Vtfarmer
Member
I prepare this mix early each spring to start my seeds in:
1/3 dry sand. I retrieve a full Sheetrock bucket of sand from a beach in the fall. This sand is carefully flushed with a hose to leach out any salt from the ocean. The sand is then dried for easy mixing.
1/3 finely screen peat moss. I screen bailed peat through a home made 1/4inch hardware cloth screen sieve
1/3 finely screened rich topsoil from my organic garden. Soil is very rich in nutrients and rotted organic matter.
The above ingredients are thoroughly mixed in a large masons tub from Home Depot.
The mix is then brought up to my house where I carefully cook it in shallow pans in the oven set at 250 degrees for about one half hour. You can tell when it’s done by removing pan from oven and seeing it steam. Don’t overcook it, you’ll dry it out. This cooking step kills weed seeds and “damping off ‘microbes .
This mix is placed in 4 inch square plastic pots. ( round ones don’t pack as tight on trays ) . Plastic holds moisture far better than other pot materials.
Sproutedseeds are carefully planted in pots and placed under 24 hour T5 lights.
NOTE: This is a starter mix, not a long term grow mix. This mix is good for 4-5 weeks before plants outgrow pots and nutrients start to become insufficient. It’s time to plant them directly in outdoor grow sites.
1/3 dry sand. I retrieve a full Sheetrock bucket of sand from a beach in the fall. This sand is carefully flushed with a hose to leach out any salt from the ocean. The sand is then dried for easy mixing.
1/3 finely screen peat moss. I screen bailed peat through a home made 1/4inch hardware cloth screen sieve
1/3 finely screened rich topsoil from my organic garden. Soil is very rich in nutrients and rotted organic matter.
The above ingredients are thoroughly mixed in a large masons tub from Home Depot.
The mix is then brought up to my house where I carefully cook it in shallow pans in the oven set at 250 degrees for about one half hour. You can tell when it’s done by removing pan from oven and seeing it steam. Don’t overcook it, you’ll dry it out. This cooking step kills weed seeds and “damping off ‘microbes .
This mix is placed in 4 inch square plastic pots. ( round ones don’t pack as tight on trays ) . Plastic holds moisture far better than other pot materials.
Sproutedseeds are carefully planted in pots and placed under 24 hour T5 lights.
NOTE: This is a starter mix, not a long term grow mix. This mix is good for 4-5 weeks before plants outgrow pots and nutrients start to become insufficient. It’s time to plant them directly in outdoor grow sites.
