Best potting soil for seedlings

[RayR]

Pro Mix comes bone dry, that's the way it always was. I think most of the baled professional mixes are like that. I'd hate to pick up a bale of that stuff if it was wet.
Fox Farms are totally different types of mixes, more complex and biologically active ingredients, it has to be moist to keep things alive.

[awsumth]

Miracle Gro Seed Starting Mix; I've tried other mixes like Jiffy, and starting in coir, but they didn't work well. I've even started many cuttings in MG SSM and they've rooted amazingly! All my seeds really seem to enjoy it.

[Tonio]

Picked up some FF Light Warrior- not happy with the large perlite pieces. It looks just like Jiffy starter mix with myco's?

Will see how it goes, as I sowed some toms' pepper(chile) and basil. I'll have to compare w/ DE. Actually I like 1/2 DE and 1/2 turface fines with a touch of FF Happy frog/ Ocean forest.

[Crandrew]

Here are some peas grown since day 3 in fox farm ocean forest. This picture is at 2 weeks.


ImageUploadedByTapatalk1360124262.401915.jpg

As comparison here is some spinach (slowest sprout ever) at the 2 week period.

[rnewste]

Candrew,

Just curious - why did you select Ocean Forest versus Happy Frog for seed starting?

Raybo

[Crandrew]

Raybo,
I really wish I had a fancy answer for you but simply put, I'm trying it out. Last year I used a bag of happy frog to pot up a bunch of plants and ran out (I found it equally as good). So when i went back to the hydro store I decided to try the ocean forest, and have been happy with the results.
I know folks say that neither is sterile but I've never had issue with them, I guess its only a matter of time. It just seems like a nice mix of elements.
I've wanted to try some of the metro mix but haven't gotten around to finding/buying some.

[RayR]

Crancrew, I think some growers are just germaphobes.
The idea of a sterile potting soil is a fantasy for the most part, you can have the most carefully sterilized soil and it won't remain sterile for long. Bacteria and fungal spores are everywhere, floating in the air, in the water, and on you. Most are beneficial in some way and some are plant pathogens If your soil doesn't have the beneficial's to protect the plant, then the pathogens have an opening to dominate.
Other than that what good is a rich organic soil mix without good bacteria and fungi? I guess you could say it would be essentially dead and useless to the plant since all those organic nutrients would not be mineralized and made available to the plant.

[Crandrew]

^well said I also will be dipping my seedlings in Actinovate and Myco when they get planted out. Hopefully to add some more beneficial.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by RayR

Crancrew, I think some growers are just germaphobes.
The idea of a sterile potting soil is a fantasy for the most part, you can have the most carefully sterilized soil and it won't remain sterile for long. Bacteria and fungal spores are everywhere, floating in the air, in the water, and on you. Most are beneficial in some way and some are plant pathogens If your soil doesn't have the beneficial's to protect the plant, then the pathogens have an opening to dominate.
Other than that what good is a rich organic soil mix without good bacteria and fungi? I guess you could say it would be essentially dead and useless to the plant since all those organic nutrients would not be mineralized and made available to the plant.

I have started seedlings in straight compost before. Pretty sure that was far from sterile. Sometimes done that way you get unbelievably fantastic results. But here is the problem. It isn't consistent.

For starting seedlings for that first couple weeks you need consistent. That's why people like sterile soilless mixes. Gives the seeds a chance to get up and started first, because you can control the environment the seeds germinate in to a fairly high degree.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Crandrew

^well said I also will be dipping my seedlings in Actinovate and Myco when they get planted out. Hopefully to add some more beneficial.

That's what I say! The Fox Farms soils are already inoculated with additional EM's, but the more the better!

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

I have started seedlings in straight compost before. Pretty sure that was far from sterile. Sometimes done that way you get unbelievably fantastic results. But here is the problem. It isn't consistent.

Ya, I think the idea of a sterile compost is plain silly.
Compost is inconsistent by nature since you don't know exactly what critters are dominating at any time, but adding your own beneficial inoculants can help that.

Originally Posted by Redbaron

For starting seedlings for that first couple weeks you need consistent. That's why people like sterile soilless mixes. Gives the seeds a chance to get up and started first, because you can control the environment the seeds germinate in to a fairly high degree.

Chances are your seeds are already populated by bacteria and fungi. They colonize the seed coat. In the moist soil they grow and thrive, weakening the seed coat and making it easier for the seed to germinate.

[Tonio]

Originally Posted by RayR

That's what I say! The Fox Farms soils are already inoculated with additional EM's, but the more the better!

My understanding is that Happy frog has Myco's, Ocean forest has more chitin meals. Gues I could check the bags

[dice]

I use just coir in tiny cells smaller than the cup in an egg carton
(like a plug flat) to sprout seeds, and it is kind of moist when I fill
them, but I water the first time with about 1 part hydrogen
peroxide (3%) to 10 parts water, so it is fairly sterile at first, because
the hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria (I do not know if it kills fungi,
but I have not had problems with damping off doing this). It does
not stay sterile, of course.

Then when I pot up into 3-4" pots, I use whatever: coir plus perlite
plus worm castings, a bagged container mix like MetroMix or
Black Gold or Promix, various homemade mixes of peat, perlite,
and compost, etc. By then the peroxide has all reacted with the
coir, and I inoculate with Mycogrow for Vegetables or Mycogrow
Soluble or something like that. Often the more expensive bagged
mixes have mycorrhizae spores already, and some of the organic
granular fertilizers have mycorrhizae, too, so a pinch of fertilizer
mixed into a 4" pot when potting the seedlings up will inoculate them.

You can find descriptions of Sun Gro mixes like Metro Mix 360 here:
http://www.sungro.com/products.php

I have been using Beats Peat for coir for seed sprouting:
http://www.groworganic.com/beats-pea...-ft-brick.html
(It comes as a compressed brick that takes a week to hydrate
enough to fully expand at first, but it has consistent pH
and texture and low salt. Cutting it into smaller pieces with
a saw when it is dry speeds things up.)

[Crandrew]

FYI the Paroxide will kill algae for sure, not sure about the fungi. I add it to my hydroponic DWC's to control the algae and add a ton of oxygen to the water.

[Hotwired]

Speaking of Algae, I used clear plastic drink cups and 1-quart clear carryout cups one year for potting up plants. I had green soil on all my potted-up plants. I use water from an Artesian spring on my property, and without chlorine it really encouraged algae growth in those clear plastic containers in sunlight. I pay a little more for black cups now. I can't really chlorinate the spring because it's fed at 5 gpm, so I'd have to treat it daily.