Why use trays instead of planting directly?

Instead of using a seed-starter tray, why not just plant every seed directly in a little pot full of soil?

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    For example, why not put the seed in picrelated at the very start?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >a lot of plants in small area
      >you can easily cover the plants with a single humidity dome
      >smaller grow light can cover your plants
      >big pots can hold too much moisture that small plant cant consume
      >watering is easy when you can just pour water on the tray rather than going trough individual pots
      >its easier to transport outside and transplant
      >if the roots hold the soil intact its easy to plug them out, if you only need a small headstart the plants dont get enough time to fill a large pot

      Its all situational depending what you are growing, how much plants you have and what is your grow setup.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        See, OP is smart. This is what he wanted to know, but instead of just asking, he phrased it in a way that would allow someone to prove why he's wrong/stupid.

        This is also how I get answers from PrepHole, usually by posting something confrontational and clearly wrong and then waiting to be corrected. If you ask nicely you're far less likely to get in-depth replies or any reply at all.

        Ancient principle of the internet.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Well its not wrong to plant directly in a larger pots and it does not make you wrong or stupid if you do it correctly and have a reason to do so. You could write a similar list pointing out the benefits of going with a bigger pot.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            >a lot of plants in small area
            >you can easily cover the plants with a single humidity dome
            >smaller grow light can cover your plants
            >big pots can hold too much moisture that small plant cant consume
            >watering is easy when you can just pour water on the tray rather than going trough individual pots
            >its easier to transport outside and transplant
            >if the roots hold the soil intact its easy to plug them out, if you only need a small headstart the plants dont get enough time to fill a large pot

            Its all situational depending what you are growing, how much plants you have and what is your grow setup.

            I think it might be wrong though, which is why I made this thread. The crux is the following:
            >big pots can hold too much moisture that small plant cant consume

            I have a suspicion that seedlings die/rot more easily in big pots of soil than in seed starting trays. it's just been my experience

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              Seedlings have a high attrition rate. An added bonus of the seedling tray is you only keep the winners. You can plant 4 seedlings in a big pot and if only one survived you've wasted a ton of soil on one plant.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            wigga pls if I was trying to do that I would've written:

            why do morons insist on using seed-starting trays when you can just plant them directly in cups of soil? They're adding a whole extra unnecessary step

            This anon obviously has lots of sex.
            [...]
            You're the moron that keeps posting the dogtard threads aren't you.

            Infopig cope ITT, didn't even read, just quoted. Thanks for the info on lettuce, piggies. You literally can't help yourself when presented with an opportunity to prove someone wrong.

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              >OP asked a question about gardening
              >Gardeners responded
              So, you don't know anything about the topic and have nothing intelligent to say and your hot take on the thread is to sperg out about people disagreeing on the internet.
              Feel bad about being moronic and please never post here again lady.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          wigga pls if I was trying to do that I would've written:

          why do morons insist on using seed-starting trays when you can just plant them directly in cups of soil? They're adding a whole extra unnecessary step

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Why not just get a soil block mould, or make your own, and skip cups entirely?
      >http://www.ecosnippets.com/gardening/how-to-build-a-soil-block-maker/

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Because that's extra steps. Seed tray is about time saving when you have a large volume.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        What benefit do these have if they're just soil? You still need to use cells anyway. I know they're used for rockwool but I dont see any benefit for using soil like that

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          You don't use cell with soil blocks. That's the point of them. It also helps prevent seedlings getting root bound

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            What do you put the blocks in

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              They just sit directly in the trey until you either transplant them into your garden, or a larger soil block if they need more time and more soil.
              Moulds for large blocks are designed to have the small blocks easily nest.

              • 1 year ago
                Anonymous

                i like cardboard trays

              • 1 year ago
                Anonymous

                I have the mini blocker and the two inch blocker. Instead of buying the even bigger blocker just take your soil mix and form it around the block by hand, I do this for things like eggplant, tomato, and pepper that would need transplanting into bigger sizes. Most things you'd just need the smaller blockers because they'll get transplanted in 3-4 weeks anyway.

                https://i.imgur.com/Hc2G44A.jpg

                Instead of using a seed-starter tray, why not just plant every seed directly in a little pot full of soil?

                The point is to save space, Under grow lights so that when stuff is getting transplanted out into the garden you can then move things like bigger plants up to size. Something like lettuce doesn't need to be in a transplant tray for more than 4 weeks before being transplanted outside and doesnt need a 5inch sized pot. You're maximizing grow space and the amount you can grow/transplant. Alot of plants get terminated or fail to germinate so you can be more selective, again maximizing space. People who grow large quantities simply don't have enough room to grow everything in full size pots to start. Pretty obvious. Large pots really only apply to tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, shit like that.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        It's not that I want to use cups, it's that when i DO start a seedling in a cup, it tends to fare worse

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Because it's more efficient to start seedlings like that

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      This anon obviously has lots of sex.

      See, OP is smart. This is what he wanted to know, but instead of just asking, he phrased it in a way that would allow someone to prove why he's wrong/stupid.

      This is also how I get answers from PrepHole, usually by posting something confrontational and clearly wrong and then waiting to be corrected. If you ask nicely you're far less likely to get in-depth replies or any reply at all.

      Ancient principle of the internet.

      You're the moron that keeps posting the dogtard threads aren't you.

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    You can just transplant from that size (looks about the same as 6pks) into the ground. you don't have to pot them up and for most plants there is not much benefit.
    If you're asking why a tray that contains many plants you can water and move around as a single unit might be preferred over 72 individual cups I don't think we can help you.

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I think pots/cups are worse for seedlings because:

    1) my watermelon seedlings had about 20% rot rate in soil cups (very large sample size)

    2) my apple seedlings had 100% rot rate in soil cups (n = 6)

    3) my heirloom tomatoes had a 0% rot rate in egg cartons, which I'm using as a proxy for a seed-starting tray (n = 48)

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      This data conclusively demonstrates that you're an awful gardener.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        I planted 48 tomato seedlings and none of them rotted, I think it demonstrates the opposite

        Seedlings have a high attrition rate. An added bonus of the seedling tray is you only keep the winners. You can plant 4 seedlings in a big pot and if only one survived you've wasted a ton of soil on one plant.

        I had an incredibly low attrition rate with my tomatoes. nearly 100% actually made it to mature plant stage.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >I missed the point completely
          So you're an awful gardener and use woke math. In reality if the bulk of your seedlings die and you're proud of the one species that survived...your overall survival rate is still garbage and you're moronic.
          I have never ever had a potted plant rot in a greenhouse.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      This doesn't prove much. In my experience tomato seeds prety much always all sprout, regardless of medium. They wold have worked just as well in normal soil. Apple seeds have a much harder seed coat that tends to cause problems and makes it harder to see if a seed is even viable in the first place.

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    We do that to keep them inside while its still cold-ish outside.

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    winter
    pests

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Not everyone lives north of the tropic of cancer or south of the tropic of Capricorn, anon... apparently there are even white people who live near the equator (who garden) but I'm not willing to personally verify that because i like that snow scares away brown people.

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    10-20 trays with cups are great, can bottom water, and only deal with planting the most vigorous seedlings. Less wasted soil.

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    little tiny pots that are three inches tall and an inch and a half wide would fall over all the time

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Seed raising mix is sterile so there's no problem with fungus, plus you know anything that sprouts is your seed. But it costs money, so using trays reduces the amount you need.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Does a plant tolerate fungus better when it's somewhat grown vs. when it's a brand new seedling?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Yes. Mainly because a seedling is so small, a fungal infection that might cause a black spot on a leaf of a larger plant will kill the whole thing. Also because their roots are small they need more water which also encourages fungus. There's a thing called "damp" which affects seedlings where they shrivel and wilt like celery in the crisper too long. Using commercial seed raising mix prevents this, also washing the trays of you reuse them.

        If you want to go whole hog independent and stick it to the man you can make your own mix by cooking screened compost. I've done it, I made a wood compost and river sand soup and boiled it in a cooking oil can. Much easier just to buy the stuff in bags

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Fungus can result from things like bad soil, improper ventilation or over watering--the conditions that cause the fungus are hard on the plant the fungus itself is usually the least of your problems.

  10. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    You can directly put seeds in the medium after soaking the seeds for a night in case of some herbs and spinaches

    But if you're going to plant fruiting trees (tomatoes and other vegetables)
    It's better to grow seedlings on a seed starter tray cause the germination rate is not 100percent so by doing so you're putting healthy seedlings into your growing medium

  11. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    You can grow more seedlings then you need and only plant the healthiest ones.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      You sneak the rest to the nearest golf course

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