i have a funny situation. i know i'm one of very few that is using dan's peat pot method. now. this thing has worked for me like charm for very long time, and i'm sticking with it.

but i'm running into a funny situation.

i know the cuttings have ton of roots and they are coming above the soil. but they are not going through the peat pot. some are actually going through the bottom of the peat pot and coming out there, but unlike before, none are pushing through the side of the peat pot. i'm not sure what is goind on.

the last box of peat pots had what seems like bit of design change, but not sure if that is causig the problem. also, i have drilled holes on the side of the cup just to make sure that i won't get mold outside of the peat pot, but know there is enough moisture there and peat pot is still wet.

i know it's only been two weeks, but i'm thinking i'll just move them to 1 gal if i don't see the roots on the side within next 1 week.

last batches works fine, but i used old peat pots. maybe new peat pot and new clear cups are not working too well together.

Pete,

The older peat pots I use in the veggie garden were thinner on the outside walls compared to the newer ones. The new one have thicker walls and the same thin bottoms resulting in the toots coming out the bottom easier than the side walls. The seem to be coming through once burried but to be safe I have removed the cup from where roots have not shown penetration progress. 

well.. that takes the fun out of peat pot method. i thought if the wall was wet enough, it will be weak enough for the roots to come out, but i guess i was wrong. will have to monitor for roots on top and them pot up with hole punched on the peat pot.

I stop using the peat pots last year, I had the same thing happen to me. Had to remove the peat pot before re-potting. It works well when it works.

Pete...tried the peat pot method early in the winter...noticed the same thing you mentioned...they seem to be thicker than older peat pots...maybe even coated with some type of clear substance...could not get the pots to absorb any water(seemed to repel water)...tossed the whole bunch after about 2 months.

Pete,

Plant the figs along with the pots into the new soil. Do not remove the plants for the peat pots.
The peat pots will eventually decay while in the soil and your roots will grow just fine.

I have been planting my root riot cubes directly into the peat pots as soon as they break bud to let them grow more and then placing the peat pots onto the soil.

Seems to be working fine.

rafed, 

i'll try that. i'm very interested in that root riot. i'll have to give it a shot sometime. i'm almost out of cups and peat pots, so it seems like root riot is way to go. 

I got some Bonnie tomatoes in those pots... and they were all molded inside of the cup.. this easy tendency to grow mold is not good for figs.   I was thinking of lining the cup with coconut fiber (those you get at the Dollar Store) to line hanging baskets.. if taken apart, one of those could be lining for  some 15-20 cups - I hate seen their roots getting stuck and then breaking them in the transplanting process.

only had 1 mold issue with peat pot, mainly due to new and improved heavier thicker impenetrable clear plastic cup.. tho, i started drilling the side of the cup. no further issue. 

if i don't see the roots by next weekend, i'm going to move them to 1 gal with side of the peat pot scored with razor. as it is, the roots and busting out of the the top. 

so you put the peat pot inside the clear cup?

yes. it's called "peat pot" method. the idea is to control the water level in the soil and the cup by using peat pot. it worked great until this newer and thicker peat pot that's preventing my cuttings' roots to go through. 

i think most of my UCD cuttings are ready for 1 gal now.. i see ton of roots on the top, but they are not coming through the peat pot... urgh... i'll score the peat pot when i move them to 1 gal. that way the roots will have easy way to come out. 

I tried a variation on the peat pot method with JoAnn's cuttings.   Peat Pellets.   The kind you use to start seedlings.

First is to expand the pellets by soaking them in water, then poke a hole through them right down the middle.  They then go onto the cutting like skeweting a couple of marshmellows onto a stick.  After that...into a humidity bin.  JoAnn's cutttings put out decent roots in just two weeks, and I potted them in 2 qt pots with inverted cups for humidity domes on day 15 or 16.   So far...so good.  Three look viable and are out of the domes  about half the time.  Two are slower, with tiny green leaf buds.  None have died yet.

As for the problem above...many of the roots appeared above and below the pellets in the humid air.  If I broke some off by potting them, the cuttings don't show it.  They're all looking real good.