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#1
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
I have a bunch of peat pellets in which the seeds never germinated. They
are all dried out now. Are they okay to use them again, or should I just remove the netting, crumble them up, and add them to the garden soil? --S. |
#2
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
Suzanne D. said:
I have a bunch of peat pellets in which the seeds never germinated. They are all dried out now. Are they okay to use them again, or should I just remove the netting, crumble them up, and add them to the garden soil? They are very difficult to re-wet, and who's to know why the seeds never germinated. (Did they carry some sort of mold or pathogen?) The pellets themselves are relatively cheap, especially if you buy them in bulk mail order, so my opinion is, better safe than sorry. I don't reuse them. I always run my 'extra' seedlings and dud pellets through the compost bin. (I use the Jiffy-9 pellets for the most part, which avoids the netting issue.) -- Pat in Plymouth MI "So, it was all a dream." "No dear, this is the dream, you're still in the cell." email valid but not regularly monitored |
#3
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
"Suzanne D." wrote in message ... I have a bunch of peat pellets in which the seeds never germinated. They are all dried out now. Are they okay to use them again, or should I just remove the netting, crumble them up, and add them to the garden soil? --S. To be sure, you can sterilize them, say in a microwave. |
#4
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
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#5
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message news:20090709-104506.265.0@Pat- They are very difficult to re-wet, and who's to know why the seeds never germinated. (Did they carry some sort of mold or pathogen?) The pellets themselves are relatively cheap, especially if you buy them in bulk mail order, so my opinion is, better safe than sorry. I don't reuse them. That was what I figured as well. They would probably do just fine in the compost. I am actually thinking of getting a soil blocker next year and making my own small blocks instead of the Jiffy peat pellets. --S. |
#6
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
On Wed, 8 Jul 2009 17:41:29 -0600, "Suzanne D."
wrote: I have a bunch of peat pellets in which the seeds never germinated. They are all dried out now. Are they okay to use them again, or should I just remove the netting, crumble them up, and add them to the garden soil? --S. I just re-used some. They were from last year, and completely dried-out. They worked OK: some stuff germinated, some hasn't yet. About the same as usual, for us. I can't say for sure about any particular pellet, but we often get a slimy green mold in our trays - so, there's a good chance some were 'infected'. Nothing bad happened. G |
#7
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
"phorbin" wrote in message ... In article ss, says... "Suzanne D." wrote in message ... I have a bunch of peat pellets in which the seeds never germinated. They are all dried out now. Are they okay to use them again, or should I just remove the netting, crumble them up, and add them to the garden soil? --S. To be sure, you can sterilize them, say in a microwave. And what happens if they aren't completely dessicated (sic) ? Interesting question. You want the pellets a bit damp if you are using a microwave to sterilize, otherwise it wouldn't work well. I'm sure it wouldn't matter much with most any other sterilization method such as various steam or heat methods. Biocontrol/Chemical sterilization methods would be another matter. However, I really do not find proof beyond Internet mythology that chemical fertilizers will "sterilize" soils very well as often alluded. |
#9
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
Hi All,
"Suzanne D." wrote in message ... "Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message news:20090709-104506.265.0@Pat- They are very difficult to re-wet, and who's to know why the seeds never germinated. (Did they carry some sort of mold or pathogen?) The pellets themselves are relatively cheap, especially if you buy them in bulk mail order, so my opinion is, better safe than sorry. I don't reuse them. That was what I figured as well. They would probably do just fine in the compost. I am actually thinking of getting a soil blocker next year and making my own small blocks instead of the Jiffy peat pellets. --S. I made a soil blocker. The soil has to be just right [ damp but not wet ] and the right type of soil, or it will not work very well. I gave up in the end. It was more trouble than it was worth. Hope this helps you. Richard M. Watkin. |
#10
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
"R M Watkin" wrote in message news:4a584709$1_4@mk-nntp- I made a soil blocker. The soil has to be just right [ damp but not wet ] and the right type of soil, or it will not work very well. I gave up in the end. It was more trouble than it was worth. It's something I am only thinking about right now. On one hand it DOES seem like a lot of hassle--making sure the dirt blend is just right, dealing with the inevitable crumble, and spending a lot of time to make planters when you can prepare 72 Jiffy pellets in minutes just by adding water to the tray. On the other hand, I like the idea of having really tiny blocks (I'd get the 3/4" size) for things like corn, of which I would want a LOT but on which wouldn't find prudent to waste a whole Jiffy pellet for each seed, and for having no leftover pots and netting, and for having to hardly spend any more money once you get the initial equipment. I'll just have to see how I feel about it next spring. --S. |
#11
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
"phorbin" wrote in message ... In article , says... "phorbin" wrote in message ... In article ss, says... "Suzanne D." wrote in message ... I have a bunch of peat pellets in which the seeds never germinated. They are all dried out now. Are they okay to use them again, or should I just remove the netting, crumble them up, and add them to the garden soil? --S. To be sure, you can sterilize them, say in a microwave. And what happens if they aren't completely dessicated (sic) ? Interesting question. You want the pellets a bit damp if you are using a microwave to sterilize, otherwise it wouldn't work well. I'm sure it wouldn't matter much with most any other sterilization method such as various steam or heat methods. Biocontrol/Chemical sterilization methods would be another matter. However, I really do not find proof beyond Internet mythology that chemical fertilizers will "sterilize" soils very well as often alluded. I framed my question in the way that amused me at that moment (though I don't know why it did) but obscured my thought. I appreciate the candor. That is, does a partially dry peat pellet explode in the microwave? No, I invite you to do a quick search on sterilizing soils. There are a lot of myths about microwave use. It is still heat that kills most bacteria, ( But note: NOT the toxins). Pesky critters, such as fungus gnats and fruit fly, can also survive microwaving under certain conditions and you can use metal in microwaves although you really need to know what you are doing. This is the quickest way to sterilize small amounts of soils when you need to. I use a thermometer rather than time to ensure I have a good 165 + internal temp. |
#12
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
In article ss,
"gunner" wrote: "phorbin" wrote in message ... In article , says... "phorbin" wrote in message ... In article ss, says... "Suzanne D." wrote in message ... I have a bunch of peat pellets in which the seeds never germinated. They are all dried out now. Are they okay to use them again, or should I just remove the netting, crumble them up, and add them to the garden soil? --S. To be sure, you can sterilize them, say in a microwave. And what happens if they aren't completely dessicated (sic) ? Interesting question. You want the pellets a bit damp if you are using a microwave to sterilize, otherwise it wouldn't work well. I'm sure it wouldn't matter much with most any other sterilization method such as various steam or heat methods. Biocontrol/Chemical sterilization methods would be another matter. However, I really do not find proof beyond Internet mythology that chemical fertilizers will "sterilize" soils very well as often alluded. I framed my question in the way that amused me at that moment (though I don't know why it did) but obscured my thought. I appreciate the candor. That is, does a partially dry peat pellet explode in the microwave? No, I invite you to do a quick search on sterilizing soils. There are a lot of myths about microwave use. It is still heat that kills most bacteria, ( But note: NOT the toxins). Pesky critters, such as fungus gnats and fruit fly, can also survive microwaving under certain conditions and you can use metal in microwaves although you really need to know what you are doing. This is the quickest way to sterilize small amounts of soils when you need to. I use a thermometer rather than time to ensure I have a good 165 + internal temp. To sterilize jiffy pots, or soil heat (in convection oven) to 200F for 30 min. "If" you had perfect heat transfer, it would only take 20 min. at 182F. I use a metal mixing bowl. -- - Billy There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves. Will Rogers http://countercurrents.org/roberts020709.htm http://www.tomdispatch.com/p/zinn |
#13
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#14
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Can you re-use peat pellets?
"Bigal" wrote in message I got a paper plantpot maker and it does the job perfectly. They are fairly easy to make by using anything cylindrical with a flat base. You can decide what size you want to use. I have thought abut making these as well, though have no source for newspapers. Would phone book pages work as well, or do the papers have to be fairly large? --S. |
#15
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