Jiffy Pellets
Jiffy Pellets are almost a fail-safe way of growing plants from seed – they are easy to use, include all the fertiliser your plants will need, and can be planted straight into the garden once your plants are large enough.
Jiffy Pellets are small, compressed disks of compost and fertiliser. The contents are kept together with a fragile bio-degradable mesh, so that the pellets can be used as both pot and compost.
When you receive your Jiffy Pellets they will be dry. To use soak in water for about ten minutes and the pellet will swell up. In the centre on one side there will be a small hollow without mesh – this is where the seed should be planted. Or, if growing from cuttings, this is where the cutting goes.
For healthy plant growth keep the Jiffy Pellets moist. When your plants are large enough to plant out – you’ll be able to see the root structure easily through the mesh of the pellets – the decision is whether to plant directly into the ground, or to remove the mesh first .There is no hard or fast rule for this – some people remove the mesh, others don’t. Those who do claim that if the mesh is left in place the roots of the plants don’t develop as quickly as when the mesh is removed – do your own test to find out the best method.
Being a clean, neat and convenient way of raising plants, another benefit of using Jiffy Pellets is that you don’t end up with a load of plant pots at the end of the season that need cleaning and storing.
Jiffy Pots
Jiffy Pots are the environmentally friendly alternative to plastic pots. They are 100% compostable and approved for organic production, containing no chemicals.
Easy to use, simply fill the jiffy pots most of the way with compost. To create a damp environment for seeds or cuttings, stand the pots in a watertight tray and fill with water – allowing the water to be soaked up into the pot and compost. Also spray or mist the surface of the compost.
Once damp you plant your seeds, covering over with more compost and sprinkling more water over the compost.
As your plants start to grow their roots will be able to grow through the pot wall. When they do this the roots will be ‘air pruned’, stimulating stronger, more fibrous root development than in plastic pots. Plants will need less water as the pot wall will retain water, keeping compost moist for longer – this can reduce water consumption by up to 20% compared to plastic pots.
When your plants have grown large enough to be planted out, Jiffy Pots have the advantage that you can plant the entire pot in the soil, so saving time and avoiding any messy transplanting. As there is absolutely no root disturbance plants establish into their new environment much quicker than those plants raised in plastic pots.