Diatomaceous Earth as a seed starting medium - Page 55

shyxlilfox · February 22, 2018

Wanted to thank everyone for sharing the wonders of DE. It outperforms ProMix by leaps and bounds! Recently transplanted some plants into a DE/ProMix mix, and the roots were long, well branched, and a healthy shade of white. I think they’ll be monsters once they go into the ground.

Thank you,
Florence

Hairy Moose Knuckles · February 22, 2018

Is this the stuff?

http://www.truevalue.com/product/Aut.../338/75431.uts

Rockporter · February 22, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hairy Moose Knuckles

Is this the stuff?

http://www.truevalue.com/product/Aut.../338/75431.uts

Yes it is! Happy Growing!

Hairy Moose Knuckles · February 23, 2018

@rockporter

Thank You!

beetkvass · February 26, 2018

Can someone recommend a good liquid fertilizer to me for growing my tomatoes in DE?

I just bought a 25 lb bag of Optisorb at O'Reilly's and it was $17. It seems awfully steep in price compared to what I'm seeing here.

guruofgardens · March 5, 2018

I just bought 25 lbs. of this at O'Reilly's for $11 as they did not have any other absorbent medium. Could I still use this for starting seeds?

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/e...t/9805/4525770

Douglas_OW · March 5, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by guruofgardens

I just bought 25 lbs. of this at O'Reilly's for $11 as they did not have any other absorbent medium. Could I still use this for starting seeds?

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/e...t/9805/4525770

It looks like it is labeled 100% DE, so it should be OK. the different brands have different average size particles, but they perform similarly.

If you are using standard inserts or pots in a 1020 tray, you will find that the precut drainage holes in the bottom are much too big to hold back the DE. I turned my 72 cell inserts upside down and put masking tape over all of the drain holes. i turned the insert right side up, put it on a couple of layers of cardboard, and used a home made tool- 1/2 PVC tubing with 3 or 4 small finishing nails duct taped to it, to make new, smaller holes. If you use the original holes, you'll have a lot of DE wash out, especially if you lift the insert to bottom water.

Jim

R2rusmc · March 5, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by guruofgardens

I just bought 25 lbs. of this at O'Reilly's for $11 as they did not have any other absorbent medium.

Oh hells bells. I asked for 5 bags from NAPA. They said I may need professional cleaning crews. Lmao. Also picked up some of the DE kitty litter at the dollar store.

Go big or go home I always say. Haha

guruofgardens · March 5, 2018

Thanks for the reminder, Jim. I'm going to use the 36 cell trays and have cut coffee filters to put on the bottom of each cell. Yeah, the bottom holes are quite large for the DE.

I was very lucky to have mentioned my proposed purchase and a friend gave me a card for $10 off $20, so I really bought 50 lbs. for $13 including tax.

The particle size is not a powder, but very small(er) sized particles. Thanks for the OK to use this non-name brand stuff!

Rockporter · March 5, 2018

Looks good to me. The manufacturer website info below. Happy gardening.
https://epminerals.com/products/floor-dry

MissS · March 7, 2018

The PH is not the same in all DE products, (as stated in the beginnings of this thread). So if you are using something other than Opti or Ultrasorb then I would do a PH test and correct it accordingly. This will ensure that you have strong vigorous seedlings.

svalli · March 17, 2018

Removed double post.

svalli · March 17, 2018

Similar DE as in US is not sold here, but I have been using cat litter sand, which is made from Danish moler. It seems to perform as well as the real DE. I just started to transplant my tomato seedlings to coir and made a video about how easy it is to get the plants from the moler.

Sari

fiat84 · April 5, 2019

My local list might just help someone else save some time.

Optisorb(Moltan) at Acklands Granger $20.24 per 25lb bag

Qualisorb 628(EP Minerals) at Acklands Granger 20lb bag $10.43 on sale until April 30 then $16.77, Canadian Tire $17.99. pH=7 as per the Safety Sheet PDF. The CT website has one excellent review successfully using Qualisorb 628 as seed starter. There is an Al's potting mix thead guy at gardenweb who was successful in his growing mix using Qualisorb 628. So attempted my own pH test: saliva is greenish = 7, the distilled water was yellow about 5-6, and I crushed up some Qualisorb 628 into a powder then added distilled water, but still only got the yellow 5-6 reading but probably added too much water.

NOTE the Acklands "catalogue" lists BOTH Optisorb and Qualisorb 628 under "Optisorb", but listed seperately on the website.

Can Dry Supreme 16.3KG(36lb) is $17.99 at Princess Auto, and various sizes at Acklands $14.65(36lb), $26.49 14KG PAIL, $11.91 12kg.

Careful calling Acklands when I phoned to verify stock, spoke to some east indian call center somewhere and the guy could barely speak English. Turns out the pickup depot he said had stock is not a retail store and requires at least two hour processing time before your product even arrives from a warehouse. Had to pay then go back again a few hours later.

fiat84 · April 13, 2019

Update using Qualisorb 628 for a week old now in my seed starting has had no issues. All veggie/herb seeds sprouted fine and continue to grow nicely. Mixed 2/3 Qualisorb 628 with 1/3 Promix BX as my starting mix. If there was a serious pH issue with Qualisorb 628 then there should have been problems but no issues so far.

March 5, 2018	#819
guruofgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: zone 5 Colorado Posts: 942	Thanks for the reminder, Jim. I'm going to use the 36 cell trays and have cut coffee filters to put on the bottom of each cell. Yeah, the bottom holes are quite large for the DE. I was very lucky to have mentioned my proposed purchase and a friend gave me a card for $10 off $20, so I really bought 50 lbs. for $13 including tax. The particle size is not a powder, but very small(er) sized particles. Thanks for the OK to use this non-name brand stuff! Last edited by guruofgardens; March 5, 2018 at 05:16 PM.

March 5, 2018	#820
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	Looks good to me. The manufacturer website info below. Happy gardening. https://epminerals.com/products/floor-dry __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

March 7, 2018	#821
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,149	The PH is not the same in all DE products, (as stated in the beginnings of this thread). So if you are using something other than Opti or Ultrasorb then I would do a PH test and correct it accordingly. This will ensure that you have strong vigorous seedlings. __________________ ~ Patti ~

March 17, 2018	#822
svalli Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63° Posts: 838	Removed double post. __________________ "I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream." - Moomin-troll by Tove Jansson Last edited by svalli; March 18, 2018 at 02:49 PM.

March 17, 2018	#823
svalli Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63° Posts: 838	Similar DE as in US is not sold here, but I have been using cat litter sand, which is made from Danish moler. It seems to perform as well as the real DE. I just started to transplant my tomato seedlings to coir and made a video about how easy it is to get the plants from the moler. Sari __________________ "I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream." - Moomin-troll by Tove Jansson

February 22, 2018	#811
shyxlilfox Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: southern california Posts: 26	Wanted to thank everyone for sharing the wonders of DE. It outperforms ProMix by leaps and bounds! Recently transplanted some plants into a DE/ProMix mix, and the roots were long, well branched, and a healthy shade of white. I think they’ll be monsters once they go into the ground. Thank you, Florence

February 22, 2018	#812
Hairy Moose Knuckles Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Zone 8 Texas Posts: 172	Is this the stuff? http://www.truevalue.com/product/Aut.../338/75431.uts

February 23, 2018	#814
Hairy Moose Knuckles Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Zone 8 Texas Posts: 172	@rockporter Thank You!

February 26, 2018	#815
beetkvass Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Georgia Posts: 40	Can someone recommend a good liquid fertilizer to me for growing my tomatoes in DE? I just bought a 25 lb bag of Optisorb at O'Reilly's and it was $17. It seems awfully steep in price compared to what I'm seeing here.

March 5, 2018	#816
guruofgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: zone 5 Colorado Posts: 942	I just bought 25 lbs. of this at O'Reilly's for $11 as they did not have any other absorbent medium. Could I still use this for starting seeds? https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/e...t/9805/4525770

April 13, 2019	#825
fiat84 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: canada Posts: 3	Update using Qualisorb 628 for a week old now in my seed starting has had no issues. All veggie/herb seeds sprouted fine and continue to grow nicely. Mixed 2/3 Qualisorb 628 with 1/3 Promix BX as my starting mix. If there was a serious pH issue with Qualisorb 628 then there should have been problems but no issues so far.