I wouldn't. The 'soil' would likely be too water-retentive and there would be a much higher chance of damping-off diseases than if you used a sterile medium. Aeration is a key consideration in the vitality of seedlings. Floor-dry from NAPA stores (part #8822 ... calcined [high-fired] diatomaceous earth) is an EXCELLENT, inexpensive product for starting seeds. Rinse it in a regular kitchen strainer (about the size of insect screen) to remove the fine particles and mix it 3 or 4:1 with sphagnum peat. The peat is essentially sterile too, because of its low pH. Turface, another calcined product, but from clay, is also sterile and excellent for starting seeds. Al

Hey Bill, Being from FL I know exactly what you mean by sugar sand. If there are clay particles in there I've never seen evidence of em, it's like white beach sand was mixed with compost to turn it brown color. I would caution you though, to get some professional advice (maybe county extension or UF) before adding clay. We are cautioned here in TX (heavy gumbo clay soil) that if we add less than 20% sand to the soil that we will simply create cement. I would just try to be aware before I did any mixing. As for "You push away the leaf litter and find pure sand just beneath" I totally know what your saying, but maybe the leaf litter, rotting material is the good stuff. I really think that's as good as the soil gets in FL. My mom in FL mulches with pine needles and oak leaves with good results. I wonder if spanish moss would be a good amendment (mind the redbugs though). I think the idea is more to keep amendments going onto the soil so there is a constant supply of food for the bacteria/plants to live and grow in. And using the larger bulker amendments as mulch or almost a sheet compost might help. Another cheep source is the mushroom plants. I believe there is one in the zellwood area that gives free compost away. I would also go with the bulky compost rather than the hummuses (hummi?) which are just broken down compost. Besides, while hummus is more stable it will break down eventually too so your probably going to do better in FL with compost which is at the beginning of the process or even leaf material which is even before the compost than with hummus breakdown. I know annual rye grows well there in the winter, maybe that would be a good cover crop, and I think i read somewhere about a sunn hemp being used as a cover crop in FL. It also supresses nematodes. Here is a link that might be useful: Sunn Hemp

riverbud are you asking about earthworms or nematodes (some people refer to them as wireworms)? Earthworms are not a significant part of the composting process and if the material does heat up too much for them they will leave. The nematodes, good ones or bad ones, will be killed by relatively low heat in a compost pile, providing all of the material in the compost pile is subjected to those temperatures. As I stated gardengal, not evey commercial composting operation is tested, certified, licensed, or much of anything else. 140 composting operations in 29 states does not even come close to being every composting operation. Around this area we have 5 commercial compost operations, that I know of, and several of the "landscape contractors", people that take care of other peoples yards and gardens, that take the grass clippings, shrub and tree prunings, deciduous tree leaves, and other yard waste off these peoples property, compost it and later sell it back to those people and none of them are certified, licensed, or tested.

Maybe I'm cynical but I can't believe all bagged compost is the same. We live in a world where people put melamine and formaldehyde into food products to turn a profit. Who's to say that there isn't a bit of motor oil or something mixed in my bagged soil to make it look darker? There could be chemicals, less-than-well-rotted manure, weed seeds, chunks of wood and what-not in those bags. I saw bags that indicated thar the compost came from curbside pickups. That's very well, but I put into those pickups everything that I don't want in my home-made compost pile, and I'm sure others do the same. How do I know this has been properly managed to kill weeds or pathogens? At least here in my municipality I can go and see those piles steam with my own eyes. I don't believe that "more expensive is better" either, but I just don't buy that all bagged compost is the same, in the end. I think the only way to ensure top quality stuff is to make your own. Unfortunately, like some others here, I don't have the space to make as much as I'd like.