Scoring some pot

Today I went to my local garden store to see what kind of seeds they have available and I saw the mad rush on peat pots. Must be a sale or a coupon, I thought to myself. Then I noticed that 5 people in line in front of me were buying them.

I don't like peat pots. I learned the hard way that they dry out way too quickly if you are trying to start seedlings indoors. It's hard enough to give your starts adequate light without having to worry about watering them 3 times a day. I gave up on peat years ago and went to plastic pots.

There is something about peat pots that attracts us: it's earthy, friendly to the environment, and seems less messy when you go to stick the plants in the ground. But I have found them completely impractical for indoor use. That trusty plastic that you can use year after year holds the moisture in dirt a lot longer, and you want that for most seeds to break dormancy.

I wanted to tap the shoulders of the people in front of me in line and let them know that I thought the peat pots were a bad idea. But, just like in finance and religion, it's tough to tell a gardener that you think they are making a mistake. And so I said nothing, watching the garden store gladly collect money for future dissatisfactions. I guess this is the way that people learn about gardening, what works and what doesn't. This is the way that I figured it out, too.