Sorry that you are having trouble Mo, but I find Jiffy Mix as good as most seed starting mixes. My first choice is ProMix and that is what I have used for the past 2 or 3 years, but when I run out of ProMix, I will probably have to use Jiffy again.

I never plant seeds in potting mix unless I am wintersowing and of course they stay outside all of the time.

I used Jiffy soilless starting mix for years and never had a problem with it. The last couple of years, I made my own and, this year, I bought ProMix. I'd happily use Jiffy Mix again except that I can only find it in tiny bags.

Sorry you're having a rough start with them!

Diane

I use jiffy mix and have promix. personally i like the jiffy better.

I honestly cant beleive it is all the fault of the jiffy mix.

The last seeds i started were in the promix and i had poor germination. But these were seeds that were given to me to start. I have no idea how old they were.

I just like the texture of jiffy over promix and sungrow.

I have not started a lot of seeds in the past. I would start a few tomatoes, peppers, squash and maybe okra and cucumbers and just used lc1 sunshine potting soil and had pretty good luck with it.

This year I bought jiffy mix and had bad germination with peppers and and a few tomatoes. I expect my seeds were the biggest problem. This is the only year I have used jiffy and will watch it more closely in the future.

The last seeds I have tried to start I used lc1 in the bottom and a mix that M&M Greenhouse mixes up on top. Those seeds have only been planted for 2 or 3 days so I have no idea what the outcome will be. They are just $.10 packs of flower seeds so it may not be a very good test.

Larry

I use Jiffy Mix all the time because it is what is available here and I never have any problems that I believe are the fault of the Jiffy Mix. (Sometimes I have issues that are the fault of the seeds or perhaps myself.)

I'm sorry you're having a rough year with it Mo.

My suggestion is that if you were starting seeds in potting soil and it was working for you, then perhaps you'd be happier using potting soil instead of a seed starting mix. Potting soils hold moisture a lot better than seed-starting mixes which is why seed-starting mixes are recommended---to keep excess moisture from accumulating in the starting mix and leading to damping off. If you're used to the level of watering required to start seeds in a potting mix and you aren't having damping off issues, then why bother switching to a seed-starting mix?

The other advantage of seed-starting mixes is that they are sterile, but since seeds themselves can be infected with disease, the sterility is not a guarantee you won't see disease in plants started in a sterile seed-starting mix.

I start seeds in potting soil sometimes myself too, especially if I'm moving them outside the second they sprout because I want a heavier mix that will hold moisture longer. About the only thing I do differently if starting in a potting soil is I water less often with the potting soil and more often with the Jiffy Mix.

I used jiffy mix last year and had pretty good luck. This year I used a combination of jiffy pellets and potting soil and liked the potting soil the best out of the two of them. Which is the way I am going to go from here on out.

Can you describe how you are starting your plants, maybe we can help trouble shoot this for you?

I used Jiffy Mix seed starter and those plants have done poorly. I usually start seeds in soil less potting mix but this year I was trying to do it the right way. I switched to Fafard B mix and those plants are beautiful. I thought I had a deficiency disease or something in the first plants from Jiffy Mix but I found out they have no root system. That is why they look sick. Jiffy Mix may work to get the seeds sprouted but if you don't get them out of it and into something else, the mix holds too much water and not enough air. When you don't have a healthy root system and your plants look sick, then you compound the problem by adding more fertilizer or watering more. I am not the only one who has had trouble with Jiffy Mix. A man from the Ozark forum posted about it also.

Here is a link that might be useful: experiment

I'm like most of the others. If buying a mix that is readily available I would buy Jiffy Mix. It is the best I've found available at the retail stores around here in my opinion since I can no longer get Pro Mix. I'm using BM2 this year. So far I really like it. I buy it from a local greenhouse. It is not available at any retail stores that I know of.

Like Dawn said if potting soil works well for you then use it. I also use potting soil at times. Many times what you learned to use when you started will work the best since you have already adapted your growing practices to it. When someone says you can't use something or you have to use something else I always tell them the story of my dear Mother. She had a green thumb and could grow about anything. Although I would never recommend it for anyone else she always used garden soil and egg cartons whether starting flower seeds or veggies. Germinated them on top of her fridge. Then would move them to a window sill and rotate them several times each day. Then if weather permitted she would roll up the south facing garage door and let them have sun. She would determine the amount they received by how far out the door they were set. They also had a break from the wind this way. Her plants were always as nice as anyone's including those at the local greenhouses. She tried a seed starting mix one year and had some troubles. And went back to her garden soil and egg cartons. Again it was what she had used since the 30's and she knew how to water ect and make it work. I will use soil on a few things but very seldom and sure don't recommend it for anyone else. But don't tell me it won't work. I watched it work for over 50 years and that was the way I first learned how to germinate seeds and grow young plants. Hate you had trouble with the Jiffy Mix and understand the frustration. I've had more trouble with potting mixes since I can no longer buy Pro Mix here. So went back to a commercial mix I had used in the past. Again if a potting mix works well for you use it. Don't worry about what others might post or say. Jay

Sounds to me like your seeds are germinating fine, but then not doing anything. That could be because there is no nutrition in the Jiffy Mix. I would suggest a weak solution (1/4 of recommended amount of water soluble) of fertilizer to get them going. I rarely use Jiffy Mix for that reason. I am using a very expensive mix this year called Light Warrior that is a Fox Farms product. I particularly wanted to use it to start my Tomatoes, and boy, is it GOOD STUFF!

I do not like ProMix, never have and never will use again. Too hard to get it moistened. I spent half a day the year I used it, just trying to wet it down enough to use it at all.

Potting mix is probably just fine. I winter sow using potting mix, too. Never have had a problem with it, but most of it has available nutrients and you don't need to worry about fertilizing generally, because you're going to either plant the seedling out, or pot them up in fresh potting mix before all the nutrients are leached from the pots.

Sounds like your babies need food!

Susan

Sounds like the majority of you have success with the Jiffy so most likely busy1 is right and it is not the fault of the mix.
Jay- had to smile when I read of your mother. My cousin would do the same thing every second week of Feb. - she would get out her egg cartons and plant her pepeprs eggplants and tomatoes in the window sill. Unsure what soil she used but I know it was purchased since she had moved to a retirement center and just had a small "flower" bed in front that was very full. I felt if she could do that, I could surely do it with a heat mat and seed starting mix. Unsure why I was over confident, as that is truly not my nature.
Thanks to all who replied.
mo

Popping in late here, but I have used Jiffy for the last several years and have always had good luck.....until last year.
I thought it was a bit of a fluke, so I tried again this year and had the same issues. I had really poor(% wise) and slow germination with my peppers and tomatoes and it seems I can't get it to stay consistently moist. It would be moist on top or bottom, but bone dry in the middle, which impacted root development.
When the time came to start broccoli & cabbage, I tried coconut coir blocks and had great results, so I'm leaning toward sticking with those from here on out.

Michelle

Okay, someone has to ask the dumb questions so I'll volunteer.

Why can't we just sprout seeds in dirt? I bought a bunch of seeds this weekend to start this week (a bit late, I know) and, knowing very little about gardening, thought I'd just get some soil from my recently turned garden and a bit of the nice black stuff at the bottom of the compost, mix it up a bit, and start them in that.

I want to use the best thing for good, healthy, strong plants. If plain ol' dirt isn't it, fine. I'll get some stuff from the garden shop. I really want to know, though: what's wrong with starting seeds in dirt?

Michelle,
I've read good reports on coconut coir blocks but have never used them. One thing I do different than most is I top water only from the time I plant till I transplant them to cups. The only time I've ever had damping off was when I bottom watered. Again I'm sure it was my error but when something works why change. Many bottom water and have great results. The way I like to do my seed starting mix is I fill a tray. I soak it fair from the top and them leave just a little in the bottom and put a cover over it and leave it set at least over night. I then pour off any excess that is in the bottom and plant my seeds. I usually have good to great germination rates. I used Jiffy Mix a little last year and did notice what you mentioned about keeping even from top to bottom. But checked it on a more frequent basis and got along fine. Jay

I dump mine in a tall-sided dishpan that I keep just for that purpose and add warm (hottish) water to it. I stir, then add more water, until everything is damp.

At that point I fill containers for planting. Sometimes I plant in soil blocks, sometimes in small pots and sometimes in bathroom cups. It's been years and years since I lost a plant to damping off, and that was before I started this method.

This year I bought one 72 cell tray and planted peppers in it. I thought that was a good idea since all in the tray would be peppers and require the same treatment. Obviously I have some bad seed because 2 types that I planted 9 cells each of, did not germinate. One was a Red Marconi which was new last year and didn't grow then either (it gets trashed), and the other was one from a trade, Joe E Parker chile, I think. I need to leave them for awhile to make sure they are just not slow, but during this time, I have 18 cells of soil under the grow lights with nothing, while the peppers in the other cells are thriving. If I had planted in cups or small pots, those empty cells would not be occupying prime real estate. That's why I like individual contains or blocks. My favorite trays are those that are molded and the plastics pots fit down into each indention and the tray holds 32. I wish all of mine were like those. Since I don't have a greenhouse and have to move things in and out a lot, those are much more stable for handling.

Rebecca,

For the most part, we try to use a sterile starting mix. That way there are no funguses or diseases attacking the seeds and tender seedlings.

You can certainly use dirt, people used dirt for many ,many years before commercial mixes came about.But there is a risk of introducing bad things in the soil.Another thing is dirt usually tends to pack tightly,amd retain water. This makes it a little harder for the young roots to develope.

I'm sure there are bad batches in every brand out there. I do have some plants that have suffered that are in the jiffy mix. But i know it is a combination of things. Over watered,left them sitting in the solid tray too long, no nutrition for too long. I just dont have any more space to transfer them. I'm going to try and get something done tomarrow and give them a better chance.

I use the trays with the checkered/web bottom inside the solid bottom tray to allow drainage so my starting trays are not floating in water. Once the seedlings are getting their true leaves i remove the solid tray.That way i can soak them pretty good and the excess drains out.

Being in a greenhouse i dont have to worry about the water running out the bottom of the trays.

Another thing i do when wetting the starting mix, i soak it from the top several times. Which it will try to float out, but keep wetting it when it settles down. I then place it on my heat pad and put the clear dome on. with the hidh humidity under the dome it seems to help break the surface tension and allow the moisture to spread throughout.

I do this a day before i put the seeds in. that way the tray is warm and the seeds will sprout much faster.Alot of the seeds may sprout in 3 days.

Once i see some seeds are trying to come up, the clear dome comes off.

I do it this way because i'm starting hundreds of seeds and like to get a more uniform germination. Then i can start another tray much faster.

My explanation skills are lacking i know.Sometimes i over explain or leave out parts that may not be obvious.

busy1 - I think heat may be the answer, because I can use hot water on the seedless mix, mix it, and be using it in five minutes without having to wait. It's warm to work in, and a warm start for the seeds without having to wait for the soil to warm up.

Soonergrandmom I have been juggling plants under my lights. I took a razor blade and cut the plastic so I could better use the space. Mine are 6 packs so easier than 72. I would cut those 18 out and put them on top of the light where it is warm. Rebecca you will have more success if you buy a soil less potting mix. The soil has fungi that will attack the tiny seedling especially if it is too wet. Garden soil is too heavy and it is hard to control moisture in it. Soil less mix is lighter and porous and easier to use.

Here is a link that might be useful: damping off

Actual Helen, I have room for 12 flats under lights so I don't know why I'm complaining. LOL I have learned a lesson for the future tho, and confirmed why I like individual pots. I probably have as many (or more) pepper plants than I have room in my garden for anyway. Every year I say I will have fewer containers, but every year I run out of room in the garden and have to have containers.

Are you as wet up your way as we are here. I took the dog out earlier and we had a light mist. Our forecast shows 31 with a 30% chance of rain or SNOW tonight, but right now it is 37. Yours can't be too far different from mine. Come on Spring.

Rebecca,

As busy1 said, soil is full of disease and also sometimes carries some soilborne pests like nematodes. He mentioned the way native soil packs down too (as did some of the others) and with seedlings that's especially an issue because their roots are so tiny. Since you have to water tiny seedlings in flats frequently, the soil is constantly packing down more and more and more which means the plants struggle all the time to make new root growth in compacted soil.

Seed-starting mixes are very lightweight and fluffy and drain very well and that's ideal for germination and good root growth. They are made from materials that don't pack down like natural soil does. They are sterile too, whch is of the utmost importance.

Even with a sterile, soil-less seed-starting mix, your plants can become diseased because some diseases are airborne and some are carried on the seeds themselves (using treated seed helps avoid these). Sterile mixes help reduce the chance you'll lose seedlings to disease but doesn't totally prevent it from happening. If you overwater plants in soil-less mixes, they'll often get damping off and die, but not nearly as much as they will if you attempt to grow in ordinary soil.

I wet down my sterile, soil-less seed-starting mix similar to the methods the others mentioned before planting as the even moisture helps seeds germinate more quickly, and I only water from the top as Jay does. Bottom watering has never worked as well for me.

Helen, I like your suggestion to cut apart the flat so the ones that haven't got sprouted seeds can be handled separately from the others. I've done that before, just using small scissors to cut the flats apart.

Carol, Looks like we're back to "normal" again here in Oklahoma...your soil is too wet and my soil is too dry. The more things change, the more they remain the same. My Fraction Water Index at 2 inches is down to 0.2. I haven't looked at yours but I'm guessing it is at 1.0. Y'all can send some of that rain down here when you get tired of it!

Dawn

Dawn, You are right. Our 2 inch fractional water index is 1.0. In actual numbers we haven't had that much rain, but it has just been spread out to the point that things never get dry. I am always happy when this happens in summer, but when I am trying to plant, it is a bit of a problem.

My broccoli transplants look kind of weak this year, but I am hoping they will 'beef up' a little when they go in the ground. As soon as this weeks cold weather passes, I hope to start hardening them up again and get them in the ground, otherwise it will start getting hot before they are ready to pick. The plants have plenty of leaves but the stem looks wimpy and they have been outside a lot. I will probably plant as much broccoli as I can fit into the south end of my garden and put the rest in the new raised bed on the north end, because the north 'in ground' portion will probably be too wet. We have a 90% chance of a thunderstorm tomorrow, along with a lesser chance on Thursday. At least the plants already in the ground should benefit.

We have a 50% chance of rain tomorrow. For us, that's pretty good but I don't know if we'll get any rain out of it or not.

The change in air temps is wonderful and we really needed it here. Last week's run of days in the 80s with one day topping out at 90 was rough on the sugar snap peas. They were yellowing and browning out like they do when they're starting to burn up in the heat in early June. Had the weather not changed, I don't think the peas would have survived much more of the heat.

We're going to a friend's house this afternoon to load and haul home a pickup truck load of square hay bales. I guess it will take us a few trips because we're picking up about 200 bales, all free. We need to haul as much as we can today because his pasture and ours both will be too muddy if it happens to rain tomorrow.

Dawn

Lucky, lucky you. That will make a lot of mulch and compost.

Okay, I've been converted. I'll be looking through you comments to get a good one.

Thanks for all the help!

I'm a newbie gardener but I thought I'd share my experience this year with Jiffy seed starting mix. I decided to fill one tray with Jiffy, the other with Miracle Grow seed starting mix.

I started the MG tray about a week after I started the Jiffy tray. With Jiffy, most everything germinated just fine, but the plants seem to grow very slowly, appear stunted. I do fertilize them with a weak fish emulsion once a week. For the MG, the plants are probably 2-3 times the size of the Jiffy plants and that's even with a later start. However, the MG mix seems to get green mold much easier than the Jiffy, it seems to hold more water than the Jiffy too. I did get lower germination rates with the MG. I'd say more like 70-80 percent. The seeds I started were Chamomile, Tomatoes, lots of Okra, Calendula, Echinacea and Catnip.

This is an interesting thread since I've start seeds for 20 years with Jiffy Mix with pretty good success. This year terrible - I usually start 100 flats of flowers so that's alot of jiffy mix.

The first problem was I had a really tough time getting enough moisture in the mix - in the past I'd just fill the trays, bottom water and in a few hours all soaked up and ready to go. This year I had to moisten and mix before filling the trays. Then it seems like some parts of the flat dry out quickly and others are totally wet and then grow the mold... toughest year I've had growing seedlings.

I had the same problem that plants germinated then have grown very slowly. All my begonias, verbenas, listhanthus have bit the dust. Many of my vinca, ageratum and petunias have died and those that are still alive look terrible. My alyssum is creeping along. The snaps- half look terrible the other half OK. The tomatoes and peppers are super slow. The coleus, impatiens and lobelia are the only plants doing OK---I guess the garden design will be simple.

It's pretty frustrating to plan a garden design and lose so many plants.. I don't know if they changed their formula or what -- but I'm going to be trying something different next year.

I planted half of my tomatoes in Jiffy Organic Seed Starter Mix and half in the Jiffy Pellets (The ones that expand when you add water). It was literally like night and day! The ones in the mix were very small and purple compared to the pellets, which were tall and bright green. The ones in the pellets were at least 5 times as big... I'm unfortunately not exagerating! I added bone meal and watered with dilluted seaweed tea to the ones in the mix. They are finally starting to grow a little more quickly. It really surprised me how much of a difference there was.

I tried starting around 75 peppers. I have 3. THREE. that is not a typo.
busy1 said he doubted it was the fault of the mix, so I guessed it must be my fault. several people have reported not so great luck this year. I will be thinking of using something else next year. I am not happy to see that others exp some of the same, but it does make me want to try again rather than just quit trying to have a garden.
mo