Hi all
I had been wondering how to plant out seedlings into the grow beds, and saw that you can wash out the soil etc and then transplant the plant into the grow medium...
However, I was wondering if I could do it another way.
In the past for planting into soil I've started my own seedings in jiffy peat pellets. The pellets are placed in water to soak and swell up, the seed is placed in the small hole at the top and covered with a tiny bit of vermiculite, then all the pellets are placed on a tray with some water in the base. All the pellets stay wet and I've had a very high success rate with most germinating and growing well. Once the roots start to poke through the outer edge of the pellet, the entire seedling/pellet is transplanted into the soil, with no disturbance to the root system and minimal transplant shock. The roots grow out through the pellet and into the surrounding soil.
Do you think you could do the same thing in an aquaponic system? There would be no soil or other material to wash from the roots, and the peat stays put in the little membrane cover.
I've added a pic of a dead basil plant, which has grown, been uprooted and now it's been sitting in a pile waiting to compost so the pellet is looking a bit sad, but you can see the pellet and the root system that developed through it.
If the peat pellet wouldn't add anything (or anything nasty) to the system, I thought it might be a quick and clean way to transplant. Any ideas?
May your jade perch turn silver 
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