Jiffy seed starting flats versus Burpee

Okay in the past I have always purchased the Jiffy flats with the peat refills. I have sown three 72 count flats this year. I have had a very poor germination rate. I recently bought some Burpee seed starting trays and I'm amazed at the germination rate on these. Has anyone else noticed this??

Is there anything else I can do with the seeds I've already sown in the jiffy pots?? They've been in the flat since 1/11 and I'd hate to lose all the seeds if I can move them or do anything to kick start them.

Angela G

What kind of seeds?

Maybe they need a bit of heat?

I tried alot of different seeds. Coneflowers of every kind you can think of.. I had them on a heating mat for weeks and nothing helped.. I am just going to use Burpee from now on. I've had an awesome germination rate with the new Burpee flats. They came up quick on most of my items so I have to move them out now and start some new ones..

Okay heres the list from my spreadsheet:

mardi gras helenium, yellow daylily,orange tiger lily, std blanket flower, burgandy blanket flower, mexican hats, moerheim beauty, helenium kupferwerg, and helenium red 3 feet.

I didnt get one single plant/seedling from these. I am going to start a new flat of the same things if I have any left using the Burpee flat..

by jiffy pots, do you mean the peat pots that you just plop in the ground when they are ready?
I started 10 trays in the peat pots last week, two trays have already germinated (allyssum, but they will grow anywhere!) Now I'm worried about the other 8 trays....

No, I mean the little pellets in the mesh things that you add warm water and they plump up.. They are easy to pick up and handle compared to Burpee though but I'd rather have my seeds germinate.. LOL

have you ever used the peat pots? are they any good? I only used the plastic trays before, I thought the peat pots would be easier for transplanting....but they are all wet right now, hard to tell if its gonna work out. I should have only planted a couple of trays to test them first... no forethought! LOL just wanted to hurry up and get them going so I can have flowers!

Mmmm...Angel, I'm not an expert, just a learner, but it seems like those seeds have a variety of germination requirements and might take some time to get started.

Thompson & Morgan describes starting Helenium, for instance, this way: "Germinate at 13-15C (55-59F) on the surface of a good free draining, damp seed compost. Cover with a very fine sprinkling of compost. Place in a propagator or seal container inside a polythene bag until after germination which usually takes 14-21 days. Do not exclude light at any stage, as this helps germination."

So, to get the seed started it sounds like helenium doesn't like heat much and need lots of light. And many kinds of echinacea like some kind of moist stratification/cold treatments to get good germination, too. (So I've read).

I used the peat pots from Jiffy too this year. Then I read all kinds of comments about how others didn't like them because they didn't disintegrate when planted in the soil and the roots remained stunted. I thought I could take a sharp knife and cut the sides and the bottom off each pot.

I also read that the peat pots are a nice environment for mould to grow, which isn't so good, either. But there must be something to them--it seems like there are millions of those pots in every garden store this time of year! I guess I'll find out!

Angel, I'll be interested to hear how your seeds come along. t.

I will definitely keep you posted. Maybe we can all learn from each others experiences. I just checked and now my Black eyed susans and my agrostemma have germinated! Even after my DH 'helped' me yestereday and watered them all (they were a little soggy, so I had to dry them out some). He promised not to help out anymore :)

LOL 'he promised not to help anymore'! Ya gotta luv 'em!!

I'm getting a lot of germination in my little peat pots too. Now if I can keep them from getting 'damping off' I'll be in business. I set up a fan to help the air circulate.

Everything is germinating much faster than I expected---looks like I will be doing some plant (baby) sitting for the next several weeks! Gardening is always full of surprises isn't it?

Tabasco,
Yes! gardening is great fun! and I love the surprises!
I just got back from HD, usually I wind up buying plants and stuff, but this time I left with 3 bags of potting soil, some peat moss and more trays! I love hatching my own little seedlings instead! I have definitely caught the seed bug! :)- I even looked at their seeds, thought maybe I would buy some more, but they have the same old drab selection- nothing interested me..... so now I have to stalk my mailman and wait for my seeds to arrive *impatiently tamping my foot*. WHY CANT THE POSTMEN WORK ON SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS! Lol!

I also bought a jiffy pot tray with those pellets you are all talking about, thought I'd give them a try and see how they work for me. They just dont seem like as much fun, I dont get to play in the dirt! LOL!

Yes, my trips to the garden center started early this year with my trips back and forth to buy seed starting stuff I've read about here on DG!

So far, so good. If I can only keep the little things growing along until I can plant them out! I'm going to start dosing them with Superthrive and Messenger pretty soon...

I just read Carolyn's (the Tomato guru from Cornell) comment about the peat pots and she was really negative on them! Said they wick moisture away from the seedlings. Oh, dear!

I know, that President's Day postal holiday really threw off my mail box stalking!

Given that more people probably overwater rather than underwater their plants and seedlings, a little bit of moisture getting wicked away from the seedlings might not be a bad thing!

LOL! true, maybe then my DH can 'help' me water them again :)

I hate those peat pots. The pellets work better for me, but I hate the others. I think they do mold more and I know people like them because they say the stay moist better. Mine dry out like crazy. So I either drown them or dry them out.
I was out getting one of my beds ready and turned over some that some annuals were in and they were still in one piece from last year. They are about the only thing you can get for the flats with the top,aren't they.? I'd rather just get a flat put dirt in it and seeds and put the lid on, when seeds germinate, just take a fork or something and take the seedlings out. They seem to germinate better when I use those.
I guess starting seeds isn't my "forte" but I'm stubborn and crazy so I WILL LEARN IT ALL!!

Lorraine, when you plant in the trays -minus the peat pots- do you have to poke drainage holes in them? My peat pots are redy to be hardened off and I was going to refill the trays... It would be nice if I dont have to run out and buy more peat pots :) I never thought of just throwing dirt directly int the tray! LOL whats wrong with me? must be that 'wonderful' medicine the dentist gave me :) I just am not thinking straight anymore ! lol
just let me know if I should cut some holes in the tray, I also have some old plastic 6 packs from previous nursery buys (gosh I keep everything!) and I've been saving the pudding and yogurt cups...

I didn't, I just planted them, but it might be good to do that. I'm just really careful I don't over water them. I had one or two from last year so I wanted to see what would happen, and it really germinated good.

I try to save the 6 pack things, but they are so flimsy that I end up with some of them messed up.

Try one with holes and one without and see what works best for you. I bought some of those big aluminum tray things, and they are about 4 inches tall. I put aboaut 2 1/2 inches dirt *(with holes in the bottom. I know people say you have to have 4 inches of dirt, but those peat things aren't that big. They are only about 1 1/2 inches.
Anyway, I did that, then put saran wrap on top and that worked really good. They cost $2 but you can really put a lot of seeds in it . I winter sow in them and use them with lights inside.

I hate using a thousand little things when I can get so many in one container.

good idea, I just talked it over with DH and he's on his way out to buy me some aluminum trays! LOL, He really DID get the seed bug when I got the BE of newbie seeds! I think he got it worse than me! each night he's asking.... what are we planting tonight?! (Not whats for dinner!LOL)

How cool is that, you got a keeper!!! Is he going to help you plant them too. Watch him, he may decide he's had enough fun about the time you have to get down and dirty in the flower bed

Be sure when you use them that you are careful moving them after the soil is in. They bend easily, (I found that out the hard way. I decided to move one last year, just picked it up and it collasped. Just folded like a book. I should have known that, but I just didn't think. ) Just be sure you've got a hand under it or something hard to carry it on.

Yes, what is it with these peat pots? Mine are dried out within an hour of watering them...

What exactly are the advantages of using them?? Anyone know?

I feel I must be doing something wrong...they can't be selling these all over America and getting away with it?!?

Any thoughts, or maybe I should get on the Jiffy site and see what they say...well, not much there, http://www.ferry-morse.com/products.asp?folder=productssplash but I'll keep looking!

You are supposed to be able to just plant them in the ground when you are ready to plant and they are supposed to just turn into part of your soil,. HA HA
I was out getting a bed cleaned up and ready and there were several of those things in the ground, exactly like they were last year. I like syrofoam better and I know everyone has other favorites. But they don't dry out so soon

Lorraine, I got a lecture when I got home tonight, He doesnt think I'm watering them enough.... are they getting enough sun.... etc, etc.... I told him to go back to his woodshop and leave the gardening to me! He's drivin me nuts about it all now! LOL! He keeps checking the mail every night to see what 'new' seeds are arriving! I think I'm gonna have to order some veggie seeds for him just so he'll go back to doing the veggie garden and leave the flowers to me :-)

Those peat pots are really dry! I watered them last night and by this morning, they were all dried up again! I I have 3 trays that havent germinated yet, nothing in them! It doesnt make sense to me because I watered them the same and they are in the same space as the other 7 trays.... but nothing has come up. I dont know if I should just leave them be, or dump them and start all over...

It could be that you just put something in that one that takes longer. I know I started to throw some away one time, then noticed a little bitty green thing sticking it's head out. It had been 2 months, so patient person that I am, I was checking them every 2 minutes. After that one came up they started popping all over the flat. But if I'm going to lose a plant or a seed, it's always in those stupid things.
Must be doing something wrong, cause everybody uses them.

I don't have much luck with them either. I use them for seeds that I have a ton of.

Yeah, it's hard to lose them when you only have 2 seeds!

Yeah, those I really "baby".

well, I figure I'll give them another week and if nothing comes up, then I'm starting over!

oneanjl-- what kind of seeds are they? Maybe they have another kind of germination requirement...?

That's funny about your DH 'mothering' your flower seeds! Sounds like he needs to sign up on DG so we can enable him, too!

tabasco ~ I think I might get him on this site.....maybe buy him a subscription (once I pay for it, he'll use it- He cant stand for things to go to waste!) And they do have w oodworking forum on here too.... hmm, but then he will see all these posts I made about him..... well -I might have to think about this one for a while LOL! He might find out my strategy by reading through past posts! LOL!

The seeds I am waiting to germinate are Delphinium and Foxglove -and a few artichokes but I know they have a 3 week germination rate.

This message was edited Mar 1, 2008 6:26 AM

I thought this study on Delphinium Germination by Dowdeswell's was interesting. For some reason I thought it was difficult to germinate, but I guess that's not so. Likewise for the digitalis. Maybe I will try some!

http://www.delphinium.co.nz/Germination.htm

Thanks, very useful info. I think if mine dont sprout this week, I'll try again using their recommendation of the small container indoors. Its just frustrating to waste all that money on peat pots nad have nothing come up. Not sure if it was bad seeds, or bad pots. All the other pots sprouted except these 3 trays! Are foxtail hard to grow? I also have half a tray of black eyed susans and none of them came up... I thought they were easy to grow!
I think I'll try the coffee filter method on the rest of my seeds, that way I wont waste anymore pots and soil :-) Wish I would have known about that method before I planted these other trays! LOL!

Yes, that is the big benefit of the baggy method--at first I didn't understand the plusses but now that I see the wasted space under the lights and the wasted potting soil, etc., I am understanding the 'Deno' method better...

I don't know much about Foxglove except that I googled and they said it was easy to start too. I 'winter sow' my foxglove and that works for me, but it takes 2 years usually for bloom in our climate.

We are going out to SF in a couple of weeks, btw. Maybe we'll get down your way!

oh! are you going to be here for the flower show? I think its the weekend of the 16th.....
That would be lots of fun to meet someone from DG. I'm new to this site and I know there are several other people on her from my town.... maybe even my neighbors, but they arent in the forums much and I've never met them.
Let me know when you do come down.... I may go to that show after all :o)

Well, we don't have a date set, but I'll try to set it up for the flower show. Depends on my DH business meetings and our daughter who lives in SF's schedule...

I have never been to the flower & garden show, but have heard wonderful things about it. Just getting into SF and then traffic and finding a parking space sometimes isnt worth it all! LOL. I was considering taking the bart train to SF for the show, but then I would have to carry away all my treasures that I find there.... so it was back to the traffic etc again...Someone else told me that a bunch of DGers get together to go to the show, but I havent had time to search through the threads :) If I can get a carpool going, maybe it wont be so bad :o)

I just got through checking some seeds I'd put in the coffee filters, and they did great. Infact they had more roots than some of the others I planted in flats.

It's really good for larger seeds.

How long were they in the filters? What kind of seeds. I'm curious...?

whoo hoo! My seeds from Dianes just came in! Im in seed heaven....now just have to plan where I'm gonna plant it all! LOL!
I think I will start these in the paper napkins and baggies, just so I dont loose any of them. then just put them in the aluminum trays .... hopefully these turn out better....

Where is Dianes?? I am a seed addict.. Please enable me you guys..

:o) http://www.dianeseeds.com/Index.html
I just received about 21 different packets for $40 -
and Lots of seeds in each pack, so I'll have plenty left over to trade after the season!

Always an enabler, I am :o)
Anjl

Ok I just spent 27.00 but found some seeds that I hadnt found elsewhere. Woo hoo... Thanks!!