Growing chilli plants using Jiffy Pellets
First the pellets need to be placed in a container. I use sturdy plastic trays. If children are using the peat pellets, they might want to place them in an old muffin tray. That way, when the pellets expand, the sides of the muffin tray will hold the pellets upright, I lay the pellets flat so that they are grouped near each other with a bit of extra space for expansion.
There is a top and bottom to these pellets the bottom of the pellet is solid without any identifying marks.
Once the jiffy pellets are in place in a tray or pan, add water they use about 70 ml each. Warm water makes the pellets expand faster. These jiffy pellets will drink a lot of water since they expand up to seven times in height as the pellets grow, you will see that an organic netting-like material holds the growing compound together. The small hole in the top of the now expanded pellet is where the seed is placed. Large seeds can be placed 6 mm (¼ inch) below the soil surface, and smaller seeds nearer to the top of the soil. Just keep the pellets moist to encourage the seeds to grow.
Tips & Tricks: Use 4-6 chili seeds in each Jiffy pellet, it saves spaces and they germinate faster
When the chilli plant has 3 sets of leaves, gently divide them and put each chilli plant in a bigger pot
Since these expanded pellets have air pockets, they are ideal for starting seeds or plant cuttings since there is plenty of room for downward root growth. Unlike peat pots, which have harder sides and bottoms, these pellets are spongy.
These Jiffy Pellets are not meant to indefinitely keep plants. The pellets, even when expanded, are small. They are designed to give seeds a start. Once the seeds are growing and big enough so that they need a different pot, the Jiffy Pellet can be inserted whole inside a larger plant pot. Just add soil to the bigger plant pot, place the Jiffy Pellet with its plant inside the pot, and add more soil around the plant. These Jiffy Pellets can also be planted outdoors in the garden. Since the plant does not have to be removed from this peat container, there is less likelihood of the plant developing root shock. The peat pellets are planted whole, just dig a hole and plop the pellet (plant and all) into the hole and surround the plant with soil.
Happy Growing