CowPots 102 Square Cowpot, 4", 12-Pack, Brown

Love the CowPots. I grow cucumber plants and they do wonderful. Easy to plant right in ground..

I've used these for the past three seasons, mostly for tomato and pepper seedlings -- plants that have quite different watering needs. Tomatoes are thirsty, and like to always have water available; but peppers don't mind drying out a bit between watering. In fact, over-watering is one of the most common pitfalls in starting seedlings. Porous plantable media, like these CowPots, enable one to better manage the moisture levels while rearing seedlings to transplant size than small plastic containers do.I also use peat pots, but CowPots are better for the environment and tend to be thicker, which allows them last a bit longer than peat. However, I never use porous plantable media for starting seeds, as germination requires extended periods of constant wetness and warmth, and porous media is difficult to keep sterile and intact under those conditions. (Note the negative reviews that mention trouble with mold and durability.) It's worked best for me to germinate in plastic filled with sterile seed-starting mix (like Black Magic), then transplant the sprout into a 3" or 4" CowPots filled with more nutrient-rich potting soil to sustain growth. Of course, you can't "hose" these things down like plastic -- and probably wouldn't want to if you're trying to propagate a fragile 1" seedling.It's helpful to be able to "see" the moisture content of the pot, as wetness soaks through and is visible when saturated, which is far more advantageous than watering a plastic container until it runs out the bottom -- washing out essential water-soluble nutrients. With CowPots, overflow can be reabsorbed through the bottom, recovering those nutrients. When plants are larger, they can actually be fertilized using that technique -- place in a pan and "bottom water" with dilute liquid fertilizer solution.Finally, it's great to have visual confirmation of when a plant is ready for final transplant into the ground or container: you can see the roots growing right through bottom and walls. And there are no bound roots, as so often happens with plastic plants at nurseries. The plants get a good start and experience minimal stress at a critical time in their growth.

Good deal

When looking for some large peat pots to transplant my tomato plants into, I came across these Cowpots. When I read their description I was sold!! I remember as a child gathering horse manure for the gardens and how much better my mother's gardens were compared to the neighbors who didn't use manure. So, it didin't take much to sell me on these. I love that they are using manure to make a biodegradeable pot, that not only doesn't hurt the soil, it actually greatly improves it! This is simply ingenious!

These are by far the best for between initial seed starting and when your ready to put into the large pot. I am using containers (7 gallon 18deep x 15ish) mostly and these are perfect until the plant gets some growth on it. I did not want to go straight from a seed into a large container and risk root rot. I also did not want to go straight from seed into a cowpot because they seem to take longer this way for some reason.I'm not a gardening expert, but it appears if you use something smaller to start the seed it takes off quicker. I use the little biodegradable non woven fabric bags (2" diameter x 4.5 deep), once the roots start developing I tear that bag slightly (unless they roots are just everywhere) and put it inside the cowpot. Then give it a couple weeks and move the cowpot into the large container. I tried several different methods and this seems to be the quickest.I love how moist they stay, I can water once in the morning and it can stay out in 90+ degree heat at least 1 full day. I had a few situations where the plants needed to be moved before I was ready to move them and the cowpots hold up pretty well. The longest so far was about a month with a few plants and they held up great, kept growing and all.

Sounds like a concept maybe these were too small but they fall apart with the least amount of water. So what the point if you have to peel off the compost

Had zero issues starting my sunflower seeds in these. They took root very fast and I was pleased with the pots. Unfortunately after i transplanted them outside squirrels ate all my plants. Pots are providing nutrients to the soil as I didn't dig them out. My surrounding grass is thriving!

i like the fact that these starter pots can be placed right into good soil at the proper hight for easy start growing. and they dont smell like cow poo..

Product arrived in great condition, pots are larger than expected, can't wait to get my Melons planted. I'm using these because I can't disturb the roots when transplanting.

No Español

initially when the get wet there is an earthy smell, not a foul smell... earthy. goes away after a day or two. if you can't live with that, then maybe gardening is not your thing. Otherwise they are just a little more fragile around the rims than Peat pots. All that being said: they grow better plants and they are better for the environment. will definitely purchae again.

Very good size for the price.

It will be nice to be able to plant out without damage to the root system and get them fertilized at the same time