If there is a lot of mold, such containers are discarded. Pay attention to the level of humidity in the room and ventilate it more often. Top layer The soil is carefully loosened so as not to damage the roots.

How to choose a pot?

You need to choose peat pots that have a peat percentage of no more than 70 percent. It is difficult to determine this by eye. Therefore, pay attention to indirect signs. A good pot, dark in color, porous. They are soft to the touch. The thickness of the walls should not be more than one and a half centimeters.

You need to buy only high-quality pots, trusting trusted manufacturers. Products must be packaged and have a quality certificate. The original shape of the container does not affect the growing conditions.

High-quality pots for growing seedlings

They don’t take light glasses, even though they are prettier than dark ones. Such containers contain a lot of cellulose, so they will take a long time to soak.

You should not buy very small cups with a diameter of 5 cm. The amount of soil that will fit in there is small, so the roots will dry out quickly. It is better to take a pot with a diameter of 8 to 10 cm.

Comparison with plastic and paper

In addition to peat, plastic and paper cups, which you can even prepare yourself. Advantages of peat cups:

• Before planting, plastic containers must be cut or pulled out without damaging the root system. This is not always possible.
• Plastic glasses do not allow air or moisture to pass through. The use of peat soils solves this problem, but the amount of water when watering must be selected correctly.
• Homemade paper cups quickly get wet and tear. In this case, the roots of the plants are damaged, or the integrity of the root ball is disrupted. You need to spend time preparing them.
• Paper and plastic cups do not feed seedlings.

Making pots

You can make peat pots yourself using available materials. This is especially easy to do in rural areas.

Step by step guide:

1. 1. You need to take 7 parts of peat, 2 parts of humus, add part of mullein and slaked lime.
2. 2. Sift and grind peat and humus.
3. 3. Remove or crush solid pieces and lumps.
4. 4. Mullein is bred hot water and let it brew. The amount of water is determined by eye.
5. 5. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. If the composition is dry, add water and mix again. The prepared mass should be homogeneous, not very wet.
6. 6. Test cups are formed to check the quality of the material. Use two plastic glasses or similar shaped containers. The mixture is placed in one, and the other is squeezed out to form the walls of a glass.

Dry the glasses in the shade at high temperature.