Are you ready to start seeds indoors but unsure which soil mix to use? Seed starting? Potting mix? In this video, I put four different soil mixes to the test to find out which one works best for germinating seeds and growing healthy seedlings. Whether you’re a beginner gardener or just tired of your old mix and want to see what’s out there, I hope this video helps you or inspires you to do your own test at home.
This is part of my journey to make gardening fun, easy, and successful, even in a small urban space. If you’re looking for tips on growing plants from seeds, seed starting hacks, or just love a good gardening experiment, hit play and see the results for yourself.
Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and let me know in the comments: What’s your go-to starting mix?
A big thank you to @BootstrapFarmer for sponsoring this video! Bootstrap offers high-quality gardening products to help you grow better, whether you’re starting seeds or tending to your garden. If you want to check out the gorgeous red trays (and the other new colors) from this video, just follow this link https://www.bootstrapfarmer.com/soilandmargaritas
#seedstarting #startingseeds #bootstrapfarmer
Video chapters:
Intro 0:00 – 3:23
Soil Mixes used 3:24 – 4:47
Burpees 4:48 – 5:26
Old Potters 5:27 – 6:54
Fort Vee 6:55 – 9:04
Gardeners 9:05 – 10:26
Cost per quart 10:27 – 10:52
Setting up seedling trays 10:53 – 14:17
One Week results 14:18 – 15:44
Final results and comparison 15:45 – 23:52
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21 Comments
Over the years I've always wondered why seedlings at the garden centers were always nicer than mine. Every year I say I'll just buy my seedlings next year but I keep trying. Like you I would have thought the seedlings you were getting from the Burpee mix were adequate but it sure is an eye opener to see the results of your test. I'm definitely switching mixes this year. Your presentation was simple enough for even me to understand.
Came across your video last night and enjoyed your content. My wife and I have been looking for other gardeners that are Indiana to support since we have practically the same growing conditions. (We're in Indianapolis). Looking forward to watching more of your videos.😊
Wow. I thought it was just me having issues with Burpee's soil and seed starter mixes. After 2 years of failure I was ready to give up. Thanks for the comparison!
Excellent job! extremely helpful. I hope you continue creating videos as your presentation was extremely well done .
Thank you so much for this. It really shows how using the right product can change your results. That was the perfect video for this time of year.
I am going to try one of these.
Roxana this is honestly an amazing soil comparison for seed starting 💥🔥🤩🔥💥 and boy was I as surprised as you were! Question: did Menards ever start stocking any of your other choices? I got to thinking 🤔….You are such a credible and experienced source for R&D — if I was the buyer at Menards I certainly would appreciate a call and an email from you documenting your research. I dare say ANY garden center would benefit from your hard work. Great 👍🏼 job! Some day (when I can figure out where to put it) I’ll be copying your lighted shelving system and the Greenstalk products. I was wondering too if you think the Greenstalk tower would be good to use for growing lettuce/salad greens? (not big lettuces like icebergs or romaine)
✨🕊️💚☘️💚🕊️✨
Great video Roxana
Can you do a soil test with Happy Frog and Espoma brands that alot of you tubers use?
Great video! Thx for doing this and sharing!
Great video Roxana! I loved it. Well done and thanks for sharing the results.
Great video! Thank you! I’m in Canada and looked into ordering from Amazon and Fort Vee was through the roof! 20 quarts is $210.00! What a bummer! I also use bootstrap farmer products 🙌🏽
Ah! What amazing timing! I have Fort Vee in my wishlist and have been thinking about it for when my big push of seed starting that begins in a few weeks. How amazing! Yeah, I would not be able to stand the algae. That definitely helps explain some of the differences in sizes between my seedlings and Nicole from Flower Hills Farms' seedlings! I also really appreciate the cost breakdown, because it shows that FV isn't that much more expensive.
Great video! Thank you for sharing!
I love this experiment! Thank you😊
This was excellent! Very helpful and timely for me. Although I've only gardened seriously for 4 years..this year I wanted to look at what can make my growing more successful in my small urban garden starting with the soil!
Thank you so much, I knew you would be the perfect person to do this video. Ive either missed or havent gotten notices of your newest videos recently. I think I know what I want to try and get this year to start my seeds.
Thanks for the comparison!
I just opened my Fort Vee soil recommended for soil blocks. Everyone is pushing this on YouTube right now and I should know better, but I bit the bait. It may be the very best "soil" out there (premixed) but mine is full of sticks and I am sifting it completely. There is no way in you know where that this is suitable for use in soil blocks without pre-sifting. Last year I used Lisa's on Gardener's Workshop recipe, and you can get so much more soil with that recipe, and you can use it for both soil blocking and seed starting (in my experience) the water needed will need to be adjusted. I'm just angry that everyone is so excited like there is nothing else out there but this soil this year and it's just like all the rest that already have nutrients added. I actually picked up a seed starting Burpee mix with nutrients added this year and I'll be doing a comparison to see how it compares to Fort Vee. It's more work to make it yourself, but if you start a lot of seeds and especially if you do a lot of soil blocking, then I would highly recommend Gardener's workshop recipe which is on her website. I did sift the compost before adding but the rest I just added and I was ready to go and it was my first time soil blocking and I was very successful. this year I will be more careful about keeping them evenly watered and especially while potting up, but I have a small space and I can grow hundreds of more seedlings with soil blocking.
Thank you for for that. Nice eye opener😊
Thank you for the great comparison. One other thing we discovered was to not use the peat pots to start seedlings. Last year, we had some "organic" peat pots from the prior year that we used to start a few tomato seeds and the rest we started in plastic cups. Our seedlings in prior years had not done well in the peat pots, but we thought it was due to us having done something wrong. Well, the seedlings in the plastic cups thrived and were two feet tall by planting time, while the seedlings in the peat pots were only about 6" tall! You just don't know what you are getting with those peat pots.