Jiffy peat pellets, also called Jiffy pellets and Jiffy-7, are a convenient way to start seeds. Just add water to the small pellets and they expand, ready for us. Place a seed in the top and in no time you will have happy seedlings.
This all sounds like a good idea, but how well do plants grow? Are the pellets bio-degradable in the garden?
Jiffy Pellets – What Are They?
Jiffy pellets are purchased as small disks as shown above. When water is added, the dry peat moss or coco husk (coir) expands dramatically. In order to keep this material from falling apart, everything is contained in a fine mesh which forms the pot around the potting material.
Seed is inserted in the top and pressed into the potting mix. As it grows, roots will reach the fine mesh. Some roots find the mesh to be a barrier and stay inside the mesh. Other roots will manage to sneak out through the holes, but since there is no potting media or water outside of the mesh they don’t grow very far. In effect they are root pruned.
When the seedlings are ready to be planted you simply pop the whole thing into a small hole and water it.
Admittedly, the whole system seems to be a good idea. It is much cleaner than filling other types of pots with potting mix, and once everything is planted you don’t have pots that need to be stored for next year. They are more expensive than using a traditional pot and buying a bag of potting mix. There are also some concerns about plant health and the environment.
The renewable nature of peat moss is not a concern, I’ve discussed this myth before in Peat and Peat Moss – The True Story.
Jiffy Pots and Root Damage
The Jiffy pots are quite small, and in no time the roots will want to grow past the outside mesh. If the roots do not get past this, the pots are really too small to grow seedlings to a size large enough to be planted out in the garden. A simple solution is to pot them in a larger pot. The problem with this is that most of the roots will still not grow out of the confining mesh unless you remove it. If you are going to remove the mesh why not start the seed in the larger pot and skip the Jiffy pellet?
If the roots do grow through the mesh they don’t find potting media or water and so they can’t grow very far. If you later remove the mesh before planting, you will damage the roots that have made it through the mesh.
The solution is simple according to Jiffy – don’t remove the mesh. Plant the whole thing as is.
Jiffy Pots Don’t Decompose
What happens to the mesh when you leave it on and plant the whole thing? In the past, promotional material from Jiffy suggested that you don’t need to worry about the plastic – it just decomposes. But does it?
I have recently heard stories from two gardeners that make it very clear that the mesh does not decompose quickly.
This picture from The Gardening Girl shows the netting after being in the ground for two years. She says, “Here’s an example of one I found today. This was an old parsley plant from 2 years ago, that I started from seed. You can see how the roots tied themselves around the Jiffy pellet and couldn’t find their way down into the soil. It’s shocking to think this waste material is littering most of my beds. “
And Wendy reports ” they really don’t break down as quickly as we hope! I’m planting my cold frame and found these from last year. I’m going to replant them and see if I dig them up again next fall!!! Wonder how long till they really break down?”
How long does it take to decompose the mesh? I could not find an answer but based on the above reports it is at least several years.
I contacted Jiffy and got a reply from Sylvain Helie, Jiffy-East Canada & Hydroponics, who said, “Usually the mesh around our Jiffy pellet will breakdown within 1-2 years. Since they are mainly photo degradable, it takes more time than biodegradable mesh.” They did not supply any real data, but based on the above observations from gardeners it is more than 1-2 years.
If the mesh is buried in the ground along with the root ball the way it is intended, it will get almost no light. Since it is photo degradable and needs light to degrade, you can expect this plastic to be in the soil a long time.
Here is another example. These were in the ground for 5 years – see how well they “don’t” degrade!
In fairness to Jiffy they no longer promote the bio-degradable nature of the mesh on their website, but many customers still believe they biodegrade.
Jiffy Pellets – Should They Be Used?
I don’t think they are a good solution. They are too small for most seedlings, and we do not need more plastic waste in our gardens. If you do use this product you should definitely remove the mesh before planting even though doing so damages roots and negates the convenience of the product.
Just use regular plastic pots and seed starting mix. They are larger, easier to use and less expensive. Moving seedlings to larger pots or planting them is much easier and does not damage roots in the process. Plastic pots can be reused for many years and I get mine for free when I buy plants.
References:
- Photo source for Jiffy 7; The HydroStore
- Photo source for celery in Jiffy pellet mesh; The Gardening Girl
- Photo source for 2 year old Jiffy pellet mesh; private correspondence
I use them all the time, to avoid the roots pruning themselves I simply cut the bottom of the mesh net off and leave the sides and top before transplanting them into bigger pots, that way the roots can reach right through the bottom.
I just find them convenient, easy to moisten and less messy. The mesh is really not hard to remove. I pull the mesh off and plug them into a pot without issues or damaging the roots. I also don’t have to worry about separating seedlings individually like when I grow a bunch in a pot or cup if when I i have one seedling per plug.
I have used the jiffy pellets, am always tempted to keep using them because they are so easy. I have had plants that seem to be stunted by the root restriction. I have tried cutting the sides with an exacto before putting them in the ground or removing the nets all together. I think success depends on the specific plant type and whether they have sensitive roots. I hate finding the nets years later, and often find them completely intact meaning the roots weren’t breaking through. I don’t plan to use them again, but am always tempted by their ease of use.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned a simple trick that works with peat pots and pellet mesh: Just slice them up with a sharp razor knife when you go to plant. Usually doesn’t harm the roots while at the same time you create escape routes for any roots that may have otherwise been confined.
True – removing them works – but why use them in the first place?
Nice article. I found these same things out the hard way. I have found some of the pellets still intact 3 years after using them in my garden. I quit using them after I had a batch that smelled like oil and my plants didn’t grow well in them. I had some that completely molded and I also found some that had bits of plastic in them that hurt the roots of my plants. My plants grew better with regular pots and soil.
Under the heading of: I should have read before I acted…I have been struggling with apple seeds fro weeks. Finally today, a seed sprouted..In a peat pot with a peat pellet and now I see the issue with the mesh!!!!! DOHHH.
Does anyone know if apple tree (tiny shoots) can overcome the mesh? Can it be removed at some point and still have a viable shoot?
Just remove the mesh when you transplant, or if roots start growing out of the mesh, transplant sooner.
Why not just make holes for roots not strong enough to go through the mesh? I use these for growing indoor cannabis and the roots appear to always break through then after harvest any mesh left over goes into compost.
Or just use real pots.
You can either remove the mesh, split it down both sides, or break it open at the bottom and spread it outward. It doesn’t hurt the plant to pull the mesh off and break some of the roots – every time you cut a root it forks into two.
Doing a lot of root damage does slow down the growth of the plant. Yes it does recover, but to say there is no harm is not correct.
My tomato seedlings start really well in the largest size of Jiffy pellet 50 x 95mm. The problem is repotting, leaving the netting on appears to restrict root development, peeling it off usually damages the newly formed roots. I soaked my remaining pellets and chucked them in the compost heap -they are still turning up two years later. I’m trying newspaper pots next year.
I noticed some recently purchased jiffy pellets seem to be made of a completely different material compared to old ones I have. I don’t know if it’s better, but it looks like it might be. It looks more like thin felt instead of a plastic net. Maybe they have mended their ways.
honestly all these complaint over the netting and while i do agree they can root lock your plant my thoughts are
in a peat pellet you can see the roots growing and can remove the netting before it becomes root bound you can actually see the roots through the netting and if you looked at your plants enough you could figure out a time to remove the netting before it will become an issue to remove the net
each grower has his own like and well i like the peat pellets because of the convience of use and usually have enough nutrient for first 2 weeks of plant growth its not rocket science ,but you would want to remove it before they start to try and grow out(once roots start growing out reguardless how many chances are good your gonna tear a root off and your baby will be mad) and transplant it to your final container .i dont like transplanting alot because each ttime you do it there is risk of slowing down the plants growth from the new envionment
Been growing with Jiffy pellets since the 70’s. If you leave them sitting on the topsoil and dry out they will take years to break down. If you till them in to the bedding they will break down by the next spring. Same can be said about growing with jiffy pellets or pots. As long as you keep the netting damp and pots damp and do not let them completely dry out, roots of most plants will grow right thru. It really comes down to knowing the correct procedures and uses for a product and following those before claiming something does not work and is not environmentally friendly.
Moist is key.
Lots of people have reported fining the netting under ground the year after using it.