My seedlings were eaten by my cats this morning!
They ate mostly the leaves. I was wondering if I could save a few if the stem and root system are still there? And for the ones that were eaten completely can I reuse the jiffy pods they were in? There were some with good roots too that are gone but the roots are still there can I reuse those pods? Should I just get some replacement pods?
So sorry! You need to find a way to keep bad kitties away from the seedlings!
Depends a little bit on what stage the seedlings were in and what kind of plants. If they were large healthy seedlings with a number of true leaves and they were something relatively quick growing, then it might be worth giving the left over stem/root a chance to see if it can produce more leaves in time to save itself. If they were babies with just a couple true leaves, that would mean the root system is correspondingly less well established, or if it is something slower growing like bell peppers, so that it would take a long time to put out new leaves, I wouldn't bother; pitch them and start over.
If the Jiffy pods are undamaged, then you could probably re-use them. But I never use them in the first place. The peat tends to hold too much moisture, contributing to mold/ damping off/ rotting. I think seedlings do much better in plastic pots, even plastic drink cups with drainage holes added.
Well they didnt even have any true leafs yet. Though they looked like they were about to. But mif thats the case I'll just start over. The cats did quite a number on them.
Really?! I've been having problems keeping the pods moist.
Thanks for the info.
Thanks! But I've decided to move the plants into our back bathroom that we don't use. I'm gonna put a space heater in there to keep it warm too. That way the kittys wont be able to get even near the plants! The lemon idea is interesting. It also seems my kittys don't like basil. The little devils. Still cant believe they did it.
The lemon idea is interesting. It also seems my kittys don't like basil. The little devils. Still cant believe they did it.