hello :-) heather... I am in Metro West near Boston. Vermont is more than 2 hrs from me pretty sure and the shipping for ordering online must really add significantly to the cost, so I guess that won't work for me. thanks though. :-) pickwick...I thought I had pretty good perlite, but guess I wouldn't know a good one from a bad one. It is white and clean. What are Q.A. variations? What is the purpose of the mesh screen for adding perlite? Yes, normally I use dry mix and fill, water with a spray, drain, sow, cover with sifted soil mix, mist. Yes, I need a good mix..again, hard to find a good one without fertilizer/moisture retaining ingredients. stagerat...yes, I am an organic grower too and would love organic growing mix. We have a local [40mins away] nursery, that is certified organic, and I called them and according to them, they are having a hard time finding something that they can use. Actually now that I think of it, I wonder why they aren't just making their own. Maybe they are and they just haven't said so. As for Miracle Gro, I just can't bring myself to support the chemical industries biggest suppliers. That goes for Scott's too. They make so many chemical lawn products etc, and I feel so strongly that is the wrong way to go, that I can't buy their products. I would rather use my money to support a company who is trying to get it right. There is a product called Coast of Maine but their prices are so high, I can't afford them. The reason I don't want fertilizer in the mix is because of the above reason and because the fertilizer they put in it is a synthetic chemical one and I haven't used that type of fertilizer in 25 years and don't want to use it now. I could get by with it just for seed starting I suppose, but it just goes against what I prefer to do. So, I suppose I can mix up my own, now that the winter is just about over and I can get outside again. It is a real pain mixing it in the house. Thankfully I had enough mix to get through most of my winter sowing. Thanks very much for your recipe and the links, I will look over the other recipes. I would really like to get away from peat all together, but it is really hard to figure out how to do that. lol Someone on another thread maybe, was suggesting mixing ground coconut husks in place of it. They use it and find it a good substitute. Something new to try. [g] Thanks everyone :-)

Ok great :) Had 2 other questions pop into my mind. Just to get to the smaller details. 1. Say we have 15 seeds in a cell. 2 of 15 pop on the first day. Are we leaving the bag sealed, for say a week? To see who else comes up. Or do we open at the start and the rest will follow? 2. Concerning the fertilizer. What type of delivery system do you recommend? Spray bottle - or drip in to not get it on the seedlings. Not sure if the seedlings can handle foliage type feedings. And thanks a lot for the input. I sowed 20 Porodia Haselbergii about a hour ago on the GM. I got about 1000 seeds from mine this year, so using them for experiments to weed out some potential future problems. Thanks again Doug

OK, I'll start with adding transplant conditions as related to LFD of starting the seedlings. I've always followed the premise that peppers don't like cold feet, soil temps above 50ðF to transplant, although I've read planting them doesn't harm them they just remain stagnant. Following this thought process, one season I was not able to transplant until the first week of July as June was cold, raw and wet. I didn't have the lights to keep 200 plants happy indoors so needless to say the early bloomers grew very leggy. The solution was was to plant 'em deeper! While members of the same family, indeterminate tomatoes benefit from this as they'll grow roots on the buried portion, peppers don't but they'll benefit from the support the soil gives them. So what does this have to do with seed start date? Nothing unless Mother Nature throws you a curve ball!

From How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest: "Mesquite seeds are covered with a hard seed coat and can remain dormant for many decades until conditions become favorable for germination. Some growers have had success planting slightly green seed that are fully formed and filled out, but that have not yet turned brown and hard. Dried seeds will germinate faster if first scarified. Nick with a knife or soak in hot water (100ð F) for 60 seconds. Repeat hot water treatment if necessary. Follow the hot water soak by aerating the seeds for 1 day. Pregerminate seeds that have imbibed on germination trays (see Chapter III). Remove germinating seeds and plant directly in deep containers. The containers should be filled with a well-drained soil mix. Seedlings have a long initial root. Pretreated seeds will germinate within 10 days in warm soil. Using a small amount of native soil or inoculating with rhizobium bacteria may promote stronger and more vigorous growth."