Hi,
Do you folks just use seed starting soil you buy from the store or make your own? If you make your own, what do you use? Thanks
- PunkRotten
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1989
- Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:48 pm
- Location: Monterey, CA.
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I tried making my own from a little bit of sifted garden soil, compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. But the compost has to be sterilized if you don't want to bring a bunch of creepy crawlies in the house. One time I thought I could skip the sterilizing by using frozen compost, thinking freezing would have killed them. As soon as I brought it in the house and it warmed up and thawed out, creepy crawlies started pouring out of it! There's probably more of them holed up in a block of frozen compost than an equivalent amount of ordinary compost. Imagine my surprise! Compost baking in your oven smells pretty awful. And by the time I bought the peat moss and vermiculite, I was spending as much money as buying soil.
So I just buy potting soil. Not the special seed starting kind, just regular potting soil in giant bags. It's pretty cheap that way and works for me.
So I just buy potting soil. Not the special seed starting kind, just regular potting soil in giant bags. It's pretty cheap that way and works for me.
- gixxerific
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 5889
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:42 pm
- Location: Wentzville, MO (Just West oF St. Louis) Zone 5B
I make a mix out of purchased soil and my own compost.
If you go with buying soil I start about now and go Lowe's and Home Depot every week and buy the ripped bags. They are half off so I stock up. I go for the organic (OMRI if possible) stuff like mushroom compost, manure, potting soil etc. The mix changes year to year. I also buy Dr Earth's potting soil and use that as a base for Mycorrhiza benefits.
Whatever you use keep it light and fluffy. The little seedlings need ease of movement when starting out.
If you go with buying soil I start about now and go Lowe's and Home Depot every week and buy the ripped bags. They are half off so I stock up. I go for the organic (OMRI if possible) stuff like mushroom compost, manure, potting soil etc. The mix changes year to year. I also buy Dr Earth's potting soil and use that as a base for Mycorrhiza benefits.
Whatever you use keep it light and fluffy. The little seedlings need ease of movement when starting out.
- PunkRotten
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1989
- Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:48 pm
- Location: Monterey, CA.
Like Rainbow, I have found it least expensive just to use regular potting mix. For seeds, I often use a soilless mix, because the seeds already contain all the nutrients they need, and the absence of soil helps protect against fungal infections. At the first transplanting, I move the starts into regular potting mix.
-
- Senior Member
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 5:33 am
- Location: Sharjah, UAE