J.C. wrote:

I start seeds in styrofoam cups. I do exclusively square foot gardening and
have several boxes going. I use the 32oz cups that I buy in bulk from Sam's
Club. I put about 1 inch of potting soil in the cup.

When it comes time to plant I just cut the bottom out of the cups and plant
the whole things. This leaves me the proper amount of empty cup to do the
watering called for in the Square Foot Gardening book.

Well, everything that happens, wilt, browning leaves, low yield, bugs,
disease etc., happens because I PLANT THE DANG CUPS, according to my wife.
She, and others, say this is a definate no-no. I disagree. What do you say
and why?


Since you have no definitive answer, you will have to do "the
experiment". Next time you start plants, leave half of them in the cups
when you plant but take every other one out of the cup. See how the
growth of the two methods turns out. I can't help but wonder if the cup
holds the water around the stems longer that some plants can tolerate.

Steve