It is quite remarkable how tiny seeds contain all the necessary information to unfold into a fully grown plant. Inside of the tiny package of a nut, seed, or a spore is a whole potential organism capable of producing seeds of its own. The cycle is beautiful and mystifying as any seasoned gardener will tell you. But, what if you are just starting off on your gardening adventure? How can you enjoy the fruits of the plant world’s life cycle, even if you don’t exactly have two green thumbs? One of the best ways is to equip yourself with some seed starter trays.
Seed starter trays offer a great way to get involved with the world of leafy green things nearly right away. It is true that nature will propagate its seeds with or without human intervention, so you don't have to purchase a technological entryway in order to appreciate the world’s flora. However, for reliable, predictable, and fruitful results, it often helps to use a seed starter tray.
Why The Internet Loves Seed Starter Trays
You can save yourself the effort of hoeing soil and walking the rows scattering handfuls of baby plants like you are Johnny Appleseed. You can purchase a seed starter tray that will carve off hours of labor and streamline your efforts into results that you can appreciate. If you are transporting plants from a nursery to a garden as they age, then using starter pots for transport is nearly imperative.
A garden is proof of your ability to manage and care for the world around you. People look upon those with green thumbs as the epitome of having it all together. You can easily become one of those people, and a seed starter tray can smooth the course of that path. However, as you surely know, not all seed starter trays are created equal.
We combed the internet for the best seed starter trays that are currently offered. Some we found produced much more favorable results than the other options. And boy, how many options! The internet makes finding information on seed starter trays easy, but the options can leave you feeling drowned. Luckily, our research led us to conclude that the Jolly Grow Seed Starter Peat Pots Kit was the best version of the seed starter tray for its money.
We’ll directly compare the Jolly Grow Seed Starter Peat Pots Kit with the top members of its competition to allow you to see how we came to this decision.
What Is The Jolly Grow Seed Starter Peat Pots Kit?
The Jolly Grow Seed Starter Peat Pots Kit is a collection of 50 seed starter cells with 10 plastic markers. These cells, or starter pots, are biodegradable, and each one measures 1.75″ square and 2″ deep. Each peat pot kit also comes with 5 germination trays with 10 cells in each, meaning, you can start a lot of plants with this kit. Since the materials for the pots are entirely biodegradable, they are perfect for starting your growth of seeds, seedlings, vegetables, plants, and flowers.
Using the starter pots to transport plants from a nursery to a garden can help to eliminate transplant shock or the reversal of a plant’s health after moving locations.
One of the best features of this product that similar products did not offer is its stellar guarantee. Jolly Grow offers a “no hassle” 100% guarantee refund policy. That means, if you do not like the item, you can simply return it for a full refund. (Without hassle!)
How Do You Use A Seed Starter Tray?
There’s no single way to use a seed starter tray. You can use it to grow seeds into seedlings or to transport seedlings from nurseries to other parts of your greenhouse or garden. You can use them to provide extra nutrients for plants that you ultimately want to outgrow the box, so you can plant their roots throughout your garden.
However, the basic procedure for a seed starter tray goes as follows: First, you load up the strips with potting soil and water them thoroughly. Then you sow the seed or plant the cutting into the pot. Next, position the pot in a bright place. Make sure that you avoid frost exposure. Gradually introduce your plant to the sun, more and more. Water the plant based on the plant’s requirements. Try not to over-water the plant or let them dry out.
When the seedling develops to the point where it needs to move, transplant the individual pots directly into the ground. Cover the pots with soil to protect the sensitive root system of your plant which will help to develop them into strong individuals further down the line.
Please take note that because the pots are biodegradable by design, they can disintegrate if they get too wet or are over-watered. If you don’t want the pot to fall apart, then you should gravitate towards a spray bottle for watering instead of a traditional watering can.
Product Specs
The Jolly Grow Seed Starter Tray measures 10 inches by 4 inches by 2 inches overall. The whole thing weighs about 6.4 ounces. The materials used are entirely biodegradable with the exception of the plastic flags that are used to mark, name, and designated plants. You receive 50 cells in total.
How It Compares
We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare.
[amazon box=”B01DL1D8JY,B01EMXI8DQ,B075D4W7JX,B072L1CKF7″ template= “table”]
[amazon link=”B01DL1D8JY” title=”Jolly Grow Seed Starter Peat Pots Kit” /]
[amazon fields=”B01DL1D8JY” value=”thumb” image_size=”large”]
Biodegradable material is good for the environment. It generally stays together as well as you’d want it to, as long as you do not over-water the plants. Over-watering can easily lead to the disintegration of the biodegradable parts of the kit.
Assembly couldn’t be easier than it is with this kit! Comes with everything you need, short of someone to grow the plants for you.
We found the design quality of what Jolly Grow offered to be much above average.
You don’t always want your pots to stay together. Sometimes you want them to disintegrate into your soil. Other times it is frustrating to worry about over-watering your plants.
PROS
CONS
[amazon box=”B01DL1D8JY” template= “horizontal”]
[amazon link=”B01EMXI8DQ” title=”VIVOSUN Germination Kit with Seedling Heat Mat” /]
[amazon fields=”B01EMXI8DQ” value=”thumb” image_size=”large”]
This seed starter tray kit gives reliable results with high performance; it has all the features that you could want or need. It has professional quality components and is mid-priced for such a great product.
The material quality is about what you would think of as average for these products. If you are looking for super high-end components, you may need to purchase those separately.
The setup with this kit is fairly easy, but a bit beyond beginner as it has so many parts.
The design quality is great. The package comes with everything you need and a few things you probably have not thought of yet.
If you want to grow some seeds, then this is the kit for you! It has high performance across the board.
Durability is lower than some other options. Down the line, you may need to replace some of these parts.
PROS
CONS
[amazon box=”B01EMXI8DQ”]
[amazon link=”B075D4W7JX” title=”Gardens Alive Two-Tiered Seed Sprouter” /]
[amazon fields=”B075D4W7JX” value=”thumb” image_size=”large”]
These seed starter trays are super easy to use with high scores on quality and quantity or yield. The only real drawback is the possible necessity of purchasing companion pieces to start your grow. For example, for some seeds, you might need a heat lamp or a heating pad, additional ventilation, etc.
The price is low and great for a seed starter tray. This is a perfect product for beginners and experts alike. For the price, you cannot beat the quality.
The quality is great for these seed starter trays. No other searching required to find the perfect seed starter tray. However, this will not biodegrade so it is not as high quality as other options on our list. It is, however, still one of our top choices because you will not need to repurchase this product yearly.
Almost no setup required on these seed starter trays. If you live in a warm climate, you won’t even need to purchase additional gear to incubate your little seeds to saplings.
Intuitive design keeps this seed starter on top of the competition. It is easy to use and easy to maintain. You can keep these seed starter trays forever.
High performance in every aspect. However, this seed starter is especially high in quantity yielded.
The durability is lower than some other options on the market. However, it is still worth buying due to the low price. You get a lot of bang for your buck.
PROS
CONS
[amazon box=”B01CIOL40K” template= “horizontal”]
[amazon link=”B072L1CKF7″ title=”Daniel’s Plants Peat Pot Seedling Starter Tray” /]
[amazon fields=”B072L1CKF7″ value=”thumb” image_size=”large”]
Daniel's seed starter trays are great for starting or restarting your garden. They are perfect for saplings and such. They even prevent transplant shock because they promote aeration and are eco-friendly! The pots in these seed starter trays are 100% biodegradable. There is no risk at all.
No assembly, low cost, high quality, and good design all on top of great ethics, this might be the best product on our list in terms of your conscience and your wallet. It deserves more than an honorable mention.
The price is great for both the quality and quantity of the product. You get more trays than you can use in a day, and they are everything plus a bag of chips. In other words, these have all the eco-friendly bells and whistles.
Above and beyond the call of duty, this product is eco-friendly and biodegradable, which is more than we can say for most other options on the market at this point in time. If you love the planet, then this might be the best option for your green thumb.
The assembly time didn’t knock us off our feet but also did not disappoint.
We’d call these above average in terms of their composition, but not necessarily the top of the line.
Boy, do these perform! Seedlings galore with this model.
The durability of these is great until they biodegrade into the ground. They are designed to do this; it is not a failure of design. However, it does mean they are fairly impermanent. The score here is more indicative of good design in order to biodegrade rather than a score of permanence.
PROS
CONS
[amazon box=”B072L1CKF7″ template= “horizontal”]
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