Hey, it’s sixty degrees F outside today and the sun is shining! Yesterday it was 58 degrees with lots of sun. Boy does it feel great! But it sure looks ugly too, with all the mud, dirt, puddles, and nasty snowbanks. I enjoyed putting more pine shavings in the chicken coop and listening to the girls singing happily. Hey, I would too, but I’m afraid they’d panic if I did. I’m not a candidate for The Voice, for sure.
I decided to plant just a few more peppers today, several I was gifted and a couple of old favorites I just hadn’t grown in a while. Some folks have been asking me just how to use the Jiffy peat pellets. So, I’ll give a quick rundown. (Yes, I could plant in our mixed garden soil and compost. But this is easier and faster.) Right now, we’re so busy, even a few hours are precious!
The Jiffy peat pellets are sterile, so you don’t have to worry about damping off fungal attacks, killing your seedlings. First off, I make sure I have labels for each variety. Then I get a watertight container. We use our used plastic greenhouse flats. I fill a mixing bowl with hot water and place the tightly compressed discs in the water.
In a short time, they have absorbed a lot of water and are about four times as thick as when they were dry. Holding my hand over the open end, I gently squeeze excess water out of them and put them in the flat. I place my plastic label on the end of the first row. Then I take a pencil (lead end) and poke a hole in the center of each one, about 1¼ inches deep. Into each pellet I put one or two seeds. With the eraser end, I drag the sides of the peat into the hole, filling it. When I finish, I press down the center of each pellet gently to make sure the seed contacts the damp peat.
When the container is full, I slip it into a large plastic bag and set it behind our wood stove, so it is comfortably warm. I do not seal the bag as this sometimes causes the seeds to rot as the soil can’t breathe. In a few days we have beautiful seedlings! Ta da! Now you’re an expert!
— Jackie
