Just a couple questions

[kajlo34]

(ps. this is sort of a combination between personal introduction/seed starting/general questions, so I hope this is an ok place to post. I wasn't sure which of the three to go to!)

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking around here for a while and it's such a wonderful, informative community! I was hoping you'd be able to help me clarify a few things before I start my first batch of seedlings. Ever!

Short bio: Last year was my first year gardening. I bought all my plants as transplants from the store. I set up and filled two raised bed/square-foot gardens (4'x4' each), and had quite a nice first season for the most part with more tomatos than I could possibly eat. I learned a lot about the process in general and about specific veggies, and this year I'm hoping to take it a step further and start most of my plants from seed (and adding a third box).

I've read a lot of information in books and catalogs and the internet, of course, and have my basic setup all planned out. I've bought some trays/cell-packs (which I actually bought crazy cheap at the end of last season when my local garden centre cleared out their propagation inventory!) and shops lights, etc. (I'm planning on posting some photos really soon!) I just need help with a few last minute decisions before I begin (only broccoli and onions and parsley for a few more weeks still... no tomatoes until March *sigh*). I know some of these questions have been raised in other posts (I have done my research beforehand, I swear!), but I think I've tailored them specifically enough that they're not repetitive.

1. Can you germinate in vermiculite alone? And if so, how long after germination before the seedling needs to be moved to a nutrient-containing medium? The "square foot gardening" method recommends this, although I have no bias either way towards using it. I was just curious whether it had any advantages or disadvantages versus a starter mix (for germination only - I know that the seedling needs more nutrients after that).

2. I've looked at many stores in the area - everything from Walmart to Home Depot to local garden centres and larger chain greenhouses - and in my area (just west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada), the selection of seed-starting mixes is almost identical everywhere, and just consists of the same major brands - Miracle-Gro, CIL, etc. I've never seen the fancy Pro-Mix or Sunshine products I've read about here. Anyways, I bought a few bags of Fafard Agro Mix because I came across it at a really good price a few days ago. I just wanted to make sure that it would be ok to use for my transplants once they leave the germination tray, or if anyone here had ever used it. It seems to have everything in it that it needs. Here's a link: http://bit.ly/wJk0e7

3. Assuming I use the Agro Mix, will I need to fertilize the seedlings at some point before they go outside? If yes, with what? I know this question has been asked a bazillion times, but again, I can only seem to find big brand names around here. I've never seen fish fertilizer in a store, and the one time I found liquid kelp, it was a tiny $25 bottle. Would any of the more mainstream products (diluted down maybe?) be appropriate for seedlings? I do have worm castings left over from last year (they don't expire, right?) that I plan to add in with the growing mix in the transplant cups; I'm pretty sure that will be beneficial, but I'm not sure if it's enough by itself.

4. The SFG community (the online one, at least) seems to take everything the method's creator says as law, and although I'm extremely content with how my garden turned out last year by following SFG practices as close as possible, certain aspects of it are difficult to follow through with consistently, either for financial or logistic reasons, and I'm hoping to experiment and find a balance that works for me. With that said, I was wondering what would be the best thing to fill my raised beds with - preferably a good balance of cost and effectiveness? The SFG "Mel's Mix" is made up of 1/3 each sphagnum peat moss, vermiculite, and blended compost. The cost-prohibitive part of this for me is mostly the vermiculite, which only seems to be sold in teeny, expensive 5L bags here, and buying enough to fill an entire 4x4 garden would be crazy (if my math is right, I'd need about 45 bags). Any suggestions at all - whether variations on the official Mel's Mix or something completely different that's worked for you - would be awesomely appreciated!

Wow... didn't plan on writing anywhere near that much when I started typing. Sorry for the overload; I'm just excited ;) Thank you in advance for your help!