Diatomaceous Earth as a seed starting medium

[beeman]

I have followed this thread from the start and one point which I haven't seen. Can DE be used a second or more times?
I generally dump my seed starter mix into the garden after transplanting. Can DE be dumped in the regular garden area? Any changes to the garden soil?

[zeroma]

I did read where you can re-use DE by putting it on a shallow pan, and in the oven. It was too far back, maybe use the search function to get the temperature and how long.

[Levent]

Originally Posted by Levent

No need to apply chemicals.Heating used diatomite in oven (200C around half an hour) carbonises organic decayed residues,desiccates and sterilises the medium.It's better to wash diatomite later to get rid of remnants.Diatomite is a fairly inert and stable mineral rock therefore its physical properties or chemical composition don't change after heating process.Hope it helped.

[Levent]

Solanum sisymbriifolium (Litchi Tomato) seedlings in diatomite.I need at least 2 plants because Litchi Tomato is self sterile.

[Father'sDaughter]

Here's my one week report --

All lettuce came up except for one variety, but those were old seeds so they were questionable anyway.

About 50% of the bunching onions and Copra onions are up, and I see signs of more starting to poke through.

Now here's my real surprise -- I started four Peppadew seeds in separate pots, but I got mixed up and thought I only started two. So after watering everything and letting the DE suck up all it was going to, I moved two Peppadews to the TV cabinet to sit on top of the cable box. Three days ago, when I started moving the lettuce down to the basement to go under the lights, I found the other two Peppadews. Oops. So I moved those into the TV cabinet and checked the other two and of course, I didn't see any sign of life yet.

This morning I checked to make sure everything was staying moist enough in there and found two one inch tall pepper seedlings getting ready to unfold their leaves!!! That was the last thing I expected to see, but there they were--just seven days after planting. Everything I've heard about these says they can take weeks to germinate, so this was a very pleasant surprise. I can't wait to start the other hot peppers now!

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

Here's my one week report --



Now here's my real surprise -- I started four Peppadew seeds ......

This morning I checked to make sure everything was staying moist enough in there and found two one inch tall pepper seedlings getting ready to unfold their leaves!!! That was the last thing I expected to see, but there they were--just seven days after planting. Everything I've heard about these says they can take weeks to germinate, so this was a very pleasant surprise. I can't wait to start the other hot peppers now!

I started mine this past week on a heat mat in the greenhouse with a mix of DE and starter mix and I see they are starting to emerge. They aren't taking any longer than other peppers to germinate for me.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

Here's my one week report --

All lettuce came up except for one variety, but those were old seeds so they were questionable anyway.

About 50% of the bunching onions and Copra onions are up, and I see signs of more starting to poke through.

Now here's my real surprise -- I started four Peppadew seeds in separate pots, but I got mixed up and thought I only started two. So after watering everything and letting the DE suck up all it was going to, I moved two Peppadews to the TV cabinet to sit on top of the cable box. Three days ago, when I started moving the lettuce down to the basement to go under the lights, I found the other two Peppadews. Oops. So I moved those into the TV cabinet and checked the other two and of course, I didn't see any sign of life yet.

This morning I checked to make sure everything was staying moist enough in there and found two one inch tall pepper seedlings getting ready to unfold their leaves!!! That was the last thing I expected to see, but there they were--just seven days after planting. Everything I've heard about these says they can take weeks to germinate, so this was a very pleasant surprise. I can't wait to start the other hot peppers now!

They usually take a very long time to germinate and then they grow very slowly. I had the same experience when I started them this year in the DE. They came up as fast as my other peppers. I found the same thing to be true when starting spinach and cilantro seed. Two seeds that were notoriously slow to germinate in regular seed starting mixes.

[zeroma]

I wonder how tiny little seeds like the "bread poppy' (Papaver somniferum) seeds would do in DE? How you you grow poppy seeds? I should have sewn then directly on the ground last fall, but didn't.

[Levent]

Chilli and mini dwarf tomato seedlings in 150 cc cups

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by Rockporter

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.

My reseeding on 2/10/13 is doing very well, I took photos but the camera won't display them so back to the drawing board tomorrow. I have about 11 different types of tomato(I think) and squash, lettuces and peppers. All seem to be peeking through and most are already quite large. It is amazing how well this DE works, but I am finding that I have to add water daily since they are so large now.

I also need to start giving the water some nutrients for the plants but do not know how much to give. I could use a gallon jug if needed but I wouldn't use all the water at once and I don't know if I should have treated water sitting around since the potency might be gone? I suppose I could feed my other plants in the garden with it but I don't think they would like it too much if I fed them daily.

Please let me know how diluted I should make the water for the seedlings in the DE. I have a 20 ounce sprayer bottle that I would like to use.

Thanks for the ideas in advance.



UPDATE:

The photos below were taken on Feb 18, 2013 and you can see the seedlings all look very healthy. I started the seeds on Feb 10 2013 and the germination was fast. All of the squashes, lettuces, and some of the various tomatoes popped within 24 hours. I am still amazed how well DE works, the tallest is a squash about 4" tall and the smallest is my four Fred's Tye Die F5 that I planted 4 of the seed I saved from my F4 growout, I got 100% germination, those are just about 1" tall.

Before I filled the tray with DE I lined each square with a cotton squares I bought at Walmart in the makeup section. this held the DE in place. I filled then shook the tray to flatness and lifted it, if there was DE coming out the bottom I emptied the square and reset the cotton squares. I am hoping that by lining with this cotton square that I might get lucky and have better results when removing the seedlings for planting out.

[RayR]

What is the 9-4-9 product that you're using?

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by RayR

What is the 9-4-9 product that you're using?

Hi Ray, it's miracle grow liquifeed 9-4-9 for tomato, fruit and vegetables, it can be used as hose end spraying or in a watering can. It comes with a dosing spoon that looks like the markings are 1TBS for 1 gallon and 2TBS for 2 gallons water.

I purchased at the local Lowe's and here it is at Walmart

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Scotts-Mir...-Food/19716498

Thanks

[RayR]

If you seeded them on 2/10, don't give them anything now, they don't need it and you might kill them if you do. Wait until they have true leaves fully established before you do anything, especially with a synthetic. I'll leave it up to the MG users here as to what dosage, I would say 1/4TBS or even less per gallon.

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by RayR

If you seeded them on 2/10, don't give them anything now, they don't need it and you might kill them if you do. Wait until they have true leaves fully established before you do anything, especially with a synthetic. I'll leave it up to the MG users here as to what dosage, I would say 1/4TBS or even less per gallon.

Thanks Ray, when you say true leaves what do you mean when it is squash or say lettuce? I know that I need at least four leaves for a tomato plant but I don't know about the rest of it.

[Levent]

2 contiguous Dwarf Mr Snow seedlings in a 500 cc plastic cub containing diatomite.I sow each time one seed per cub.My fault or Polyembryony?