Mold appeared on peat pots with seedlings. Peat pots: how to use? Growing seedlings in peat pots. What is a peat cup

Peat pots are a must organic farming. They make it very easy to grow seedlings. They are easy to use, they quickly decompose in the soil, they do not contain harmful polymers, but there is a real storehouse of trace elements. Peat containers for seedlings have become an indispensable tool in obtaining a future harvest.

The benefits of peat pots

peat pot - universal view planting containers made from a pressed mixture of peat, humus, wood pulp and greasy earth; it serves as a kind of "kindergarten" for the plant, facilitating growth in the initial stages. Having started its “path” in a peat container, the seedlings receive an excellent impetus, which, with due diligence of the gardener, will contribute to an excellent harvest.

Composition of peat pots:

• peat - a substance formed in low, wetlands from moss, fallen leaves and other organic components as a result of incomplete decomposition. Is an universal fertilizer containing a large number of carbon, which accelerates plant growth;
• humus is obtained from manure or compost that has been decomposing for more than two years. Representing a loose mass, it serves as an excellent source of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and other trace elements;
• wood pulp is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria, which, multiplying on the remains of wood, quickly process the organic components of the glass. It also binds moisture: by retaining water, it does not allow it to evaporate. It has no nutritional value for the plant;
• fatty soil acts as a component that binds the components of the pot.

The evolution of seedling containers

Over time, like everything in the world, even containers for planting seedlings undergo changes. After all, there was a time when gardeners did not hear anything about either plastic or peat dishes for plants.

Wooden boxes

Many gardeners and gardeners still use wooden boxes for sowing seedlings, which are very durable, withstand transportation and any other movements, and serve faithfully for up to ten years.

Most often, the seeds are placed in them by continuous sowing, so that in the future the seedlings will need to be planted. Each season, such boxes must be carefully disinfected with fungicides before new crops, and this is a big minus of this type of seedling containers.

Plastic containers

Plastic products for growing seedlings are much lighter than wooden ones. They are made from plastic different thickness and density.

The thicker the walls and the harder the plastic, the longer the seedling pots last. In addition, many options are available in both volume and shape, which allows you to choose suitable shape and volume for any type of seedlings. A significant disadvantage may be the use of unsafe plastic.

Improvised containers for seedlings

Many summer residents use cups from yoghurts, juices, plastic bottles from milk and other drinks. The advantage is their zero cost, and the disadvantage is the impossibility of complete disinfection after food products.

Peat and cardboard cups and pots

The seedling grows in such cups for the entire period and, together with it, is planted in the ground without damage. earthy coma and root system, which is very important for plants with vulnerable root systems.

Each plant grows individually in them, they are light, and if you install them in a special plastic tray, they are easy to maintain.

The disadvantage is that the walls are breathable and the soil dries out very quickly. If you delay watering, seedlings may die. In addition, sometimes when transplanted into the ground, a cup of peat or cardboard does not dissolve in time and inhibits the growth of the root system.

Table: disadvantages of peat tanks

Advice. When buying, you should carefully consider the product. Cardboard is lighter than peat. To the touch it is dense, pressed. Peat is porous and brittle to the touch.

Photo gallery: the main disadvantages of peat containers

Mold from the walls of the pot passed to the soil mixture Seedlings died due to the rapid drying of the earth in the pot The walls of the peat pot were covered with mold

Video: a prerequisite - do not overdry

How to treat peat pots, each gardener decides for himself. When growing heat-loving plants, peat containers should be replaced with plastic containers.

Planting seedlings

You can buy peat pots in specialized gardening stores, on the market, or you can make it yourself. To get good result please adhere to the following guidelines:

1. At the time of purchase, carefully read what is included in the pot. Such devices are made from peat, to which cardboard or wood is added. Most of all, gardeners praise cups with a ratio of the main substance of 70% and additives of 30%. If the composition is not indicated, you should ask the seller about this. Any doubts left? Buy one pot, soak in water: if it swells, and the walls increase in volume, it is not peat, but cardboard.
2. If the roots of the plant are fragile, then do not use cups with thick walls. For example, the roots of pumpkin and watermelon will freely pass through a wall 3-4 mm thick, for a cucumber a pot with a wall thickness of 1-2 mm is better suited.
3. Moisten the soil before filling the pots with substrate.
4. After filling the cup with soil, lightly tamp it. You should not do this too much, otherwise it will be difficult for the seedlings to push through the ground. In addition, little oxygen will flow to the roots.

   The soil in the cups after sowing should remain loose to make it easier for the seeds to germinate.

5. Seeds are sown to a depth of 2-3 cm, the bulbs are planted "shoulder-deep".
6. Pots are placed in a pallet with high walls. For greater convenience and to prevent contact between the walls of the pots, it is better to use a tray with a lid in the form of glass holders.
7. The soil inside the pot should be moist. It is better to water through the pan. If the earth dries up, then a salt coating forms on the surface of the soil and the walls of the glass, damaging the young growth.
8. Before planting on the beds, seedlings are watered abundantly with water.
9. The plant is planted together with a pot, which is dug in so that the upper edge does not protrude above the ground.

Video: check what the pot is made of

The depth and diameter of peat cups and pots is selected based on the size of the future plant. Usually, the packaging indicates for which crops one or another type of universal container can be used.

Growing seedlings with peat pots is easy. Many summer residents fell in love with them because they allow you to save the root system of the plant when planting. And this is very important when planting cucumbers and, especially, flowers that feel great in them from the appearance of cotyledon leaves to mature seedlings. Most importantly, stick to simple rules their use.

Even such spoiled beauties as a miniature Snapdragon, or streptocarpus take root well in peat pots and give excellent shoots.

Video: how to plant strawberry seedlings in peat cups

How to use peat pots

Aiming to get good harvest, get ready for experiments, one of which may be the use of peat planting containers. If you decide, then follow the advice of experienced people.

Fluconazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal drug, especially effective against yeasts and molds that cause "blooming" of peat walls.

Pots are not a guarantee of getting good seedlings. They have great advantages, but there are also significant drawbacks, so to avoid mistakes, analyze the situation, listen to the advice of experienced gardeners.

How to make peat cups at home

The great popularity of peat containers led to the appearance of a mass of fakes. Some craftsmen have adapted to make peat planting containers with their own hands.

For home production you need:

• sawdust;
• oily land;
• azotobacterin;
• phosphobacterin;
• mullein;
• water;
• peat.

To 5 kg of peat we add 4 kg of mullein and 1 kg of fatty earth, Azotobacterin and Phosphobacterin. Gradually add water and knead a thick solution.

To form pots, we make a simple device consisting of:

• pallet;
• steel glass;
• a pin with an iron circle fixed at the end and a blank.

The diameter of the blank and the circle should be slightly smaller than the diameter of the glass.

We install the glass on the pallet, lower the pin with the iron circle into it from above. We pour a solution on the circle, no more than 15–20 mm, and tamp it with a blank. Thus, gradually pouring and pressing the mixture, fill the glass to the top. Then we take out the blank, and with the help of the pin - the finished glass.

The first products you will get, as they say, lumpy. Do not despair. With a little experimentation, you will find the optimal ratio of ingredients, the required viscosity of the solution, the desired pressing force when tamping.

Peat pots for seedlings have already been tested for growing flowers and vegetable crops many gardeners. There is no unequivocal opinion, someone likes it, someone starts to shy away from them with fear. After all, plants do not grow well in them, and processing of peat pots from mold is required ... There are many problems. Let's figure it out together.

What is the technology for the production of peat pots for seedlings. Reflections.

It seems that everything is simple, if it is recommended even to do such a thing at home. Of course, this will not develop into a fishery, but it seems that you yourself know what you pushed into them.
It just seems that way. After all, they are correctly called peat-humus pots for seedlings. This means that not only empty peat from lowland swamps is used for production, but also compost, humus.
Peat is considered free from pathogens that can nullify the gardener's efforts. Let's take this as an axiom, although I did not find evidence on the Internet.

After all, those dishes are not made in a swamp pit! The soil is loaded (dump trucks, tractor bucket), driven quite far to the place of molding in an open body, then everything is dumped on a concrete floor, where everyone does not walk in shoe covers, where there is no sterility even in a dressing room. The causative agents of the disease can fly through the air, although they are stored on plant debris and in the soil. This means that there is a possibility that the pathogen will get into one of the components of the future mixture.

Now about compost or humus. Usually Californian red worms are used for its production. A worm can convert manure into its own poop, but it is not able to make the compost free of different types of fungus, which then give Fusarium, for example. Here are the links to the article
No mention in technological process that all the pulp, which will then turn into a pot for seedlings, also passes heat treatment. And it must be serious.

We conclude: it is unlikely that the wall or cup will be clean.

Is there a benefit? It will be if you add to peat pots ...

In the soil of vegetable gardens and not only there are many harmful substances, these are, for example, benzopyrenes, heavy metals, residues of mineral fertilizers. Although they write that there are few of them in peat, below the MPC for soil in the field, no one has canceled the additions to peat. Why, then, do they write only about the quality of peat, without mentioning the quality of additives, humus, compost, sawdust, cardboard?

Bale of pressed cardboard boxes. Last spring in my city in a wholesale company cardboard new box almost the smallest cost 10 rubles.

We’ve almost reached it… I don’t think that cardboard is taken absolutely clean from cardboard factories. Rather, it is already used cardboard from boxes. Many have seen machines with bundles of pressed cardboard. He's definitely not clean. I don’t want to think that these dirty boxes with flowery stickers, imprinted with permanent ink or mastic will be recycled into new boxes, and cookies will be put in them in bulk.

But glue is used for the production of cardboard, otherwise a dense sheet will not work. Yes, and glue also goes into the mass for pots. What quality and properties? Who knows? Indeed, sometimes both tablets and pots do not disintegrate in the soil, but remain for years.

Treatment of peat pots for seedlings from mold.

Here are the final chords. I think that now it is clear where the mold on the walls of the pots comes from.

Mold on the wall of a peat pot for seedlings

But the soil also contributes. I was at two enterprises producing peat-humus-compost mixtures for seedlings. None of them treated the finished mass with drugs that would make it free from the pathogen.

You need to first process the dishes themselves before sowing, and the soil too. This is easy to do. The pots should be slightly moistened with a solution of the Fitop-Flora-S preparation and stored for a week in a closed bag. This method is not provided by the manufacturer of the drug, but I decided that it would be useful. And he didn't let me down. Soil cultivation is described in this article "". Everything that is written about compost is true for the soil.

What to do if mold appears, and Preliminary processing was not done? Yes, the same. Only in the solution of the drug Fitop-Flora-S you just need to dip the pot for light moistening and place it in a plastic bag, but let the plant itself remain on the "street". The mold should disappear in a few days. Seedlings need to be watered with a solution of the drug in the same way as top dressing is done, once a week or ten days of the month.

There are others chemical methods pot handling. Again, bathe in solution before planting blue vitriol along with soda. Here is another topic: do we need extra copper, do we and plants need it?

Not so long ago, the widespread distribution and use of peat pots and tablets for growing seedlings began. When planting in the ground, seedlings are not removed from the pot and planted directly in it. These pots are ideal for seedlings that are afraid of transplanting, especially pumpkins. Peat pots are made from peat with wood and cardboard additives in a ratio of 70 to 30. Unscrupulous manufacturers add third-party impurities or change the ratio, or even offer a product made from waste paper - carefully study the composition before buying.

Peat pots are made from environmentally friendly pure material, which does not contain pathogenic microflora and toxic substances. Easy and safe to use, they are used in agricultural machinery for growing different cultures and plants.

Cons of using peat pots

It should be remembered that peat pots have their drawbacks in use:

1. Peat is acidic and not suitable for growing some plants. Many manufacturers add chalk, lime and mineral fertilizers to fight acidity. In an acidic environment, phosphorus is poorly absorbed and, as a result, seedlings have a weak root system.
2. Private meager watering is needed, more precisely, spraying with a spray bottle. Watering with a spoon along the edge of the pot is also suitable.
3. The root system in peat pots develops worse, as water evaporation cools the soil.
4. Plants with a weak root system are not able to break through the thickness of the pot wall and must be removed before planting.
5. The destruction of the walls of the pot. To prevent - wrap with foil before use.
6. The appearance of mold.

The last point is the most dangerous when using peat pots, as it is very difficult to deal with it.

Mold

In nature, mold spores are found everywhere, including in the air. The main reason for the appearance is the waterlogged bottom of the cup, or constant water in the pan where it is located. As they grow, peat pots with seedlings should be placed as far apart as possible. Such manipulation is necessary to increase air circulation and prevent decay of the lower leaves of seedlings. The place with seedlings is different high humidity and poorly ventilated premises - for the most part these are the windows of our residential apartments. Humidity and lack of ventilation is an ideal environment for active growth mold fungi.

Also, mold can appear on low-quality peat pots. This may be caused by the composition of the pot or mold infestation during the manufacturing process. Unscrupulous manufacturers create pots from sawdust and soaked recycled paper, for desired color pots are painted, such a product does not decompose well in the ground and contains harmful chemicals.

Mold control

If you have a problem such as mold, carry out some operations to combat it:

AT without fail move seedlings from residential to non-residential. Mold spores contribute to the appearance in children and adults - diathesis, allergies and asthma. Fungal spores are able to penetrate into lung tissues and cause toxic and oncogenic effects. Mold can also cause cardiovascular disease.

If you do not fight mold on seedling pots, it can spread to indoor plants.

It happens: they bought fresh soil, planted seeds for seedlings, and the soil eventually became covered with a fluffy, white coating. Mold on the ground with seedlings may appear for several reasons:

• Improper watering (plants are flooded),
• Poor drainage at the bottom of the pot and stagnant water during watering,
• Poor quality soil (often purchased),
• Poor ventilation and high humidity
• Acidic soil (if watered with hard water),
• Insufficient lighting, lack of sunlight.
• Low air temperature in the room where seedlings are grown.

All this creates favorable conditions for the development of fungi and mold. And mold, in turn, often becomes the beginning of a fungal disease, and plants can easily die.

What to do if the seedlings are covered with mold

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Take off upper layer earth, loosen,
2. Treat the earth with antifungal agents,
3. Pour fresh soil
4. Mulch the soil surface with river sand or crushed activated carbon,
5. Try to eliminate possible reasons mold growth to avoid a reoccurrence of the problem.

And now in more detail about each step.

Soil replacement

The method is suitable if the plants are already big enough.

What to do:

• In pots with seedlings, the top layer of earth covered with mold is carefully removed. The soil is loosened with a toothpick, trying not to touch the roots. These measures will improve air circulation in the soil. Then the soil is sprayed with antifungal agents.

Vermiculite can also be added to the soil - it improves the air permeability of the soil.

Mold on the ground with seedlings. Solution processing

Prepared solutions of antifungal agents impregnate the soil, trying not to get on the leaves of plants. The soil around small shoots can be gently moistened with a medical syringe. In containers with large seedlings, the ground can be sprayed with a spray bottle. To treat seedlings from mold and fungi, the following solutions are used:

• 1% solution of potassium permanganate,
• Phytosporin solution, prepared according to the instructions,
• solution of tablets "Nystatin" (1 tablet per 250 ml of water),
• solution of tablets "Metronidazole" (1 tablet per 1 liter of water, pour only the soil),
• a solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide (2 tablespoons are diluted in 1 liter of water, seedlings are sprayed with a solution and watered with soil).

Soil mulching

The surface of the soil in a container with seedlings can be sprinkled with:

• wood ash,
• river sand (heated and disinfected),
• crushed activated charcoal
• mixture charcoal and wood ash in a ratio of 1 to 2.

These methods also help get rid of white mold on the ground.

Is there mold on the seedlings? Sand helps!

river sand help if seedlings are still very small, just appeared above the surface of the earth.

What to do:

• Take river sand(dry and calcined, but best of all - bought in a flower shop). Pour it into a strainer and distribute evenly over the ground with crops. If the soil is moist enough, stop watering. cover plastic bag and leave open for ventilation. After 2-3 days, the plants will grow up, and they can be sprinkled with sand again until the mold dies. When the seedlings become larger, it will be possible to add fresh soil.

Prevention

To prevent mold from appearing on the ground with seedlings, it is useful to carry out preventive measures before sowing seeds:

• Treat the container for seedlings well (solution of vinegar, alcohol, soda, or use purchased anti-mold solutions).
• Treat the soil itself (calcinate, steam, pickle with antifungal drugs).
• Treat the seeds before sowing with a solution of potassium permanganate.
• Do not sow thickly so that the seedlings do not thicken.
• Follow optimal humidity air.
• Ensure good flow fresh air and light.

There are a lot of ways to cultivate the land in containers with seedlings, if it is covered with mold. In addition to those listed, they also use baking soda, ammonia etc. But the methods described in this article are tested in practice and are recommended. experienced gardeners. Now you know about them too. We will be glad to receive feedback on which of the ways to get rid of white mold in seedlings worked in your case. Leave your feedback in the comments 😉

The use of peat cups in gardening is still considered new technology. Some gardeners enthusiastically use them, others strongly reject them. Everything new and progressive is not always easily introduced into life. There are advantages to using peat cups. There are also disadvantages, but they only cause problems for inexperienced gardeners.

What are peat cups and why are they used

Gardeners relatively recently began to use peat cups for growing seedlings. Even 20-25 years ago they were a rarity. AT last years peat cups went on sale different sizes and forms. They are small containers, most often in the form of a truncated cone, but can be in the form of a cube or a trapezoid, or connected in blocks of several pieces. Their sizes vary within 5–10 cm in diameter with a wall thickness of 1–1.5 mm.

The material from which the cups are made is a mixture: 50–70% peat, the rest is humus and cellulose. A thick aqueous solution of this composition is pressed into special forms and receive containers of various sizes and designs.

The seedlings grown in them no longer need to be removed, breaking the root system of the tender young plant. It is planted in the ground directly in a cup, placing it in a prepared hole. Then sprinkled with earth and watered. The seedling has been planted!

Being in the soil, the peat cup soaks from irrigation water, dissolves in the ground, while fertilizing the soil around the roots of the plant. The roots easily penetrate the porous thin walls and occupy the entire surrounding space. The plant begins to develop fully, in contrast to planting with a damaged root.

How to use peat pots for seedlings - video

Advantages and disadvantages

At experienced gardeners who are not afraid to experiment, there is no consensus on peat cups. To appreciate the advantages of this method of landing, products must be used correctly. The benefits are:

• Peat cups are environmentally friendly, as they are made from natural materials.
• They have sufficient mechanical strength and do not fall apart during the period of seedling growth.
• The walls are porous, which ensures the free penetration of air and water to the roots of young plants.
• When transplanting to a garden bed, there is no need to remove the plant from the container. The roots are not injured, which is very important for plants such as cucumbers and eggplants that do not like transplants.
• Seedlings easily take root in a new place, because peat soaks and decomposes, enriching the soil beneficial substances needed to feed the plant.

There are also disadvantages:

• Manufacturers do not always make quality products. Sometimes the cups are too tight. For this reason, they do not soak in the ground, and the roots cannot grow through the walls.
• Excessive watering leads to moldy cups.
• The porous material does not retain moisture, because of this, the soil dries out quickly. It is necessary to provide very accurate, metered watering.

To avoid drying out, it is recommended to cover the tray with seedlings in peat cups with a film and remove the coating from time to time to remove excess moisture and evaporation.

Which cups to choose: peat, paper or plastic

Vegetable growers often use plastic and paper homemade cups. Peat have several advantages over them:

• Plastic cups need to be cut before planting in the garden. With this action, a clod of earth with roots can crumble; seedlings do not need to be removed from a peat pot.
• Plastic walls do not allow air and moisture to pass through, peat walls provide good aeration and moistening of the roots.
• Homemade paper cups are torn and soaked. They do not guarantee the safety of seedling roots. It takes time to prepare them for landing.
• Neither plastic nor paper cups do not provide the roots of the plant with additional top dressing.

How to plant seeds in cups: instructions

Planting seeds in cups is a simple process.

If the peat cups are covered with mold, it means that they are waterlogged. At the bottom of the pan in which they stand, there is water that needs to be drained. Wipe the surface of the cup with alcohol, vinegar or soda solution. If mold damage is significant, such containers should be disposed of. For prevention, regularly ventilate the room in which the seedlings are located, reduce the dose of watering, carefully loosen the top layer of soil in cups.

The mold should be removed and the glass wiped with alcohol, vinegar or soda solution

Where to buy and how to choose

To get a good result, you need to use quality materials. Beginning, inexperienced vegetable growers complain that the seedlings often dry out, and the plants planted in the garden in cups do not develop and die. This comes from the use of low-quality products. Peat in them should be at least 50–70%.

When choosing peat cups, give preference to dark, porous and soft to the touch, with a wall thickness of no more than 1.5 mm. Light, dense glasses are a fake, where there is more cellulose than peat.

Peat cups should be purchased in specialized stores and only in branded packaging, it is advisable to require a quality certificate. Buying them in the markets is fraught with undesirable consequences.

Do not be tempted by the diminutiveness and originality of the shape of some cups. Whether they are round or square, this does not affect the development of seedlings at all.. In small cups (5 cm across), the roots will be cramped. It is better to purchase large, 8-10 cm tall, pots. In such a root system of any seedlings will grow full.

Self-made peat cups

Some craftsmen make peat cups with their own hands. You can organize such a simple production in any rural yard or on suburban area. The main thing in this matter is to properly prepare the mixture:

1. collect all necessary materials in the right quantities: peat - 7 parts, humus - 2 parts, mullein - 1 part, a little slaked lime.
2. Thoroughly sift the peat and humus. The mixture should not contain large solid particles.
3. Mullein breed in hot water. The amount of water is determined in each case empirically.
4. Add diluted mullein to a container with peat and humus and mix thoroughly with a shovel until a homogeneous mass is obtained.
5. A little lime can be added to the resulting solution. Fill if necessary hot water. The moisture content of the mass is determined by trial molding cups.
6. At home, you can mold pots with two durable plastic glasses that have the shape of a truncated cone.

Production of peat pots for seedlings - video