what medium to use for starting seeds
catglitch
9 years ago
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Comments (7)
calliope
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Best medium for starting seeds
Comments (6)Hi zaphod, " Everything I've run across so far is 60-90% peat. Any recommendations for brands that aren't primarily peat? " I wouldn't call 60% peat primarily peat. I would call 90% peat primarily peat. Is your objection to peat that it is too water retentive ? You can always reduce the water retentiveness of a mix by adding extra Horticultural Perlite. (Hoffman's or Miracle-Gro are good brands of it.) Don't use a non-horticultural grade of Perlite, because it could have a lot of fines and present a dust hazard. Perlite chunks retain air and don't become waterlogged. Vermiculite, on the other hand, does retain water, so, in that regard, Vermiculite functions the same as Peat. Also be sure to use a horticultural grade Vermiculite for safety. Some industrial grades could be hazardous to handle. I use Premier Pro-Mix BX, which already has added some Perlite and Limestone (for calcium nutrition and pH adjustment). I usually add some extra Perlite to my Pro-Mix. I frequently cover my seeds with Country Cottage Horticultural Vermiculite because it is fine-grained, retains water well, and yet the seedlings have no difficulty pushing up through it. If you wanted to exclude Peat altogether (some people object to depleting the natural supply of a resource beyond its renewable rate), you could formulate your own mix using just horticultural Perlite and horticultural Vermiculite. I would start off at about 2/3 Vermiculite and 1/3 Perlite. If you are really concerned about good drainage, you could go 50-50 on the formula. Small seeds (for example, non-pelleted petunia seeds), could fall down too deep in a coarse mix. To prevent that, I would include a thin layer of non-additive toilet tissue below the seeds, to keep them in place without interfering with their root growth. There are some people who favor tree bark as an ingredient in growing mixes, and some commercial mixes contain a significant amount of it. ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned)...See MoreBest medium for starting seeds
Comments (14)One thing I didn't see mentioned...is the "Magic Bullet" in my seed starting mix. Worm Castings!!! My success rate went from about 35% to 99% just by adding this to my mix. It has some sort of natural property in it that wards off the damping-off-disease. Plus it has a teeny amount of nitrogen in it and as soon as a new sprout emerges, it just takes off. I get mine from Wriggle Worm...but I suppose all worm poop is the same. I will never grow without it again. Also, since I know myself, as kind of an OCD waterer (I can't stand it if the top of the soil doesn't look moist) I add extra perlite to my mixes too, and this allows me to water more than is required without drowning my babies. By adding these two extra ingredients, I have gotten away with buying the cheap store potting mixes and everything seems to be thriving for me so far this year. Last year I tried the coir-route and didn't really like it. It holds too much water which encouraged algea and fungus gnats like crazy (and damping-off). And sprouts seemed to have a hard time extracting nutrients and seemed yellow and weak unless I transplanted them into regular peat based potting mix....See MoreCan I Start Dahlia Tubars Indoors Using Seed Starting Medium?
Comments (2)In my experience tubers need: 1. Water 2. Light inside. When they go outside, the need soil. In other words, you could start them in wet newspapers and they'd likely eye up and sprout. Soil only comes into it when they sprout roots, and when you're starting tubers you're not really going after roots, you want sprouts. The more roots they grow indoors, the more work it is to transplant safely. I'd use the loosest soil you can find, and keep the tubers shallow in the mix. I started mine in a 50-50 mix of Miracle Grow Seed Starter and peat. Worked fine, but I doubt the soil had anything to do with anything. Cheers, Russ...See Moreseed starting medium always dry?
Comments (12)I just put the seeds in last night. Then take the tray and set it in a couple of inches of warm water in something like the bathtub. Fill the tub with the warm water and mix in by hand a few drops of dish soap (no anti-bacterial types), just plain dish soap. You don't want suds, just want it dispersed through the water. If you don't have that then a few drops of of liquid fabric softener like Downey works or a few drops of a after-shampoo hair conditioner. They are home-made surfactants (since I doubt you have any commercial ones in the house ;) and will encourage the peat to absorb the water and won't hurt the seeds. Let it soak overnight and see if it won't suck up enough through the holes in the bottom. If the pots and the soil surface looks wet in the morning it will be ok. If not, let it soak in the water until the surface appears moist. Then remove it from the tub and let it drain so that it doesn't remain TOO wet. This may cut your germination some so if you have extra seeds and the room plan to start them too. You can always give the extras away. But for future reference - this isn't the best way to get the soil-less mixes wet - it is just a salvage trick - so next time be sure to first soak the soil-less mix in a large container filled with warm water. Good luck. Dave...See Moregridgardener
9 years agogjeanna
9 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
9 years agowayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana
9 years agoDonna
9 years ago
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