Abstract: A germination and seedling promoting assembly comprising a plurality of individual moisture absorbant compressed peat bodies each having one or more seeds, and a supporting member designed to support said peat bodies at minor portions only of the under surfaces thereof whereas the remaining major portions of the under surfaces of the peat bodies are left exposed. The supporting member is plate shaped and is formed from a thin sheet of plastic, and it has shallow troughs, defined by upwardly protruding ridges and having the major portion of the bottoms thereof removed. The ridges are adapted to hold the peat bodies closely spaced but out of contact with each other, also after moisture absorption and attendant expansion of the peat bodies. A special support frame is provided to support the plate shaped supporting members side by side out of ground contact and in a manner to permit stacking of such support frames.