In with my herb kit - what is it??

[Tarragon]

Hello

I bought a herb set out of Home and Bargain at the weekend. Flat leaf parsley, coriander and thyme and 3 planters for the bargain price of £1.99. I opened it all up last night and in each planter in beside the packet of seed is a mysterious object. I can only describe it as looking like a dirty brown bath plug covered with some sort of material. The instructions make no reference to them. Can anyone tell me what they are please?

Cheers

[Torreya]

They're 'plugs' for sowing your seeds in. The trade used to call them Jiffy 7's. You soak them for 30mins, or until they've plumped up, then you should see a small hole in the centre into which you sow your seeds or put a cutting. Once you see roots appearing, you can pot the whole thing into a 3 to 3.5" pot, without disturbing the roots. I know you don't need to, but I usually take off the net, as it does sometimes interfere with rootgrowth.

[Tarragon]

Thanks for that Torreya...how bizarre...plugs

Cheers