Containers for growing seedlings are quite varied in material, shape, quality and size. To choose the right container, with the greatest number of positive qualities, you need to familiarize yourself with the most popular and demanded options, or rather, with their advantages and disadvantages.
Boxes made of various materials
Seeding in a box is the oldest method of growing seedlings. It has been used by more than one generation. The box may not only be made of wood. Now plastic, foam and other materials are used for their manufacture. This is the most proven and demanded capacity.
Benefits of boxes
- The box can be made at home from scrap materials and save money.
- It is easy to transport and move to another place, as well as turn in the desired direction.
- The volume of the container and the surface area allows you to sow a large number of seeds at once.
Disadvantages of boxes:
- A box filled with soil is quite heavy and difficult to lift.
- The roots of young seedlings are very close to each other and can be damaged during transplanting or diving.
Plastic cassettes with cells
Small individual containers with holes in the bottom were combined into one plastic cassette. These containers are available in various widths and lengths and you can easily choose the size you need. Retail chains offer a wide range of plastic cassettes. All that is required from the gardener is to fill the containers with the necessary soil mixture and plant the prepared seeds.
Benefits of cassettes
- The required size of the container can be purchased, and if necessary, it can be easily changed using ordinary scissors (the extra cells are cut off).
- Low cost.
- Can be used for a long time (several years).
- Compactness and light weight.
- Availability of drainage holes upon purchase.
- Convenience of transplanting each seedling, the earthen lump is easily removed along with the plant.
Disadvantages of cassettes
- The absence of pallets when buying, you will have to purchase it separately or make it yourself.
- Inconvenience during transportation due to fragile material (the cassette can be damaged by the heavy weight of the earth with plants).
- The expenditure of certain funds.
- The depth of the container is not suitable for all types of seedlings (some vegetable crops have very long roots, they will not fit in such cells).
- The proximity of the cells puts the neighboring plant at risk when extracting an earthen ball with seedlings.
Peat cups
This type of seedling container is very popular with gardeners and gardeners who have switched to organic farming. Peat cups are an environmentally friendly material that does not pollute nature, but rather fertilizes and nourishes it. Experienced summer residents recommend not using this type of container for sowing seeds. It is much more useful to plant seedlings in peat glasses after diving.
Benefits of peat cups
- Durability and environmental friendliness, as the containers are made of natural materials.
- The material of these containers is porous, which makes it possible for good penetration of water and air to the roots of plants.
- Seedlings do not need to be removed from the cup during transplantation - this allows not to injure the entire plant and the root system in particular (the seedlings are transferred to the open beds along with the container).
- The survival rate of seedlings in a new place is one hundred percent.
- During decomposition, peat plays the role of additional feeding.
Disadvantages of peat cups
- You can accidentally buy low quality peat containers.
- Cups become soaked with a lot of moisture.
- High price.
- With an excess of moisture, containers begin to mold.
- The material of the containers absorbs moisture well, which means that the soil dries out quickly; you will need to pay great attention to the timely moistening of the soil.
Peat tablets
The tablets are composed of crushed peat and several nutrients. This mixture was pressed into a special mesh casing. The round shape resembles a large tablet with a depression in the middle. For such tablets, you will need a special box made of waterproof material, into which they need to be decomposed and filled with a small amount of water. After a while, the tablets will absorb water and increase in size several times. One tablet is used to plant one seed.
Benefits of peat tablets
- The complexity of the picking process is minimized - you just need to transfer the pill with the seedling to a separate pot and sprinkle it with soil.
- At the initial stage, there is no need to purchase a soil mixture for seedlings.
- Peat perfectly permeates moisture and air, which is vital for the growth and development of plant roots.
Benefits of peat tablets
- Large material costs.
- Strict control over the moisture level will be required, peat quickly picks up moisture and there is a risk of overdrying the root system of the seedlings.
Plastic cups
Trading networks offer a huge selection of disposable food plastic cups, as well as special cups for seedlings of various sizes. For planting seeds, it is recommended to use containers with a volume of about 100 milliliters. And for plants after picking, it is advisable to purchase glasses with a volume of 500 milliliters.
Benefits of plastic cups
- Low cost and long life.
- When transplanting, the earthen lump is not damaged (the root system is not injured) and the plant is pulled out along with the earth very easily.
Disadvantages of plastic cups
- Money spendings.
- Lack of drainage holes (you will have to make them yourself).
- The containers are inconvenient for transportation - they often fall and turn over, you will have to use an additional larger container for installing glasses (for example, a cardboard box).
Dairy cartons
A small container for seedlings made of thick cardboard is easily made from boxes of milk, kefir, sour cream, etc. by cutting off its top. It is enough to pierce the drainage holes in the bottom and fill the container with the soil mixture. Seeds and seedlings can be planted in such a container.You only need to take care of the pallet.
Benefits of milk cartons:
- There are no material costs.
- Variety of containers in height, width and depth.
- The plant is easily removed, the integrity of the earthen coma is not disturbed.
Disadvantages of milk cartons:
- Lack of pallet.
- Few people save such containers, they are usually thrown away immediately.
Cups of yoghurt, sour cream, noodles, etc.
The benefits of plastic cups have already been discussed above, but now they are obtained practically free of charge. Small glasses, which are good for planting seeds, remain after various yoghurts, and larger glasses (for planting and growing seedlings) after sour cream.
Benefits of food cups:
- All the same as the new plastic cups.
- Lack of cash costs for capacity separately.
- Contribution to the preservation and protection of the environment.
Disadvantages of food cups:
- All the same as the new plastic cups.
Buckets from sauerkraut, cucumbers, etc.
Such large containers are good to use directly for growing large seedlings. They can be filled with not only earth, but also a good drainage layer.
Benefits of buckets
- Convenience in transportation (there is a special handle).
- No acquisition costs.
- Large volume.
- Duration of use.
Disadvantages of buckets
- Transparency of the material.
- Lack of drainage holes.
Paper cups from newspapers
You will need regular newspapers to make them. If you have at least a small supply of this material, then use this technique popular in the West.
A double layer of newspaper should be wrapped several times around the can or bottle. For the bottom, you need to leave a small allowance at the bottom. The edge can be fastened with a paper clip or a stapler, and the bottom can be gently bent to the middle. A glass of newspaper is ready to eat.
For each type of seedlings, you can use various containers and newspapers to build glasses of different sizes (in terms of volume, diameter, depth).
Benefits of paper cups
- No special costs.
- Natural and environmentally friendly material.
- Lightweight material.
- There is no need to remove the plant from the container - you can immediately plant it in open ground with a glass.
Disadvantages of paper cups
- The expenditure of time and effort for the manufacture of containers.
- You will need to purchase pallets.
Domestic waste containers
The role of a container for growing seedlings and planting seeds can be played by various household waste, which, at first glance, are absolutely useless - these are cardboard tubes from rolls of toilet paper, the lower part of plastic bottles (from juices, water and other drinks), plastic boxes with lids, etc. even eggshells.
Resourceful summer residents and gardeners have long been using plastic bottles in the cultivation of various crops. They have learned to use not only the bottoms of the bottles, but also successfully use the upper cylinders, which also serve as an individual container. For such bottomless cups, it is enough to put a pallet and it will become a full-fledged pot for plants.
Many families consume large quantities of juices in cartons. Such containers can also be useful, they should not be thrown away before sowing seeds.
A large number of perishable food items are sold in individual plastic containers with lids. Such containers are well suited for growing berry seedlings, and the lid will become a real pallet.
And another unusual and useful way is to plant seeds in egg shells. Sprouted seedlings are planted on the beds directly in such a shell, previously slightly crushed. The shell will be an excellent soil fertilizer.
