Larry Blanchard wrote:
In article , says...
Best soil for rooting cuttings? Sand works better than potting soil
(Miracle Gro), but is there something better still?
Our garden store (Northwest Seed and Pet) sells a seed starting mix.
It's definitely not potting soil.
Most have large portions of coarse matter. Knocks rooting hormone from
the stem while planting. Undoubtedly also produces air-filled pockets --
NOT desirable. Sifting helps, but it's a PITA for whole sacks of dirt.
BTW, I learned the trick a few years ago of sprinkling a thin layer of
sphagnum moss to cover the mix. Stops "damping off", also known as
water molds.
Haven't had damping off since using flourescents for starting, and I tend
to overwater. Some germicidal UV must be leaking through.
And I always water from the bottom.
Spritzer or teaspoon. Great thing about plain sand is, a trickle
of water when planting will collapse any air pockets underneath.