Hi All,

Not to ask too stupid a question, but when you
put potting soil in a pot, do you put it in loose
or do you pack it down?

Many thanks,
-T

T wrote:
....
Not to ask too stupid a question, but when you
put potting soil in a pot, do you put it in loose
or do you pack it down?

for seeds or plants? there is some difference in
how i do things for each.


assuming from your other questions it is seeds:

the issue is seed/soil moisture transfer. if you
have it too loose then the seeds may not get enough
even moisture to germinate well.

i'm assuming you mean seed starting soil and not
potting soil as they can be quite different...

seed starting soil tends to be more sterile and
nutrient limited (to avoid early diseases).


songbird

On 05/14/2015 02:49 PM, songbird wrote:
T wrote:
...
Not to ask too stupid a question, but when you
put potting soil in a pot, do you put it in loose
or do you pack it down?

for seeds or plants? there is some difference in
how i do things for each.


assuming from your other questions it is seeds:

the issue is seed/soil moisture transfer. if you
have it too loose then the seeds may not get enough
even moisture to germinate well.

i'm assuming you mean seed starting soil and not
potting soil as they can be quite different...

seed starting soil tends to be more sterile and
nutrient limited (to avoid early diseases).


songbird


Hi Songbird,

It is potting soil meant for starting seeds. The lady at the
local nursery looked it up for me for my Pondorosa pine tree
seeds. Said it would also be great for seeds.

And, since a few of the seeds floated up when I watered then,
I will pack them down a bit more!

Thank you for helping me with this!

-T

T wrote:
....
It is potting soil meant for starting seeds. The lady at the
local nursery looked it up for me for my Pondorosa pine tree
seeds. Said it would also be great for seeds.

ah, ok, it's not tomatillos...

i hope the pine trees will start up for you.


songbird

On 05/15/2015 06:00 PM, songbird wrote:
T wrote:
...
It is potting soil meant for starting seeds. The lady at the
local nursery looked it up for me for my Pondorosa pine tree
seeds. Said it would also be great for seeds.

ah, ok, it's not tomatillos...

i hope the pine trees will start up for you.


songbird


Hi Songbird,

She said I could use it on any acid loving plant. Originally,
it was for Pine seeds, but then I used it for zucchini, and
when I get my tomatillo seeds, I already have the pots ready.
It is a pretty big bag. The remainder I was going to spread under
my compost.

Question: the pots are made out of peat. The wrapper said to
plant the pot and all when it came time to transfer. I have
experience with cow manure pots that were also suppose to break
down, but did not. Any words of wisdom?

-T

T wrote:
....
Question: the pots are made out of peat. The wrapper said to
plant the pot and all when it came time to transfer. I have
experience with cow manure pots that were also suppose to break
down, but did not. Any words of wisdom?

i generally like to see the root structure of
the plants i put in. if you don't see the roots
coming through the peat pots when you plant i'd
slice them shallowly down the sides to give the
root structure a quick inspection and then that
will also give the roots an easier path out to
the surrounding soil.

in an arid/hot climate such pots may not break
down very easily as you may not have the soil
community of critters and the supporting moisture
needed to break such things up quickly.


songbird

On 05/16/2015 06:35 AM, songbird wrote:
T wrote:
...
Question: the pots are made out of peat. The wrapper said to
plant the pot and all when it came time to transfer. I have
experience with cow manure pots that were also suppose to break
down, but did not. Any words of wisdom?

i generally like to see the root structure of
the plants i put in. if you don't see the roots
coming through the peat pots when you plant i'd
slice them shallowly down the sides to give the
root structure a quick inspection and then that
will also give the roots an easier path out to
the surrounding soil.

in an arid/hot climate such pots may not break
down very easily as you may not have the soil
community of critters and the supporting moisture
needed to break such things up quickly.

Hi Songbird,

Sounds like my soil. I will just extract from the pots.

Maybe I will bury some of the leftover pots and see
what happens. I guess is that they will stay in tact.

Thank you for helping me with this.

-T


songbird

T wrote:
....
Sounds like my soil. I will just extract from the pots.

may not be easy if roots are into the peat.
if a gentle tug doesn't do it and you don't
want to slice them then you can poke 'em or
drill a few holes in them.


Maybe I will bury some of the leftover pots and see
what happens. I guess is that they will stay in tact.

around here besides the worms we have pill bugs
that like to break down organic material but i'm
not sure what their limits are on aridity and
temperature.


songbird