Soilless mix?

[Leroy]

I am new here this my first post.

I have some peat moss and pearlite. Will this work for a mix or will I need another ingredient? What ratio should I mix it? I also have some very fine sand.

I plan on using Nick's dende planting method for a few tomatoes and peppers.

Thanks

[johno]

Mix up what you already have, and it'll probably work fine. The only thing about sand is that 'sharp' sand is better than 'soft' sand, because the jagged edges (rather than rounded) provide better aeration and drainage in the mix.

Some of the commercial mixes are mostly peat with a little perlite and/or vermiculite, and they work fine. I know a commercial grower who uses peat and mushroom compost and nothing else in his mix, and it works fine.

Personally, I like to mix a variety of things for one reason or another, but simple mixes seem to work just as well.

[Lomatia]

In Australia, potting mixes are based on pine bark which is a byproduct of the softwood industry. It is stripped from the logs, milled (to a graded size) then left to age/ferment in piles to remove all of the nasty organics. Probably every good quality mix here has this as a major component.

[Leroy]

Hey thanks. I went with 1 part peat and one part pearllite. Then just a sprinkle of sand. I will go to the plant store befor I start any more.

[ronbrew]

I would put some coco fiber in your mix, you will find it will absorb much when watering and will not dry out as much with just peat moss. I'm not a fan of peat moss because it's lots of work to water and doesn't like to take up water very easily and the plants don't seem thrive in it, but then maybe others think differently.
Ron

[Leroy]

I think I will buy a bag of pre mixed soil sometimes I am just to cheep.

[the999bbq]

this season I tried to go cheap and bought the cheapest potting soil with the intention to mix it a bit with a better brand general potting soil but my peppers and most other seedlings didn't like that a bit... that cheap soil seems to get (soaking) wet very quickly and what is even worse it seems to stay that way to. I usually bottomsoak the newspaper pots for some minutes in water as my watering scheme but they got more than I wanted most of the time. So for my tomatoes I'm going for my classical routine again : standard seeding mix first, normal (brand) potting soil second, and than add some of the cheaper stuff in later transplants (I like to transplant a lot, it gives me a bond with my plants and they seem to like to be transplant often)

maybe I will give more seeds to the deno method next season (wet papertowel method) since that needs no soil and practically no time to set up either...

[Leroy]

What I wound up with is 8 quarts of shults seed starting mix. It is soiless. No more than I grow it should last me few years. I can use regular potting soil when I pot up.

I found it at ayard sale. It had never been open. It is a few years old. Very dry. Should I pre wet it. Or leave it dry till I am ready to use it?

I think I will try that wet paper towel on another round of tomatoes. I had a couple of seeds that didn't sprout.

[elkwc36]

I've used several methods with filling trays. Now I do it like one of the greenhouses. I put the dry mix in a bucket or large tray and add water till it is all real moist but not soaked. Then fill the trays. I may spay the top a little with a spray bottle then let them set at least a day in the room where I will germinate them. It has worked well for me. But have used several other methods with success also. So no one way is right. As I start several plants I usually use commercial seed starting and potting mixes. I was at a HD yesterday and bought another bag of ProMix. And the 2 cu. ft. compressed bail was a dollar cheaper than the 32 qt. MG organic bag. I did buy one bag of the MG just for comparison purposes. I used Sun Gro seed starting mix this year. I had enough left over from last year. I've found the commercial mixes are cheaper if you are using large amounts and work well. JME. Jay

[Leroy]

I need to buy a couple of trays. I have 2 but one has holes. I need pots too what I have now is the square peat pots. Then I need to figure out how many Styrofoam cups fit in a tray. I have 2 shop lights. So I need to keep everything down to 4 trays.

I will be off to town today. I need my cups. It is time to transplant the first round of tomatoes.