Diatomaceous Earth as a seed starting medium - Page 26

b54red · February 9, 2013

Finally charged my camera battery and so here are a bunch of photos of my DE seed starting experiment.

1st are Bermuda onions in DE. I haven't found a place for them yet in the garden.

2nd are some lettuce plants in the tops of egg cartons. They were rained on last night so they are a bit spattered with DE.

3rd are some Pappadews that were started the 6th of January. Even using Miracle Grow you get algae on the surface if it takes the seed a long time to develop and Pappadews are one of the slowest to get started.

4th and 5th are egg carton cells using only DE.

I have had absolutely no damping off this year so far and I have planted hundreds of peppers and tomatoes. I had a little with my spinach last fall because I kept them in a bottom watering tray. I don't do that anymore unless I am going to leave them outside in the sun and wind.

Diriel · February 9, 2013

I am going to try some raised bed DE this year as well.

February 9, 2013

I have peppers peeking up everywhere- about 10 days since I sowed them. I'll take photos as soon as they grow up a bit!

Rockporter · February 9, 2013

I just purchased some 9-4-9 liquid feed, how much should I use say in a 20 ounce bottle and can I use it as I need it from the bottle or do I need to finish off what I mix up right away?

I will be reseeding tonight and my new light should be in on Monday or Tues so it should be perfect timing for some of my seedlings.

RayR · February 9, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

Finally charged my camera battery and so here are a bunch of photos of my DE seed starting experiment.

1st are Bermuda onions in DE. I haven't found a place for them yet in the garden.

2nd are some lettuce plants in the tops of egg cartons. They were rained on last night so they are a bit spattered with DE.

3rd are some Pappadews that were started the 6th of January. Even using Miracle Grow you get algae on the surface if it takes the seed a long time to develop and Pappadews are one of the slowest to get started.

4th and 5th are egg carton cells using only DE.

I have had absolutely no damping off this year so far and I have planted hundreds of peppers and tomatoes. I had a little with my spinach last fall because I kept them in a bottom watering tray. I don't do that anymore unless I am going to leave them outside in the sun and wind.

Bill, those onion transplants turned out great! They've got to have some massive roots in that big container.

zeroma · February 9, 2013

b54red, now I see how you mark your seedling egg cartons! Nice. Of course, I cut that part of the cartons off when the cup parts didn't fit down into the lids. I've decided to go with color of the carton and a map on separate paper to mark mine. I still need a few more cartons, so I'll mark them like you did yours.

Everyone is really haaving good results with the DE. I can almost taste those onions.

clkeiper · February 10, 2013

I see there is ultrasob and optisorb being used by different growers, I bought the ultrasorb at Autozone, but where does the optisorb come from? different place, I assume, but where. I have followed this whole thread, but don't remember where that was first mentioned, but that it is a different size than the ultrasorb, correct? Thanks

Father'sDaughter · February 10, 2013

My first go around with the Ultrasorb -- lettuce seeds up in less than 36 hours! I'm waiting for them to get better established before I start thinning.

I tried direct seeding the lettuce last year and had horrible results. The year before I started it indoors and planted out good sized seedlings in April with great results. I grow only loose leaf and romaine varieties, and prefer to harvest outer leaves vs. the hole head, so I've decided I really don't need a whole lettuce patch--a dozen transplants will be enough!

Now I have to wait and see how long the onions and Peppadews take.

neoguy · February 10, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by clkeiper

I see there is ultrasob and optisorb being used by different growers, I bought the ultrasorb at Autozone, but where does the optisorb come from? different place, I assume, but where. I have followed this whole thread, but don't remember where that was first mentioned, but that it is a different size than the ultrasorb, correct? Thanks

OK, this thread has convinced me to try this as well.

clkeiper, I believe I'm north of you in Cleveland, I saw Optisorb at O'Reilly's Auto Parts, I passed on it at the time because I wasn't sure that the product to buy. Today, I went to Advance Auto Parts and they had the Ultrasorb which I did buy.
I'll go back to O'Reilly's for a bag of Optisorb for comparison.

b54red · February 11, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayR

Bill, those onion transplants turned out great! They've got to have some massive roots in that big container.

I'm sure they do; but the ones I already planted out had even deeper pots and their root systems were amazing. I have never had onions look so good after planting them out in the garden. One thing I do that helps a lot with planting onions out is a couple of days before transplanting I clip off the top of the onions then fertilize them. This gives me a shorter plant to deal with when setting them out and they stand upright much better. There is a photo below showing some onions two days after planting out. If you look close you can see that new growth is already getting above the cutoff point already and the picture was taken about a week after the tops were clipped.

As soon as it is light out I am going to see if my lettuce got washed away last night. It flooded rain here last night with the weather people saying we could have been having rainfall at an inch per hour at times. I'm afraid much of the DE in those containers got washed out.

Delerium · February 11, 2013

DE Update

clkeiper · February 11, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by neoguy

OK, this thread has convinced me to try this as well.

clkeiper, I believe I'm north of you in Cleveland, I saw Optisorb at O'Reilly's Auto Parts, I passed on it at the time because I wasn't sure that the product to buy. Today, I went to Advance Auto Parts and they had the Ultrasorb which I did buy.
I'll go back to O'Reilly's for a bag of Optisorb for comparison.

We don't have an O'Reilly's near me. I will have to keep looking. I am not coming to Cleveland for a bag of it

. Brunswick is as far as I am going, unless it is in the drivethru lane at the Cleveland International Airport.
Let us know how the two compare.

February 11, 2013

You can get DE at the Dollar Tree- It is Cat Litter-

b54red · February 12, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by clkeiper

We don't have an O'Reilly's near me. I will have to keep looking. I am not coming to Cleveland for a bag of it

. Brunswick is as far as I am going, unless it is in the drivethru lane at the Cleveland International Airport.
Let us know how the two compare.

If you have an Auto Zone they should carry it under the name UltraSorb.

zeroma · February 12, 2013

Part #8818 at AutoZone for UltraSorb.

February 9, 2013	#379
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	I just purchased some 9-4-9 liquid feed, how much should I use say in a 20 ounce bottle and can I use it as I need it from the bottle or do I need to finish off what I mix up right away? I will be reseeding tonight and my new light should be in on Monday or Tues so it should be perfect timing for some of my seedlings. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

February 10, 2013	#382
clkeiper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 4,350	I see there is ultrasob and optisorb being used by different growers, I bought the ultrasorb at Autozone, but where does the optisorb come from? different place, I assume, but where. I have followed this whole thread, but don't remember where that was first mentioned, but that it is a different size than the ultrasorb, correct? Thanks __________________ carolyn k

February 9, 2013	#377
Diriel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Central OK, USDA-7a / AHS-8 Posts: 157	I am going to try some raised bed DE this year as well.

February 9, 2013	#378
JoParrott Guest Posts: n/a	I have peppers peeking up everywhere- about 10 days since I sowed them. I'll take photos as soon as they grow up a bit!

February 9, 2013	#381
zeroma Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 637	b54red, now I see how you mark your seedling egg cartons! Nice. Of course, I cut that part of the cartons off when the cup parts didn't fit down into the lids. I've decided to go with color of the carton and a map on separate paper to mark mine. I still need a few more cartons, so I'll mark them like you did yours. Everyone is really haaving good results with the DE. I can almost taste those onions.

February 10, 2013	#383
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,919	My first go around with the Ultrasorb -- lettuce seeds up in less than 36 hours! I'm waiting for them to get better established before I start thinning. I tried direct seeding the lettuce last year and had horrible results. The year before I started it indoors and planted out good sized seedlings in April with great results. I grow only loose leaf and romaine varieties, and prefer to harvest outer leaves vs. the hole head, so I've decided I really don't need a whole lettuce patch--a dozen transplants will be enough! Now I have to wait and see how long the onions and Peppadews take.

February 11, 2013	#388
JoParrott Guest Posts: n/a	You can get DE at the Dollar Tree- It is Cat Litter-

February 12, 2013	#390
zeroma Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 637	Part #8818 at AutoZone for UltraSorb.