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Old news! Those have been around for decades. Used to use 'em to start seeds back in the 70's...

Nice to see the Jiffys getting new blood though, gotta say!

I figured I was just oblivious - I'm not a gardening expert, that's for sure!

I've heard that peat should be avoided because harvesting it destroys wetlands.

There's a nuanced, though perhaps outdated, article at
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1525/is_n3_v78/ai_13695256
that weighs peat farm preservation against biodiversity loss.

I LOVE those things! I just planted 2 dozen zinnia plants in those wonderful peat pellets. So great for planning a garden and making sure you only plant good seeds and not duds.

They're also available (from various mail-order sources) with coir instead of peat.

Also, you really can't just plant them in the ground: you need to rip off the little plastic sack. Planting them without removing it means your plant has trouble developing a good root system.

Also, it's better to keep them in the shade until they sprout. Until they have leaves, all that putting them in the sun will do is dry up the peat faster. I put plastic wrap over my seeds to keep the soil moist until they sprout, then move them to the sun.

And you're right, these are fun! I find that sprouting things always brings out the kid in me--it's amazing and fun to see the seedlings poke their heads out.

i'm using them this year. they're great. i bought the kit with the covered tray; i love that the lid kept everything moist and i didn't have to remember to water them. it's also nice to know i can buy refill bags of pellets and keep reusing the tray.

Using Peat is terrible for the environment. I made newspaper pots from this tool and it was a cinch this year. I filled them with regular soil.

I'm using them as well this year to start out my (indoor container) herb gardens.

I was wondering if it's too late to start seeds indoors in the NE (right outside of NYC). I bought a ton of seeds (tomatoes, melons, cukes, green beans) and am wondering if it's ok to put them in the ground now or if it'd still be better to start them inside.

Also, anyone have an idea on how to keep squirrels from digging in newly planted containers? They dug up some of the lettuce seedlings last night, I think they were just looking for acorns they might have buried. Maybe chicken wire caps?

I've had a far higher start rate with the dome-type starters with dirt sponges, like from Park Seed and other places. The Jiffy pots are always either too wet, too dry, they float and fall over, the roots entangle in the plastic mesh and you can't pull it off without tearing, or nothing starts in them in the first place.

I'm moving more and more away from the use of peat based products, with the exception right now of my bog garden. Peat is a very slowly renewing resource, much like oil or coal. Yes, it technically is renewable, but we have a limited available supply on hand at a given time. There are an assortment of other products and media out there which can take the place of peat in almost all instances. The only thing I've not tested it on that greatly concerns me is in my bog garden for carnivorous plants. Carnivorous plants have very particular requirements, and I'm not sure how they would react to other fluff yet.