This will produce an unpleasant smell. To avoid introducing the damping-off organism on containers, use fiber seed flats or peat pots. These containers are sterile, inexpensive, and easily obtained from garden shops. Fiber flats are light and strong. They cost so little that they can be thrown away after one use.
Plants grown in peat pots suffer no setback when they are transplanted to the garden.
Larkspur and poppy, which ordinarily do not tolerate transplanting, can be grown in peat pots satisfactorily. If wooden boxes or clay flower pots are used for soil containers, clean them well. Soak clay pots in water and scrub them to remove all the white fertilizer crust from the outside. Sterilize clay pots by swabbing them with a solution of 1 part chlorine bleach to nine parts water. Allow containers to dry thoroughly before filling them with soil.