# Experience grower using "peat pellets" for 1st time.....many questions..



## chiefMOJOrisin (Dec 28, 2006)

Has anyone ever used Peat Pellets before???

My buddy recently gave my a bunch of these "peat pellets" and swears by them for germination.  As well as the first week or so of seedling growth.  They are discs about 1 1/4" in diameter and about 1/2" thick with a small hole in the middle for the seed to go.  This particular grow will be my 10th and I have always used the same method for germination and it always works great.  Every grow has started from seed (never clones) this way.... I fill a shot glass with bottled water and put the seeds I intend to use in the water to soak overnight.  The seeds that sink to the bottom are then used for the paper towel in a baggie method.  And yes, westbizz, i read your thread and youre right.  A small amount (very small) of bleach or hydrogen peroxide added to bottled water aids in preventing mold.  I did one baggie with and one without bleach and the results were obvious.  Although the seeds that grew mold in the non-bleach bag were duds anyway.  But the duds with the bleach stayed moldless.

Anyhoo...a day ago i put a Sweettooth x OG Kush bean (my genetics )  into ten pellets.  I then placed them in a shallow dish filled with enough bottled water to allow all the pellets to **** up.  Yet, not going over the top of them cuz the seed would float away.  The pellets began expanding in less than a half hour.  I had to push the seed down a bit in a few of them because the pellet hadnt expaned around the seed, but instead pushed it up and out.  

Basically i want to know if this method will work as well, or better than my normal method.  I really like the fact that I can just plant the entire thing when the time is right,  saving the seedling the stress of an early life transplant.  But how well do roots poke through the netting type stuff that keeps the pellets together?  How long should I let the seedling grow before transplanting into their 2nd to last home? How should I keep them until then?  On a plate? Spaced apart? Close together?

And my most important question is, how do I water them once they are expanded?  Should I place them in a dish of water and let them drink from below?  Or lightly water from the top?  Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks


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## Stoney Bud (Dec 28, 2006)

Expand the peat pellets before using them. Just put them into a plate full of water. Then squeeze out the excess.

I've used them for more than 20 years. I love em.

Germinate the seeds like you always do, and then put them into the peat pellet so that the head is only an 1/8th inch buried. Gently depress the soil so that it just makes contact with the new root.

Good luck man!


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## chiefMOJOrisin (Dec 29, 2006)

cool man, thanks.  I already expanded some with the seed in it to begin with 2 days ago.  3 have already sprouted.  I do have more beans to plant so I will expand first, then plant already germinated seeds.

how long should i let the seedling grow in the pellets before planting them in their new home??


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## Stoney Bud (Dec 29, 2006)

chiefMOJOrisin said:
			
		

> cool man, thanks. I already expanded some with the seed in it to begin with 2 days ago. 3 have already sprouted. I do have more beans to plant so I will expand first, then plant already germinated seeds.
> 
> how long should i let the seedling grow in the pellets before planting them in their new home??


You can put them in a pot anytime you wish. Be very careful you don't break roots if you wait. Don't flex the peat pellets.


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## Cakes (Jan 1, 2007)

The roots grow through the mesh pretty well. It usually starts to happen in a matter of days.

Leaving them sit in water works ok for keeping them moist usually, but the reservoir of water dries up faster than you'd think it would. 

I like peat pellets but I only use them when I am doing mass plantings of something because the growth that happens when seeds are started in the pellets doesn't compare to the growth I get when I use my regular one gallon pots. I've used them for many things: peppers, tomatoes, flowers...

I never had the urge to squeeze them though, that suggestion suprised me. i guess my aversion to compaction plays a roll in my feelings there.

Have you ever done experiments with the float/sink determination of viability? I have and I found no difference between floater and sinkers.

and I simply place my seeds in a moist washcloth without soaking or exposing to bleach/h2o2 and if they are covered right to prevent moisture loss and they are put on a TV or my VCR then they start to sprout in 24 hours and there is no mold. You aren't mistaking the fuzzlike fine roots for mold are you? I have found mold only starts many days later and is only a problem for the very last seeds to sprout during an unheated germination session. And fyi to that, those seeds sprout and grow just fine too as long as they are not completely dissolved into muck by the rot.


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## Brouli (Jan 1, 2007)

everybody have theyr favorite way to germinate seeds, i found this video  awesome,  about the squeeze , its better to squeeze for air to have place to stay inside the pelet ....  man just check this video  is hopefull 

http://www.hydroponics-grow-lights.co.uk/video/explorer/index.html

the first one is about Propagation


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## chiefMOJOrisin (Jan 4, 2007)

i've never tested the floaters vs. the sinkers extensively (spelling)  however I have germinated them separatly.  Meaning i put the sinkers in one, and the floaters in another paper towel in a baggie.  And that particular experiment resulted in 100% germination of sinkers and 80% of the floaters. its too bad overgrow ain't around anymore, cuz I posted the experiment and results of floater/sinkers and the bleach vs. no bleach.  along with LST  (low-stress training) vs.  topping. 

And yes, i know the difference between the mold and the roots.  Only after my first grow when i asked what the fuzzy stuff coming off the roots were. haha.  I have noticed that heat increases the mold process.  I.e.  on top of the t.v.  But as brouli said, everyone has different techniques.

Anyway, it's been a few days since I planted the seeds.  20/25 have sprouted through the peat.  I have noticed that the seedlings are not as strong as they usually are when I do the paper towel method and plant them as soon as a millimeter of arm sticks out the crack.  

All in all i like my normal method better.  I have planted the pellets that sprouted and I can see growth already over the first 1-2 days.  But i still like to be able to physically see the germinated seed, and plant it so i know its right side up and its definatly gonna sprout.  As opposed to the seed in the pellet taking 2 days to right itself, then growing up.

Thanks to all who responded

BTW...the 5 that haven't sprouted are 5 out of my 10 sweettooth X kush hybrids.  All the other are saved bagseeds and some NL beans i bought from my boy.  How long after a harvest are seeds ready to be germinated and grown out??


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