Until a few weeks ago I had never heard of “peat plugs,” and until yesterday was I wasn’t even totally sure what they were. Now I’m wondering how I ever lived without them. The purchase of a hundred of these miraculous little disks has revolutionized my pelargonium propagation project (doncha just love a little unexpected alliteration?).

For those of you who remain unenlightened about these little gems, a peat plug, as described on Garden Web, “is made of condensed sphagnum peat moss held together by a plastic or nylon net. Two or three seeds are sown directly into each plug, which swell when watered. There is some nutrient in the plugs, which benefits seedlings. The plugs can be transplanted directly into a medium which reduces transplant shock and root damage.”

In addition to sowing seeds in them, you can also start plant cuttings in them, with a threefold advantage. First, it’s easy to see when roots have established because the roots will push through the net. Second, when the cutting is rooted you can pot it peat and all. And third, cuttings in little peat cylinders take up a lot less of my shelf space than cuttings potted in soil. Where I once could fit only eight or ten small pots I’ve now got at least two dozen cuttings, and ample room for at least another dozen.

I used to wonder how people got so hooked on collecting plants of all things, but now that I’ve started I’m just getting in deeper and deeper. It’s easy for me to understand now the brisk trade that goes on at Svenska Pelargonsällskapet’s buy, sell, and trade forum and at the online auction site Tradera. In fact, I’ve already started to think that I’ve got what will be at least 500kr (~$70US) worth of cuttings sitting on my kitchen counter. It’s crazy to think that I could actually make money with these things (at least enough to finance the purchase of a good number of new varieties!).

Of course, most of my Tradera bids these days are going toward Hello Kitty items, but that’s a whole ‘nother post.