Jiffy seed starting flats versus Burpee

What??

Well, it works better than peat pots!! LOL

Mornin" Is every one sane this morning.

I finally figured out how to get them to germinate. You get your jug or what ever you want to use to winter sow, get it all ready,sit it down on the washer by the back door cause it's raining and you're going to take them out tomorrow.
Then after about 3 days, remember them and go to take them out. Most of them will be sitting there full of little baby flowers.

See, don't need all those flats and things. Just be an idiot

Hey, Germinators--

I just wanted to share this Classified Ad for 'Messenger' that I ran across this morning--

Sounds like a really good price for it and the product is offered by a DG member: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/820003/

I'm new here, and I just wanted to chime in and say that I officially HATE the Jiffy Seed Starting kits. My attempt to start 12 different kinds of seed (including some easy ones) resulted in an epic failure. I bought four Burpee kits and everything is coming up bangers, including the mandrake!! With the Jiffy pellets, no matter how much I watered (and I try to water conservatively), they were bone dry within an hour. After three weeks of frustration and losing the few plants that did sprout (caraway, white sage, and valerian), I finally took all of the pellets outside, stripped them of their little coverings, and crumbled them, seed and all, into a waiting bed. If some of those poor seeds decide to sprout come warm weather, that's fine with me, but I'm sticking to my Burpee kits from now on!

I found some wonderful 'disposable' cake pans at Wally World for $1 each. They are the tin foil pans that you bake a cake in and then take to a party. they even had plastic dome lids to protect the cake.... Well, needless to say...I now have 2 dozen of them (Fremont Wally World has no more on their shelves! LOL!) in my greenhouse :o) They are working perfectly! I just poked a bunch of holes in the bottoms and in the lids. Thank you Lorraine for the tip :o) These will be reusable for quite some time :o)
Anjl

Glad to see there's a new member of the hate jiffy club. I have germinated so many seeds this year and I don't think any of the little 2 /2 pots have. I do better just putting dirt straight in the flat with no pots. Kind of like Oneanji does with cake pans. I have got to get out and go get some of that stuff.

lol lorraine, I bought ALL of the ones on the shelf at the local wally world... the cashier must think I have alot of parties to bake for :o) also bought about 30 packets of seeds at the same time...now they know I'm nuts!

I bought several different sized packages of Jiffy peat pots for seed starting seeds this year but I confess I quit using the pellets 2 years ago after much consternation and disappointment. So I have to agree about sowing into aluminum cake pans and black plastic seed flats. Very easy to do that way and I like it too.

It's a mystery to me why they don't sell a variety of plastic 'germination boxes' (by rubbermaid) or the aluminum cake pan makers near the seed displays, but I guess Jiffy has the corner on the market and shoos all the competitors away from the seed display!

I am very new at seed starting and am still learning the best number of seeds to sow and to plan for timing the seed sowing so the space on the heat mats and under lights is used efficiently. And which size pots to transplant into so that the baby plants can make it to outdoor transplanting with only one transplant.

I can only conclude from my limited experience with Jiffy products that maybe they can be used successfully by gardeners with a certain seed starting 'style', but the jiffy products sure seem like a head ache to me (as a newbie), too...Next year I'm going to all plastic for sure! Live and learn!

Here are a few of my jiffy pots in service this year--

Look out the windo oneanji, there's people looking in to see what you are doing with cake pans and seeds.

That's what I don't understand about Jiffy, every one hates them. How do they stay on the shelves and others don't. I guess they sell enough to new people every year that they don't need to worry about those of us who hate the stinkin' things

would be interesting to google jiffy and find out which big conglomerate really owns that product ...:o)

It is Ferry Morse or Morris.

Oh have to tell ya'll this. I was sterilizing some potting soil and had it in a cake pan. The twins were here and saw me taking the cake pan out and here they came running. Should have seen their faces when they saw dirt.

LorraineR,

Oh my gosh, that had me laughing out loud. I can just see their dissapointed faces.. That is hilarious...

lol! I always tell the kids we are having 'roast aardvark' etc for dinner, I can just see my sons face if he saw me baking 'dirt' cake! LOL!

Poor babies, You should have seen the way they looked at me, then they looked at each other like "Should we get otta here or what?
When I was little my mom would ask my dad what he wanted for supper. He'd always say something like rabbit stew or moose gravy. She actually found a can of moose gravy somewhere and next time he asked for moose gravy, he got moose gravy.

It's 'Morse'

http://www.ferry-morse.com/products.asp?folder=productssplash

A really giant European conglomerate owns it. The name begins with a 'V' and they market seeds all over the world under different trade names.

I wrote about the company somewhere here on DG (maybe this thread)...Can't remember the name now.

That's why critterologist has written these Articles:

Seed Starting 101: Sowing Seeds and Clump Transplanting for Sturdy Seedlings
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/862/

Seed Starting 101: Seedling Heat Mats and Inexpensive Alternatives
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/556/

Read more articles written by Jill M. Nicolaus (critterologist): http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/by.php?user=critterologist

Propagation: Clump transplanting & Critter's seed starting tips
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/589725/

Glad to be of help~

~* Robin

Does Morse also own Miracle Grow? I hate miracle grow... nothing ever grows in it! I just started buying oganic stuff at Regans Nursery instead.

Has anyone tried Superthrive? I thought I read about it on here somewhere (cant remember where)

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Brands: http://www.scotts.com/smg/brand/brandLandingHome.jsp

~* Robin

Thanks Robin... and I am pleased that I use absolutely NONE of their products! :o) Morse is harder though, as they own most of the seed companies! :o)

Yes, Critter is an excellent writer and I have found her articles very helpful. I also liked Weezingreens very helpful thread on seed starting. And there are many others here on DG with very good suggestions. I have been trying to pick out the best methods for my 'style' and climate--and that's not quite so easy to do! (-:

There are several good threads about 'Superthrive' going and some people really like it. Also 'Messenger', although they aren't the same thing.

I believe Vilmorin owns Ferry Morse now (unless it has recently been sold again).

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history/Ul-Vi/Vilmorin-Clause-et-Cie.html

hmmm, I'll have to DGoogle Superthrive and find those posts :o) thanks

Superthrive is a very good Product. Check with the store where you buy your seeds. Expensive - but worth it!

Googled: Superthrive
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Superthrive

~* Robin

Naturewalker--do you use Superthrive on all your plants? Or only particular ones?

I used one bottle last year and a tiny bottle so far this year on my seedlings.

Oneanjl, Here are two DG links about Superthrive but there are many more. Lots of differing opinions it seems.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/733444/

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4598330

Thanks, I will check out those links. I just bought a bottle at Lowes last night for $10, Says it treats 2000 gallons? I havent had a chance to read all the directions, but will do that this weekend. Thank you so much for those links :o) Saved me hours of hunting :o)

oneanfl--I found those "Superthrive' links by looking at the 'tagged' link on the upper right of this page and then looked up 'superthrive' on the alphabetized list. Easy to do and I've been 'tagging' all my favorite informative posts for my own files. And looking up my favorite posts that way, too. Very handy.

I just bought a tiny bottle of ST for about $3.95 and the guy behind the counter told me to use just one drop per gallon. And he said it really worked. (but maybe he's on commission!?) LOL

I do think my seedlings look healthy this season.

Where do you find Superthrive? Is it at the places we're used to, you know Lowes, Home Depot, wal mart, or will I need to go to a garden shop

I bought it at lowes $10

Wal Mart has it too for about $7.00.

tabasco,

I soak some of my seeds in the Superthrive; especially when some other methods won't do the right job. Like the hard shelled type (beans, peas "both garden & Lathyrus,") & I'll be trying some Camelia seeds too this year.

Oh!! Gardening by the moon: I'll be starting the beans & peas on April 7th. The soaking of the seeds will be after 9:30 PM on April 6th. The Moon enters Taurus at 9:19 PM on April 6th.

When I get to start my peas & stringbeans, I'm going to try an experiment to see which germination method does better.

~* Robin

Good luck with your seed starting! Sounds like a plan!

So can we use SuperThrive on small seedlings?? I usually put it on my bigger plants. I swear by the stuff. It isnt cheap as people mentioned but it is worth the cost.

I put one drop of ST in a half gallon of lukewarm water and spray my seedlings. They look pretty healthy this season.

Sometimes I add a tablespoon or two of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) to the mixture too. I'm just guessing, but I think that helps keep some of the mold and mildew from getting hold and the plants like it too.

I also bottom water with ST and H2O2 mixtures, too, depending on the situation.

I have a fan going in the room too, and and I think that helps keep the mold at bay. And also the tiny gnats that I used to get, too. (Knock on wood!)

Japanese Morning Glories in Jiffy Pots--so far they are surviving!

AngelG1111,

I've used it on old & New seeds of Basil, Cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Dicentra, & the like. I put those seeds into a popbottle cap.... Label, label, label!

That I use an eyedropper with so I can do drop by drop. Glass eyedroppers are 2 for $1.29 @ Walmart in the cosmetic/vitamin aisles section.

How do I label popbottle caps? Simple; I use a permenent marking pen on the wrong side side of a "sticky" note paper with the seeds' name; then stick the cap on the paper with that rubber cement I bought at the dollar store. Put the seeds in & add the SuperThrive, drop by drop.

Getting the small seeds out are as easy.... Place a papertowel down & plop the cap upside down on it. If small seeds remain... I get them out with a toothpick, pencil, tweezer or an old but clean toothbrush reserved just for that purpose. I use the piece of paper towel that catches the SuperThrive liquid in glass container of water to reuse in the soil for watering.

tabasco is right about the foilar feedings, just don't drench the poor seedlings & have a fan like he does for the mold and mildew.

~* Robin

Well, now I have to get out at 10:00 at night and go buy some!! I'll probably have to go to a different city to find it, I KNOW it isn't here. Nothing is.

While your out Lorraine, will you pick me up a bag of starting soil? :o) I'm all out and have more seeds to start ....

Just give me a minute!!