[Retroit]

Originally Posted by BusyPaws

Mine are all indoors right now...

Ooops, I never considered you meant indoors.

I concur with zthatzman on the BD pots. They never seem to biodegrade, at least not the ones I've used. They may have improved.

[BusyPaws]

Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28

We never had any luck with them. The plants do OK in them. But we have bought the seedlings and 2-3 months later when they were struggling, we dug them up and the pots were still intact and the plant was severely root bound.

Good to know. I will be sure to cut them up before I place them in the ground.

[Wingnatic]

If you can make it to the near downtown Detroit area , next month is the annual Eastern Market flower day ... why pay more somewhere else when you can get a good selection pretty cheaply . This is not a spam , just spreading the word in case some people weren't aware of this annual event .
Detroit Eastern Market - Flower Day

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by BusyPaws

Good to know. I will be sure to cut them up before I place them in the ground.

That might help the roots. We generally plant inside as early as possible then transfer the 3-5 inch plants into bigger pots before taking them outside.

[Lindseyup67]

For weeds..one word...Preen! Works awesome! Also, here in the U.P. Lowes and Menards garden centers are open.....Lowes have tons of plants already...despite the inch of snow on the ground this morning! Hard to believe nothing is going on downstate garden center wise.......

[Retroit]

Originally Posted by Lindseyup67

For weeds..one word...Preen! Works awesome! Also, here in the U.P. Lowes and Menards garden centers are open.....Lowes have tons of plants already...despite the inch of snow on the ground this morning! Hard to believe nothing is going on downstate garden center wise.......

I read on their website that Preen works by preventing weed seeds from sprouting. But I am wondering: does it also prevent other desirable seeds from sprouting? For example, I have snapdragons, allysum, poppies, etc. that I allow to self-seed (i.e. I let the seeds from the previous year fall to the ground and supply plants for the next season). Do you do this? Does Preen prevent the good seeds from germinating as well?

[DubbleT]

I miss gardening in MI. Gardening in the south is not the same (the weeds and bugs never seem to die, and the dirt is red!) Count your blessings y'all.

[Giesela]

I used to start seeds in the jiffy pots...they advertise that you just pop the whole thing in the ground - never had any luck with that. The only way the degrade at all if they stay really really wet, wetter than you want your plant roots to be after the first few days to a week. Before you are ready to plant make sure the pot and all is good and wet, peel off the pot and pop in the hole you've dug. Otherwise they really stifle root growth. That's my experience anyway. Same goes for burlap. Take it off a bush or tree root ball, make sure anyone from a garden center does the same no matter what they say and argue.

I used to shop for vegetable plants at a place near the east side of Kazoo - Bell's? Man they had a great selection of vegetable plants, all healthy too.

[MICoastieMom]

I have planted several trees that came in biodegradable pots. The directions all said to slash the bottom of the pot across the diameter several times so the roots could get out. In fact, one nurseryman told me they weren't meant to completely in one season that it would take several. I am guessing that your seedlings would do better if you slashed an X across the bottom with an exacto knife.

[tjay]

planted 3 of my tomato plants yesterday, just because I couldn't help myself:} I did put a half cut milk jug on top for protection though.