Review: Park's "Jiffy-7" Compressed Peat Pots

Are They the Greatest Thing Since Bags of Potting Soil?

On impulse, I decided to try starting seeds in compressed peat pots this year. The brand I used was Park Seed Company's One-Step® Seed Starter, "Jiffy-7", which cost $2.99 for a bag of 25 pots. The Jiffy pots are widely available in garden centers.

The poker-chip size disks inflate into seed starting pots when you soak the discs in warm water. After the disk has soaked up water and is about 1 1/2 inches tall, drop a couple of seeds into the hole in the pot and wait for something to grow. I haven't had this much fun since I was a kid and had those flat animal sponges that puffed up into horsies.

I used some clear plastic salad greens boxes as greenhouses instead of the commercial one, because I'm a cheapskate. The salad boxes worked well, first covered to retain moisture and then uncovered when the seedlings were put outside to get used to the weather.

Advantages of Compressed Peat Pots:

- Stored compressed, the disks take up less room than a similar volume of potting soil.
- They can provide even moisture delivery during germination.
- It is less time consuming than using seed starting flats and having to move the plants from flats to small pots and then to the garden.
- There is less risk of loss to birds and bugs compared to starting seeds in the ground. The quail around here taste everything.
- The peat pots can either be planted directly into the garden or into a larger pot for more maturing or to wait for warmer weather.

Disadvantages of Compressed Peat Pots: