Favorite Seed Starting Mix of 2008

[TomatoDon]

Every year this is discussed and I'm curious to see what starting mix the members here like this year.

I'm using Jiffy Premium Seed Starting mix and also Ferry Morse Quick and Easy seed starting mix. I can't tell much difference in germination rate. I've about concluded from what I've tried and what I've read here in the past that most any of the premium grades work about the same.

But I may be wrong. Your favorites? And why?

Don

[shelleybean]

I always buy the Farfard seed starter when I can find it. It's more like soil and less like sawdust and I like it a lot better. I don't mind paying a little more for it.

[gardengalrn]

I generally use whatever I can find. This year I bought some of the Jiffy Premium and Miracle Grow has a starter mix out that I tried. Everything in the Miracle Grow mix has germinated without fail (rosemary, carnations, various flowers) but I haven't tried the Jiffy yet.

[feldon30]

Too bad I haven't seen Fafard in Houston.

[bryanccfshr]

Jiffy mix has worked well for me this year (my first year to really go all out with indoor starting). I will continue using it since it works for me.

[duajones]

All they offer here in Corpus is the Schulz product which did not work well for me at all. So I purchased the Burpee product and it has worked well for me.

[dice]

I used 60% coir (coconut fiber) and 40% fine sand from
the edge of a creek, with about a teaspoon per gallon
of kelp meal mixed in. The sand itself is about 20% clay.
I stirred and rinsed the sand for awhile after collecting
it to float off silt and anything else that would dissolve
easily.

I was just mixing it up by hand, and it felt right at those
proportions (about the same texture as a commercial
seed-starting mix).

I had the idea to use sand for awhile, mainly because
of how fast things growing in sand have always rooted
for me (as long as you don't let them dry out), and
because of these 2 Daphne plants that I got one time
in pots from a nursery. They were in a mixture of fine
sand and clay, with enough sand in it to keep the mix
from turning to virtual concrete as it dried out.

That container mix drained well, but it held water for
a long time and stored nutrients well because of the clay
in it. I simply replaced most of the clay with coir for this
year's seeds, because it would have taken too long to find
out how much clay to add to the sand to get proportions
that worked for sand and clay alone (an experiment for some
other year).

The nursery probably liked it because it reduced watering
(and thus nutrient leaching) for small shrubs, etc, that they
kept in stock and sold on-site, but it was still loose enough
to allow fast root growth. For starts intended to be shipped
long distances, they probably would have used a lighter
container mix with more organic matter in it, to reduce
shipping costs.

[rxkeith]

previously, i had been using a sunshine product germination mix from the local feed and seed store. it came in a compressed bale that would last me several years. the store dropped that product, so now i have lambert m3 germination mix. professional grade. we'll see how it works. it will last awhile.

keith

[Gobig_or_Gohome_toms]

Last year I bought seed starting mix from Burpee and the burpee ultimate seed starting system and it came with it's own seed starting pellets and I had good luck with that and since I had to buy more heatwave 2 seed I bought another ultimate growing system this year.

It worked great for me last year I hope this year it does a good job as well.

[Toe Knee]

We have had good luck with Pro-mix BX for many years, made by Premier out of Canada. They have incorporated mycorhizal inoculant lately and we found it made a difference in the plants in helping increase outplanting vigor. The plants "take-off' more quickly and seem to grow better. We get the 3.8 cu. ft bales.
Toe

[tomatoguy]

The best I have found, if I recall correctly, was from Sunshine Farms or something very similar. I only found it one year and never again. Last year I tried Miracle-Gro and didn't like it. My plants seemed taller and spindlier with it. The worst I have ever used is Scott's. It stunted or killed every plant I used it on. This year, I am trying Ferry Morse. I have always had good luck with their seeds so I figured I would see what happens. It is hard to find anything other than Miracle-Gro here. Oddly enough, when I was able to produce a lot of compost, just plain old screened compost outperformed anything else I had tried to date.

I don't actually use these mixes to germinate seeds. I use Jiffy9 peat pellets. Then when the first true leaves appear, I transfer to deep 4" square plastic pots.

mater

[dice]

I have trouble finding Promix or Fafard around here. About
all I ever see specifically for seedlings is Jiffy Mix or Miracle
Gro, and the close and handy big box stores and other places
with garden departments tend not to have even those when
I need them.

I must have stuck my fingers in bags of 20 different kinds
of planting mix in the last month, and they were all too
woody and chunky for seedlings.

[Alberta]

I too use the Pro-mix BX and get the large 3.8 cu ft bale. During the summer I have seen smaller bags of pro-mix at HD, and it appears to be the same product, its light and airy and for me thats what matters. Too early to be starting tomatoes here yet, about another month or so, but I will be starting my eggplants and peppers sooner than that.
Alberta

[elkwc36]

I have tried about everything doing comparison germination tests the last two years. I like Sun-Gro I buy from a local greenhouse and buy Pro-Mix from HD when I need something out of season. I have great results with them and can buy them cheaper. But the Miracle Gro mix is the one I hadn't my lowest rates with. Just my experience. Jay

[feldon30]

I am really tempted to buy a small piece of screen material and a 1x4 and cut it and use a staple gun to make a sifter so I can take crappy seed starting mix and sift out all the large chunks so I get really good stuff.