Diatomaceous Earth as a seed starting medium - Page 15

Diriel · December 12, 2012

What, if any, type of fert was used?

Baizanator · December 12, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diriel

What, if any, type of fert was used?

Just a Park Seed Co. seedling 20-20-20 fertilizer applied at 2 and 6 weeks. Plants were killed at the end of the sixth week.

b54red · December 14, 2012

I have had terrific results with the UltraSorb with everything that I have tried it with except beans. Beans don't have a large enough root system so they don't hold to the medium when transplanting very well.

Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, rutabaga, cauliflower and cilantro transplanted great.

I had a little problem with some of my onions because I let them dry out too much and some died. I learned my lesson and am keeping them watered better now.

I did keep my first batch of spinach too wet and they either got damping off or just drowned roots. The second batch did great only watering when the de got too dry looking.
I have also been using a bit of MG when watering after the first true leaves form on everything and it does help them grow faster.

I started some pepper seed a bit early this year in de to see if I could get an early start with them. Uually when I start seed this early I get too much damping off because of the cloudy damp weather common in the winter. I will be starting a few tomato seed soon.

I absolutely love using this stuff. It is so much more reliable than any seed starting medium I have ever used. It has definitely cut down on the damping off problems I have. I am not using any distilled water either, just the stuff from the tap. I am also finding I don't need to start nearly as many seed because of the higher germination rates I am getting.

Ray, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!

Levent · December 14, 2012

Mini Red Robin flowers started opening up.In second photo, a flower against my index finger.

Levent · December 14, 2012

A look into Grow Box

ChrisK · December 14, 2012

I'm wondering how the coarse ultrasorb would work for orchids. Any thoughts?

RayR · December 14, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisK

I'm wondering how the coarse ultrasorb would work for orchids. Any thoughts?

I remember when doing my research that I ran across web sites about using DE as a orchid medium. One site was selling it as a potting medium for orchids.

Do a Google search for "diatomaceous earth orchids" and "diatomite orchids", I think you'll finds lots of info.

ChrisK · December 14, 2012

Yah, quick search looks like most use it as part of the mix.

I'm curious about Levent's DE though. It appears to be coarser in his pictures than the others in this thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayR

I remember when doing my research that I ran across web sites about using DE as a orchid medium. One site was selling it as a potting medium for orchids.

Do a Google search for "diatomaceous earth orchids" and "diatomite orchids", I think you'll finds lots of info.

RayR · December 15, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by b54red

I have had terrific results with the UltraSorb with everything that I have tried it with except beans. Beans don't have a large enough root system so they don't hold to the medium when transplanting very well.

Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, rutabaga, cauliflower and cilantro transplanted great.

I had a little problem with some of my onions because I let them dry out too much and some died. I learned my lesson and am keeping them watered better now.

I did keep my first batch of spinach too wet and they either got damping off or just drowned roots. The second batch did great only watering when the de got too dry looking.
I have also been using a bit of MG when watering after the first true leaves form on everything and it does help them grow faster.

I started some pepper seed a bit early this year in de to see if I could get an early start with them. Uually when I start seed this early I get too much damping off because of the cloudy damp weather common in the winter. I will be starting a few tomato seed soon.

I absolutely love using this stuff. It is so much more reliable than any seed starting medium I have ever used. It has definitely cut down on the damping off problems I have. I am not using any distilled water either, just the stuff from the tap. I am also finding I don't need to start nearly as many seed because of the higher germination rates I am getting.

Ray, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!

You're welcome and thanks for sharing what seedlings have worked for you.

Bean seedlings develop a long tap root and the branches aren't very fibrous, and are a bit sensitive to having their roots disturbed during transplanting so that makes sense that they were a problem.

I'll be starting onion seedlings soon, I know those should turn out great like last year but I've got some new experiments to try too.

greentiger87 · December 15, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisK

I'm wondering how the coarse ultrasorb would work for orchids. Any thoughts?

After reading a lot about it, I'm using it for "passive hydroponics" of orchids - almost exactly how Levent is using it for real plants. I'm not quite confident enough to do that yet.. but soon.

This is the definitive resource for this kind of orchid growing -
http://www.firstrays.com/hydro.htm

He decides on "Prime Agra" expanded clay as the ideal medium, but coarse, rinsed DE appears to have most of the same characteristics.

Levent · December 15, 2012

ChrisK, bigger is better.No need to say I meant diatomite particle size!
IMO root aeration is more crucial than moist retention in S/H.I always wash up newly set up pots to get rid of diatomite dust.
greentiger87 hope you enjoy my Phal. in S/H!

ChrisK · December 15, 2012

Look great! I have not seen it locally in that coarse grade. The spill absorber and cat litter products are significantly finer.

b54red · December 17, 2012

Well I'm sure I jumped the gun because I have already started some of my peppers and tomatoes in the UltraSorb. I just couldn't wait any longer to see how it does with them. I'll have to plant more in a few weeks but I wanted to experiment with grafting so I thought I would try a few to see if I could do the grafting despite arthritis in my hands.

I have had a terrible time with damping off the last couple of years in the winter and early spring so I am really looking forward to seeing how much damping off I have with the UltraSorb.

Hotwired · December 17, 2012

I would be curious to compare DE against something other than Jiffy Mix. My experience has been that pretty much everything performs better than Jiffy.

Baizanator · December 17, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotwired

I would be curious to compare DE against something other than Jiffy Mix. My experience has been that pretty much everything performs better than Jiffy.

I used it against two mediums other than Jiffy.

December 12, 2012	#211
Diriel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Central OK, USDA-7a / AHS-8 Posts: 157	What, if any, type of fert was used?

December 14, 2012	#213
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have had terrific results with the UltraSorb with everything that I have tried it with except beans. Beans don't have a large enough root system so they don't hold to the medium when transplanting very well. Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, rutabaga, cauliflower and cilantro transplanted great. I had a little problem with some of my onions because I let them dry out too much and some died. I learned my lesson and am keeping them watered better now. I did keep my first batch of spinach too wet and they either got damping off or just drowned roots. The second batch did great only watering when the de got too dry looking. I have also been using a bit of MG when watering after the first true leaves form on everything and it does help them grow faster. I started some pepper seed a bit early this year in de to see if I could get an early start with them. Uually when I start seed this early I get too much damping off because of the cloudy damp weather common in the winter. I will be starting a few tomato seed soon. I absolutely love using this stuff. It is so much more reliable than any seed starting medium I have ever used. It has definitely cut down on the damping off problems I have. I am not using any distilled water either, just the stuff from the tap. I am also finding I don't need to start nearly as many seed because of the higher germination rates I am getting. Ray, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!

December 14, 2012	#216
ChrisK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 1,448	I'm wondering how the coarse ultrasorb would work for orchids. Any thoughts?

December 15, 2012	#222
ChrisK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 1,448	Look great! I have not seen it locally in that coarse grade. The spill absorber and cat litter products are significantly finer.

December 17, 2012	#223
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Well I'm sure I jumped the gun because I have already started some of my peppers and tomatoes in the UltraSorb. I just couldn't wait any longer to see how it does with them. I'll have to plant more in a few weeks but I wanted to experiment with grafting so I thought I would try a few to see if I could do the grafting despite arthritis in my hands. I have had a terrible time with damping off the last couple of years in the winter and early spring so I am really looking forward to seeing how much damping off I have with the UltraSorb.

December 17, 2012	#224
Hotwired Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Ithaca, NY - USDA 5b Posts: 241	I would be curious to compare DE against something other than Jiffy Mix. My experience has been that pretty much everything performs better than Jiffy.