


LAST UPDATED: • FIRST PUBLISHED: By Toni Dash 32 Comments
Toni Dash, is a Certified Nutrition Coach and the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of Boulder Locavore®. She has been developing easy to make, well-tested recipes since 2010. Her seasonal recipes bring excitement to the dining table for both gluten-free and gluten diners. Toni has been featured in numerous publications and on culinary websites for her creative, delicious recipes and travel features. For more details, check out her About page.
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Anonymous says
Ohh thanks for this.. I hope there is a followup post for the next stage! What/how do you transfer them into when they outgrow the peat pellets? You say a larger peat pot with soil, but an example would help- can you share the site where you bought the pots you transferred into. Do they fit onto a tray under the grow light? Also you mentioned a taller hood to keep the greenhouse effect going- again a link to what you used would be great.
I found big peat pellets somewhere last year, and they were great… atleast 3″ tall when they expanded. I can't remember where I got them- and it's nearly impossible to tell the size on Amazon.
I'm also having a hard time estimating how many plants I will need… any pointers there?
Thanks!
Boulder Locavore says
Thank you for your interest! Here are some of your answers now. You can tell when they need more room because the roots will extend from the bottom of the peat pot and they will be substantial (meaning a solid stem, multiple leaves). I get a larger peat pot and add seed starting soil and put the entire peat pellet and seedling into the larger pot; I do NOT remove the seedling from the peat pellet. I sadly don't have the link for my source of the peat pots from last year.
They do still fit under the grow light though take up more space so will not fit as compactly. I keep them under the humidity dome as long as possible but eventually they will be too large.
I use the Square Foot Gardening method which specifies the number of a specific species in a square foot. It is a more dense gardening method allowing high yield, low wasted space and weeds. Assuming you are planting a regular plot I would use the spacing guidelines on the back of your seed packets to plan out your plot. I start more plants than I'll need as there is some failure at each stage (germination, transplanting, hardening off and outdoor garden adjustment). It allows you to plan your vegetable garden. When getting the link I noted they've added some tutorials to the site as well. I have not looked at them but it is a good site; worth poking around!
Hope this helps and thanks for the prompt on the 'next stage' post!
Rebecca Subbiah says
wonderful tips I am going to start a wee garden this yr 🙂 thanks Toni
Kita says
This is a great post. I started 'gardening' by accident a few years ago with the desire to just make our property look better. Without much knowledge, I found that our soil can grow pretty much anything – tall and hearty – and ever my one and done plants have come back season after season. This year I am determined to actually educate myself a bit and try to organize a small vegetable garden. I have been itching for an indoor system to carry over my herbs and get me started before things can go out into the ground. Even here, as BFs mother has told me, we aren't supposed to plant before Mother's Day, but its so hard! The weather gets so nice before then and I get the urge. Now to convince the BF to let me have the space for the lights… or they may just show up 😉
itstwoam says
Awesome post!! I've been sharing it with some friends as we're all getting ready to get our seeds started in the next week or two!!
I wanted to point you to another site that has the peat pellets at about half the price… just found it yesterday and thought you might be interested ::
I haven't purchased any yet, so I can't vouch for speed or anything, but I'm going to place an order in the next day or so!
Boulder Locavore says
Thank you for your comment and the link. I actually only have purchased the grow light set up on Amazon. The rest of the supplies I purchased locally. I wanted to give readers 'one stop' to see everything however in the event they wished to purchase Amazon does have free shipping for orders over $25. There are definitely less expensive places to buy things like the jiffy pots as your sleuthing shows! This has prompted me to look up the site where I bought the larger peat pots I used for planting the seedlings in the peat pellets once they need a larger environments before hitting the garden! Have fun planting!
Kiri W. says
What a lovely informative post 🙂 Thank you for the advice!
Boulder Locavore says
Thank you Kiri as always for reading and commenting!
Pennie says
This post has so much great information! I have been trying to get up my nerve to start a home garden–I have the perfect spot in my backyard, but I also have a terrible brown thumb! Thanks for sharing–maybe I'll finally take the plunge!!
Boulder Locavore says
I think gardening can feel pretty intimidating. If you read alot about it, as with so many topics, you can get into so much detail and instruction it can be paralyzing if it is unfamiliar. I say start simple. Maybe if you have never had a garden you buy plants this year and get your sea legs on just tending to them. Or start seeds in the ground. Many plants are directly seeded and do not or should not be started indoors (beans, chard, carrots). Take it slow, make it easy, fun and stress free. You will feel so good to eat some of your own food it will be worth it! Feel free to email me if I can help!