Got a new idea to try with my seed boxes
Why I never though of it before I don't know but this may be a great idea! Since I use styrofoam boxes it may even work better because of the insulatting effect of the foam!! I am going to dig a little dirt from my compost o garden and put it at the bottom of my box. Now I will sprinkle some blood meal over it then cover it with the black land scape material that is porus with those tiny holes! I will put my sand on top of the mesh then add a inch of potting soil tamp it down and place the seeds. Finally I will add another 3 inches of seed mix soil and tamp it down. Now I will cover it with something that insulated ike piece of styrofoam or just cardboard for 3 days then remove it and cover with plastic or a window till I see the sprouts! I bet this works and the seeds will come up fast and grow great for a month plus get some nurishment when the roots hit the sand aea. The mess may not be necessary but will stop all weeds from the compost or garden soil!
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The Helpful Gardener
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Thanks AS!
Styrene has no place in the garden, near plants, or people for that matter. It is horrid stuff on all levels and should be outlawed.
But that's just my opinion (oh, and Dr. Hull's opinion too. Only the EPA WON"T make up it's mind despite the ponderance of evidence).
Just because it is out there does NOT mean it's safe...
HG
Styrene has no place in the garden, near plants, or people for that matter. It is horrid stuff on all levels and should be outlawed.
But that's just my opinion (oh, and Dr. Hull's opinion too. Only the EPA WON"T make up it's mind despite the ponderance of evidence).
Just because it is out there does NOT mean it's safe...
HG
If you really place 3" of potting mix on TOP of your seeds, it's not very likely that you'll see very many sprouts. They will probably exhaust their limited resources before they reach the surface.
A common rule of thumb is to place your seed depth as 1-2 times the width of the seed. Lettuce, and many other plants, like to "get a little sunburn" - place them on TOP of the soil and just press them down a bit.
I'm with HG and AS, I've seen polystyrene containers that had stuff planted in them, and the inside looked eaten away. Since finding out how toxic the stuff is, I wouldn't want that in my soil at all.
A common rule of thumb is to place your seed depth as 1-2 times the width of the seed. Lettuce, and many other plants, like to "get a little sunburn" - place them on TOP of the soil and just press them down a bit.
I'm with HG and AS, I've seen polystyrene containers that had stuff planted in them, and the inside looked eaten away. Since finding out how toxic the stuff is, I wouldn't want that in my soil at all.
Even though I use the grape styrofoam boxes that are about 5 inches deep and about 15 by 24 I put a layer of plastic over the bottom and sides. This keeps the moisture inside the box and covers the holes that come at the bottom of the box for air for the grapes! The styrofoam I use because of the warm insulating effect!. Sometimes I put a layer of eaves at the bottom then some strained garden soil or compost. I then add about a 1 inch of brown sand and tamp it down. I then add the seeds in the sand and cover the seeds with 2 to 3 inches of seed potting soil that I buy specially for seed planting. When I tamp it downn its about 1 inch thich above the seeds! It has worked great for me for the last three years with no damping off even in below 40 degree temperatures! Thisyear will be different I will try to make the bottom 3 inches of the box a compost type mixture with blood meal some leaves or saw dust and hope some heat is generated for a few weeks! I will comapare this with the method I used for the last three years and see if the composted boxes help in germanation and total growth! I leave the seeds in the boxes till I plant them but I do thin them out and plant some in other containers! I had about 2000 tomato plants last year with 20 varities! I even planted a bllack russian tomato that was very tasty! Any other suggestions would be appreciated!