peat pellets

Hi,
Not knowing exactly where to ask this I'll do it here. I bought several starter kits with peat pellets at WalMart for $1 each.. the kind with a net on them..Has anyone used them?
We want to do a winter sowing method with them & also plant some under lights this winter.
I sure don't want to mess up my seeds but it would be easier & sure cheaper..
The winter sowing I want to do is cutting drain holes in the bottom tray & slits in the top ..I'd put them out about the 1st of the year so they can come up when mother nature is ready for them..
We have a light setup & would like to use the pellets there also..
PLEASE give me your ideas on using the peat pellets.. I don't want to mess up *G*
Sugar_fl

Forget it. I tried for 3 years with those things.

My opinion

Byron

They work pretty well but are costly and are not meant to carry seedling very long. If you miss a watering, they tend to shrink and reexpand with watering -- not very good for growing strong root systems. I have a bucket of two sizes left over from 8 years ago. We had better luck with plastic or paper pots filled with good starter mix.

I find peat pots great for cuttings. I have tried them with seeds but still get better results from sowing as normal.

As Marsh said, they aren't great once the plant has rooted, I plant the whole thing in a pot with soiless compost as soon as the roots show through.

I love peat pellets for certain cuttings and seeds, but definitly not all. I find they are especially good for seeds with an exceptionally hard seedcoat, cacti seeds, and cuttings of african violets. I prefer to start my Brugmansia seeds in a metro mix 300 though.

I like the peat pellets for those fussy seeds that don't like transplanting .... hmmm..... poppies come to mind. In fact, I tried the winter sowing method with poppies in the very same Wally World trays your talking about. It worked Ok ... just make sure you plant them in the ground as soon as possible. I also slit the netting on the pellets after they had absorbed water. I figured that would make it easier for the roots to escape. I wouldn't use them for anything that has to be started too early - 4-6 weeks max.

While I'm at it - I did a LOT of winter sowing experimenting last winter. I got the best results using coke bottles. Cut them in half, cut drainage holes in the bottom half, and slits in the top half to vent ...and voila - mini greenhouse. They worked the best for me and they're cheap. The little take-out dinner tins didn't seem to hold enough dirt and the germination wasn't as good.