Cell Packs

I want to order some of those cell packs with four compartments like you get when you buy plants from a nursery. I want to transplant my seedlings into these. I've been searching Garden Watchdog, but haven't found anybody that has them.

Has anybody ordered them before? If so, from where?

Hiya Joan,

I have been price shopping lots of different places for cell packs. I think I have seen EVERY internet site. LOL Oddly enough, I didn't see anyone offering the 4 packs, but I wasn't actually looking for them either. I started all my seeds in the tiny plug-trays this year and if half of them do well, I'm gonna need a bunch of cell packs. :) I'll go looking for the fours while I look at others.

You both might want to check out this one. I order from them. I don't really see the 4 packs like you are talking about . http://www.novoselenterprises.com/products/seedling.asp

Hmmm...I know they make them, because I've bought plants in them before. I'll keep looking too, and post if I find a place. Thanks for the help.

Peggy, I'll go check out that link now. Thanks.

Hee Hee! Peggy, that site you suggested didn't have the 4 compartment cell packs, but I managed to spend $42.76 anyway.

Still in search of the elusive 4 compartment cell packs.

Joan I know they make them too, I get stuff in them all the time. I always keep all of mine and bleach them and reuse the next year but threw away a bunch last year. Had to restock some this year. Glad the link helped ya out alittle.

These look really interesting: http://www.rootmaker.com/whitsys.php
They have 4-packs: http://www.rootmaker.com/rmprod.php Really spendy, though!

Kimberley, I just went to that site and got all excited until I learned that I had to order a carton of 144. Okay, no real biggie there, I could always trade the excess away.

Then I discovered that they didn't take credit cards. That stopped me. If I send a check, they wait for it to clear, then ship, it's way to long for my babies to wait for their new cribs.

Thanks for the help though.

True, true...Not the best marketing on their part. Guess you could e-mail them and see if they'd take PayPal.

That's a thought.

Hi Joan,
Many companies sell the 4-packs, they just do not label them as such.
The most common cell packs that come in 4's are the 804 (32 cell) and 1004 (40 cell)
The 4 at the end of the number represents the pack size.
If you find any standard 32-cell or 40-cell insert, they will almost certainly be the 4-packs you are looking for.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the info and the email novoselent! Now that's customer service at it's best! :)

Look what I found at Walmart today! I love these. They have 2 sets of 6 packs, (that I can cut apart into two six-packs if I want), and a water tray to boot! This is perfect for transplanting seedlings into, and I can easily keep the varieties separate after transplanting.

They came packaged with two each of what you see in the picture and the package was $1.79. That's a new home for 24 seedlings, and I can wash and reuse them every year.

Made my day when I found these.

That's great, JoanJ :) May I ask when you move the seedlings to the bigger "cribs"? :) BTW, very cute towel/placemat under the trays!

Hugs :)

Right now I have them growing in just a flat tray where I seeded them. They are just starting to get their first set of "true" leaves. I may transplant them after those leaves are fully developed, and I may wait until they have their second set of "true" leaves. I'll transplant them deep in these cell packs, so the roots are all the way to the bottom, and as they grow add more soil if I need to. I'll only bottom water them, so that's why I was excited that these cell packs came with their own tray for water. The seedlings will stay in these until planted outside around the middle of May.

Oh, and that placemat is one of four that my MIL gave me. I love them. I collect chickens/roosters for my kitchen, and these have a rooster on them. You can't see him though, because the cell packs are sitting on him. LOL

All my Wal-mart has are those nasty little Jiffy Pellet starter trays...and I refuse to use those...I'll go without plants before using another Jiffy Pellet. (gasp!)

I get my trays and cell packs at our local farm store...the trays are .75 each and a 72 hole liner is .75

Can't beat that...I re-use the clear covers from tray to tray..or just lightly drape a square of bubble wrap over the top till things sprout...they tops come off at my house as soon as things pop up. I never leave them on after about 1/3 the total germination has done.

I'm quite happy with the 36 cell flats I received from Park's on Friday! Cost for eight sets of cell pack flats with bottom watering trays (standard 1020 size) was less than $17. My LGS carries 48 cell flats and trays for $1 per piece, so that comes out to about the same (LGS does not have the larger cell packs). I did have to pay shipping, but not really, since Parks will give you a $5 e-coupon for either referring a friend or for signing up for their e-newsletter. I also got 2 sets of Wall-o-waters (3 per set) for about $15, which is better than the 3 for $10 price I've seen elsewhere.... I like those quantity discounts at Parks!

I've been wanting some of those wall-o-waters. I'm going to Parks site now. Thanks!

you're welcome!

I got a good deal on my seedling heat mats, too.... They have the hydrofarm ones, about $30 apiece for the double size if you buy two of them. Another combo offer has 1 mat and the hydrofarm thermostat controller for $60. They let me combine both offers & get 2 mats & 1 controller for $90, although I had to talk to a real person to make that happen.

BTW, their site has been trying to charge me a couple dollars more than the shipping rates listed in their catalog, so pay attention when you check out.... but if you call, they will straighten it out for you.

I had a bit of trouble finding their website, and even did the "contact us" from Garden Watchdog inquiring. So, if any of the Admins read this, you can disregard my email. I found it. I dug through my pile of garden catalogs and found the right catalog. Sorry for jumping the gun about not finding it on Garden Watchdog.

I ordered 24 of the wall-o-waters. 8 packs of 3. I'm excited about them. I didn't order enough for all my seedlings, but for this year it will be fun to see how they do against the ones I protect the way I always have. (Either with hotcaps or milk cartons). If these do well for me, I'll be ordering more for next year.

Seedling heat mats....that's another thing I've been wanting, but those are so pricey, and I'd need lots for as many seedlings as I start. I may have to wait a year or two and hope my heat vents and heating pad hold up for a couple more years. LOL I have seedling trays sitting on heat vents in several rooms, and a big tray of them on a heating pad, on a cutting board, on the kitchen counter. I only turn on the heating pad evenings while we are home, but it seems to be doing well for me. Once the seedlings are up, they go in the basement under the growlights. Quite an archaic system I have going, but until I can afford all the bells and whistles, it's working quite well. The ultimate bell and whistle would be a heated greenhouse, but I'm not holding my breath yet. :)

I didn't read your last post until after I had already ordered, but they did charge me the right amount of shipping, as posted in their catalog. I just checked on it. Maybe they got the glitch in their online ordering program fixed.

oh, my bad, should posted the link

here it is for anyone else who might be interested: http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?catalogId=10066&storeId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=page1

Lat year I bought cell packs similar to JaonJ's at Kmart -- they were Martha Stweart (which just KILLED me to give her $$) but they work GREAT in my old Jiffy green houses.. So if you have a Kmart, or even a Target near you it might be worth it to check it out ( I also saved all the ones I have recived when I purchase seedlings-- a little bleach bath and good to go!)

Heather

I popped over to my local garden store & they had the inserts for 69 or 79 cents each. I think they allow for 36 or 48 plants/tray (can't remember). I picked up 6 sets of inserts since I save my trays. Sometimes the cell packs split after a few years. Tonight I hope to sew part or all of the trays.

Hey Melody, why do you not like the peat pellets? I bought 20 of them just for my poppy seeds thinking they might help me "plant" the babies with less shock. I'm curious as to the reasons for your dislike.

D

Well, the netting on the outside does not degrade as advertised...you have to tear it off manually before you plant the thing. It won't break down in garden soil...neither will peat pots..(dig one up in Sept, it won't look much different than it does now)

They're hard to keep at a constant moisture that plants like...they either dry out or are moldy (pots too) If the bottoms have correct moisture, chances are, the tops will be too dry.

I use plastic. I start seeds in flats and then transplant to individual cells or plastic cups. Watering is much easier and I have no mold or fungus gnats.

Besides, peat is an endangered resource. Once it is all dug from the peat bogs, there will be no more.

I didn't like peat pellets for the same reasons as you, Mel. I also found the roots of more vigorous seedlings became enmeshed in neighboring pellets.

I never did much gardening. I love it, but just never did much. Till this year that is.

I looked at all the things available to me and bought a 1020 that had 105 small Jiffy Pellets, a bag of 250 Jiffy Pellets, and a couple plastic trays with plastic lids, (to put the 250 pellets in).

The main reason I did it was because I'm "all thumbs". Big fingers, i.e., lol

Some of those seeds are itty bitty and my fingers just don't work well when it comes to picking them up and putting them in a small space.

With that in mind, I thought the perfect solution would be the Pellets. They would end up being a large seed. Something easy to handle.

Well, live and learn I guess. I still had a hard time putting the seeds in each pellet.

The day came that I needed to transplant the pellets to 3" pots. Not knowing I had to take the netting off, I plopped them into the 3" pots and tried my best to get the pellets down far enough in the pot to cover it with soil. It wasn't easy and I had to really squish the pellets to flatten them a bit in order to get them to go into the plastic pot.

Next, I am told, "Make sure you take off the netting before you transplant to pots". Oh Lord, here we go again, I'm thinking to myself.
So, I pulled them all out of the 3" pots they were in and re-did each one of the 300 plants. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Before I needed to transplant, I noticed that some of the pellets were wet, some weren't. How am I going to water just the ones that are dry? How am I going to "NOT" drown the other seedlings if I water the entire tray? I used an eye dropper to water the ones that were dry.
I learned my lesson when it comes to pellets.

It is so much easier to just put the seed in a plastic cell, say a 6 pack or 4 pack even, and take it directly from 6 pack or the 4 pack, to the garden or pot them up.

What I'm doing now is using mix in the flat, sprinkling the seed in them, covering them, sprouting them, and transplanting seedlings using an "icing (frosting), knife" when I transplant them up to pots. It goes faster, it's less messy, and it gives me more time to look at catalogs so I can buy more seeds. :)

We've all been there Darrell...done the same thing you did. We can relate.

Some folks use the Jiffy stuff just fine and swear by it...some of us just swear at it. We all have to find the method that works best for us and trial and error unfortunately goes with that.

Since the majority of my seedlings benefit from transplanting to a bigger size, I sow in flats and then repot to individual cells just like you. Much easier to keep moisture at proper levels without hovering with an eyedropper.

:)

So, the netting does not degrade. Hmmmm. That's interesting! Thanks for the warning.

I'll have a go then with mine using a razor blade in a few weeks prior to transplanting.

In the meantime I'll keep watch over the ones I started tomatoe seeds in. None of the pellets touch so that may avoid the comingling of root hairs. And I don't plan to water them again until I have true leaves. (they're under cover) Perhaps...they should be potted shortly after they have true leaves as opposed to waiting a few weeks as I would do for something in a cell due to this problem maintaining appropriate moisture. ??

I'd pot mine up pretty quick Darleen...1 set of true leaves is enough. And if most of your plants have germinated, I'd remove that cover...at least prop it up to let air circulate.