This year I'm doing origami with newspaper to make pots to start seedlings in, but what do y'all use? I loved the way those little fabric-like pellets that swell up when you water them started seeds, but mine seemed to have the dickens of a time getting their roots to go through the mesh. I don't recall just what they're called but I'd ordered them from Parks. And the Burpee ones that you put in the pre-formed tray -- when I'd take them out to transplant them the medium would just fall apart. And the ones made of peat that you can get anywhere, well, maybe I didn't keep them wet enough. What do you like to use, and why?
peat pots and the like
I like the plastic cell packs or sheet pots that fit into the 1020 trays. Too many plants seem to have trouble getting their roots to break through the mesh on pellets or through the peat pots, IMO. I use 48 cell sheet pots for basil and many other annuals or slower-growing perennials that I'll up-pot down the road. I find the 72 cell ones too small except for things like lettuce plugs. I like the 32 or 36 cell ones for tomato and pepper seedlings, especially if you can find deeper ones. I use Pro Mix (with a little added slow release fertilizer) or Miracle Gro potting mix (which has a little fertilizer already), and I add moisture crystals to the mix. For seedlings, I often add extra perlite to lighten the mix, and I sterilize the potting mix also to help prevent damping off.
I like the APS system because it is self contained and does a better job of controling moisture to the seeds/seedlings than when I try to water them by hand. They come in different sizes and you can use liners in them if you want to. I bought mine from Gardener's Supply as they had the largest selection of sizes. Seeds of Change also carries some of them.
http://www.gardeners.com/APS-24/default/StandardCatalog.IndoorGardening_Seedstarting.32-574.cpd
When I had a yard and could start seeds outdoors under a row cover/hot bed/greenhouse, I would use the plastic cell packs in a tray.
I too use the APS system from Gardener's Supply. I tried the Ultimate Growing System from Burpee earlier, and found it terrible to work with (though my plants grew nicely in the medium, they were near impossible to remove unscathed).
I do use the peat pellets sometimes. Mostly I use them for sprouting Morning Glory seeds and some basils. In order to make them work well though, is to remove the mesh covering the pellet once you notice a couple of roots starting to poke out. The pellets themselves are really firm, and I've not had any trouble with them falling apart after the mesh is removed. I usually just transplant the pellet into a larger growing pot within a few days or a week after removing the mesh, depending on the root systems of the little plants.
That's a good idea, calypsa. The mesh is not that hard to tear off; you just start out with the impression that you won't have to. I still think I'll do the origami this time, at least for some. I'll report how it goes.
I think the origami is definitely a good idea.
And most people definitely don't think of taking the mesh off those silly pellets. I sure didn't the first year I used them, and I had some rather funny results. Just this summer actually I decided that I wanted to move one of my nice stands of catnip because it was taking over my herb garden. When I had the root system out of the ground, I found that one HUGE section was all growing out of this itty bitty peat pellet!! It still had the mesh on. And we're talking catnip about 3.5 feet tall. Talk about resilient and dedicated plants...
I could never get the watering right with the peat pellets and would either dry them out accidently or grow a bumper crop of mould.
I'm still hunting the perfect origami pattern. This may be more trouble than it's worth. I'll post if and when I find a good one.