for all the years i have been starting seeds i always used the regular seed starting formula but i was wondering if anyone has ever tried using something like MG potting soil for containers and if it worked.
thanks
seed starting in MG potting soil for containers
Yes, Herbie43, I've used MG potting soil indoors to start seeds and have had great success. I always sprinkle a very thin layer of vermiculite over the top before setting the seeds as I have found this helps prevent "damping off".
Make a hole with a pencil as deep as the seed package suggests, put in your seed, and cover with the vermiculite.
I also always water/fertilize from the bottom.
Lemme guess...MG stands for Miracle Gro, right? I won't allow that stuff anywhere near my organic gardens!
honeybee - thanks for your input. i was away in PA over the weekend and thats why my thanks is delayed.
lettuceman - since i only grow bout 9 to 11 plants ech yer i don't mind using MG. i apply it every two weeks and thats about it.
I start all my veggie flats and everything in MG potting soil. I like it the best everything does great!
thanks susandonb1141 -
Herbie43 - Your post inspired me to sow some parsley seeds over the weekend. I've never tried growing herbs indoors over the winter, so I'll have to see how things work out.
I found a couple of packets dated 2008 and another dated 2002! I soaked the seeds overnight, and the next morning, I swear I could see tiny roots already.
I have a room with light stands and florescent tubes, so I figured I might as well put them to use.
Molamola, I use Gardener's Supply Germinating mix to start my seedlings--the best I've ever found and completely chemical free.
honeybee - good luck and let us know how you make out. if i take out my grow lights before march my wife gives me the EYE. LOL
Lettuceman...why not Miracle Gro?
If I might but in, chemical fertilizers make all the microorganisms in soil go on a huge population explosion then they starve and die. With repeated applications, your soil becomes sterile, poor of life and poor of the varied components that make up healthy soil which makes healthy plants. (Which makes healthy you and me)
Or something like that.
Is this right, Lettuceman?
Molamola you hit the nail on the head...
Chemical fertilizers in my opinion create a vicious cycle of having to use more and more of them because they kill all the good stuff in the soil.
Natural fertilizers (compost, etc) mimic the cycle of mother nature and feed the soil the way it was intended to be fed by the natural decomposition of organic matter. Over time a natural balance is created and your soil is healthy.
This is no way is knocking those who use MG and others. I just prefer a different approach is all...
Kelly
Both Locakelly and Molamola are absolutely correct. As a strict organic gardener, I strive to copy Mother Nature, as she has been building healthy soil since day one. I help speed things along by building huge compost piles and incorporating the finished nutrients into my gardening beds. The only extra help in the way of fertilizing is an occasional shot of diluted fish emulsion, but those cases are rare.
Putting chemical fertilizers into your plants is like giving an alcoholic booze, and it does disrupt the natural balance of the soil.
I agree with everything written about organic gardening outside - but indoors, I have found problems arise when using organic methods. So, I prefer to use chemical fertilizers for the short time it takes to raise veggies from seed to transplants - then they go into the wonderful garden soil I have built up.
Perhaps it takes time for the micro-organisms to build up around such transplants, but I have to weigh one against the other. I tried setting seed directly into the garden this past spring, but most of the seedlings were eaten by unknown preditors. So next spring, I plan to go back to what I have found to be productive in the past - starting seeds indoors, then transplanting when each is of a size that will (hopefully) be able to withstand predation.
For me, it's either this approach, or use pesticides, and that I will NOT do.
Please don't worry about critizing me...I welcome any and all constructive critisim. I have used MG in the past to supplement the horse manure/leaf compost used for my garden fertilizing. Usually no more than two, or a most three times in the spring, I have added MG at the start of the season via drip feed and soaker hoses. I have been collecting information from DG threads on making compost tea to replace the MG next season. I just wasn't aware of any problems associated with MG form an organic standpoint. Just searching for enlightenment!!!
Mraider3, compost tea is a good choice. So is fish emulsion. I have a a couple of friends who fish a lot and they bring their Steelhead, Salmon, and rough fish carcasses to my gardens and I bury them in the beds. After about 3 months, there's no trace of the fish to be found and that area is incredibly rich! The restaurants here in town save their coffee grounds for me and they go right on top of the beds and are incorporated into the soil along with my homemade compost every Spring. I'm also a big fan of organic mulching to keep the weeds down and the moisture in. There's always an organic, natural alternative...we just don't need those disruptive chemicals in our gardens!
Lettuceman, you're lucky to have good sources. I'm presuming you don't have competition for the coffee grounds and your fishing friends don't bury their fish themselves.
I knew a fellow who tilled plain pine sawdust into his garden. It broke down quickly, and his soil was amazingly soft and fluffy. He balanced the sawdust with lawn clippings, manure, and fall leaves.
There's always something around, if you live in the country or a small town.