Seed starting mixes
I will be starting to get my tender vegie seeds planted soon and was wondering
what sort of starting mixes you all use. The garden shop seems to use a mix that is mostly peat moss. Do they add nutrients to the peat moss or fertilize the seedling a lot to get such husky little plants? I have tried peat moss in the past but found that it was either too wet or too difficult to get at the right degree of dampness. I have been using a 50/50 mix of compost and garden soil (sterilized in the oven) and then add some vermiculite or perlite to keep it from packing too much. Thanks for your input Anne |
Seed starting mixes
|
Seed starting mixes
Anne wrote:
I will be starting to get my tender vegie seeds planted soon and was wondering what sort of starting mixes you all use. The garden shop seems to use a mix that is mostly peat moss. Do they add nutrients to the peat moss or fertilize the seedling a lot to get such husky little plants? I have tried peat moss in the past but found that it was either too wet or too difficult to get at the right degree of dampness. I have been using a 50/50 mix of compost and garden soil (sterilized in the oven) and then add some vermiculite or perlite to keep it from packing too much. Thanks for your input Anne I've had pretty good luck with Miracle Grow potting soil. It is fairly light, and seems to be a mixture of sphagnum moss, compost, and a little perlite. Peter's Professional potting soil is better, but I havn't seen it in several years. I use the Miracle Grow stuff for seedlings. For very fine seeds, you might have to sift if potting soil, or at least pick through it to get the little sticks and lumps out. When I transplant the seedlings up, I mix wet soggy composts with a little perlite and enough dry potting soil or sphagnum moss to make it crumbly and workable. The garden centers get such husky little plants by having plenty of light and controlled temperatures. They also may use growth inhibitors on some of the ornamentals. I have stocky little tomato and pepper plants indoors under lights right now, but they will get out of control next month before I can set them out and the tomatoes will be tall and spindly and probably blooming. I just plant tall tomatoes in a post hole with the top few leaves sticking out. I don't even pull off the lower leaves, I just bury them. You can plant really tall tomatoes in a shallow trench with just the top sticking out and propped up a bit. Best regards, Bob -- Have a Windows® computer that is powered on for hours at a time? Join the search for a cure for cancer: http://grid.org/projects/cancer/ |
Seed starting mixes
I use one of the specialized seed-starting mixes. Fertilizer in it
doesn't seem to matter, since the plants go out into the garden so fast. It's fine textured, sterile and worth the price, in my opinion. I use 5-oz. plastic drink cups as my pots. I poke 4 holes in the bottom and label with a glass-marking pencil. They hold up well. Regards, Dianna _______________________________________________ To reply, please remove "fluff" from my address. |
Seed starting mixes
Anne said:
I will be starting to get my tender vegie seeds planted soon and was wondering what sort of starting mixes you all use. The garden shop seems to use a mix that is mostly peat moss. Do they add nutrients to the peat moss or fertilize the seedling a lot to get such husky little plants? I have tried peat moss in the past but found that it was either too wet or too difficult to get at the right degree of dampness. Like Bob, I was fond of Peter's Professional mix, but haven't seen it for several years. I will use Miracle Grow sometimes. Most other brands of I've bought locally been disappointingly inconsistent in quality. (There was a brand that SPROUTED WEIRD MUSHROOMS one year.) Gardener's Supply sells consistantly good seed starting and container mixes. (I also like the seedling and houseplant fertilizer they sell, PHC, which contains humates, kelp and some micronutrient in addition to NPK.) Gardener's Supply has a web site (http://www.gardeners.com) but it seems to be down this morning. Phone: 1-800-427-3363 -- Pat in Plymouth MI Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced. (attributed to Don Marti) |
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