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24 Comments
Great video, Thank you for sharing.
Sping has Sprung🎉🎉🎉🎉
Once you add perlite to that dense mix it isn't half the cost any more. And perlite is needed. I know from experience
Plants do much better with perlite added to it.
That's one way to look at it. Here's another way to look at it.
1. If you do your seed starting indoors and actually have a gnats problem (which only affects some areas), you can use an insect net over your seed starts
2. Don't buy his 'compost is too dense' nonsense. It will not firm up & prevent root development. You will find that it remains very friable when you transplant your seedlings.
3. Amendment facts:
Ingredient Approx. $/kg
Homemade biochar ~0.10–0.50
Shredded palm fronds ~0.00–0.10
Rice hulls 0.20–0.40
Perlite 0.35
Coco coir 0.60
Peat moss 3.00
Vermiculite 9.77
A. You can make your own bio-char for free with freely available tree removal materials. It functions like perlite in your seed starting mix & when made properly, it has lots of nutrients held within its pores for your plants–which promix does NOT provide.
B. If you have or can get free palm fronds, they are an excellent soil amendment. They aerate & retain water
C. Rice hulls are also a great soil aerator & slow release nutrient provider.
No, you don't have to buy ANY expensive amendments to have excellent seed starting mix. I've been starting seeds & growing plants in compost for decades & it works perfectly fine for starting seeds, growing seedlings, & growing plants–especially if your compost has had a good amount of worms living in it.
I was the one dense in my garden before I learned so much from watching Luke
I have been doing the 50/50 mix for a few years now and getting good results. Im no professional so probably other issues that i created at times cause me issues. Which i know i caused damping off by accident for instance.
I have not had fungus gnats for a few years while using a seed starting mix from a local nursery which is a bit on the expensive side. This year I decided to try sunshine mix#4 based on the suggestion of some people in the gardening community and given the price of a 107 litre bale.
I started two 3 inch square plastic pots of cat grass for my babies and immediately had fungus gnats to deal with. I plan on treating all of my other seed starts with mosquito dunks in my waterings to try to stop the infestation. Needless to say I am disappointed with sunshine mix.
Thank you! I needed this!
Won’t go into the gory details, but suffice it to say I’m on my second planting of tomatoes 😮bc first was a disaster.
Bought Pro mix BX and sifted out a quarter of the bail of twigs and chunks. Not happy.🤬
I use ProMix HP and now Trifecta+!! Looking forward to this growing season! Thanks Luke!
Thank you 👍👵🏻
Luke question. Been trying to stay away from Peat. We are growing into a commercial grower and have tried many seed starting mix as we alias soil block. Is there any basically pest free seed mixes?
I took your advice on an earlier video. But I didn’t get ptomix but got the cheaper potting soil then I’m adding the vermiculite and perlite to it. Which is what you’re advising in this video. Thanks Luke!
Thanks Luke! I've been mixing potting soil, cococore and perilite with a small bag of seedling mix to make my own seedling mix this year. So far so good 😊
Do you find you have a lot of stuck seed heads (peppers) with such a light mix?
Thanks for the advice
I make seed starting mix with coco coir perlite and vermiculite. Perlite and vermiculite are quite cheap if you buy a big sack from a hydroponics store.
For potting up, I use this mix along with compost and worm castings.
Been working well for years. Of course, I guess it depends on local conditions and individual garden practices.
Great video Luke, I'm in Australia and can't buy your products, so I mix my own.😁 Cheers!
You made me nervous when I watched your previous videos on seed starting mix as the one I purchased is Master Garden Organic Seed Starting Mix with fertilizer and has NO pearlite or vermiculite. When I watched your video I thought it was "too late" for me as I was commited (I had already started my seeds). It contains coco coir. Four weeks in, my seedlings are doing great! I found I did not have to water as much due to the coco coir so not sure where pearlite or vermiculite is required. Just wanted share my thoughts. I watered them from the bottom (I purchased your seed trays a year and a half ago) and am happy that i did. They are extremely sturdy and I highly recommend them.
Thank You!
My vegetables starts are doing great but I am having issues with my flowers particularly my zinnias and marigolds. I'm not sure if it's my seeds or if I should wait a little longer in case some more sprout up. I used a lightweight mix . I wonder if they would have done. Better in individual little pots instead of seedling trays. I'm trying to save money by starting flowers instead of buying starts .
I might have bought the wrong promix, but it won’t absorb the water. It’s terrible, maybe it’s an old batch?
Also, what do you do if you already have algae forming in the seedling trays? Thanks!
i went out and bought a bag of thie promix and yes, it is expensive. My seedlings came up in a flash and grew beautifully
I would love to figure out a better mix. I just use straight coco coir and it works great mostly. I get a few damping off. But not a lot. And i travel a lot. So it allows me to do that without worrying too much if my plants are going to die. But i do fight damping off & mold.
Ive tried several mix recipes. Every single one ive tried, the plants just instantly die. Or they never germinate.
Please keep in mind that people that live in hot dry areas…peat heavy soil mixes can become hydrophobic. Even months down the road. That little cube of seed starter is usually still around the stem of your plant. If it dries out during your hot, dry summer days…it can stop your plant from getting water. I haven't used peat in 20+ years for this reason. Even if the rest of your soil in your container or bed is perfectly moist…your peat can still be dry as a bone.
Perlite is great. Coconut coir is also great. But peat for hot, dry California is not.