Best seed starting/growing medium

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heuvy Allentown, PA Jan 13, 2015

I am planning to start my vegetable seeds indoors. I have been researching what is the best mixture to use. Once I start the seeds, I plan on leaving them in the container until I transplant them into my garden. I know I can't just use seed starting mix. Can I combine seed starting mix with soil? Should I combine seed starting mix with potting mix? I've seen online some people just use potting mix, is that a viable option? Are all of these bad ideas and should I use something else? Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you everyone!

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Audrey Hadley, PA(Zone 5a) Jan 14, 2015

I generally start my seeds in pure seed-starting mix, as it is sterile and less likely to cause damping off disease. I then transplant them into a combination of half seed-starting mix and half potting soil for a while before setting them out. It isn't a perfect system, as some plants will damp off even in the seed starting mix!

What you might want to try is filling the bottom of your containers with potting soil and spreading a layer of a sterile medium such as seed starting mix, sand, or peat moss over the top. That way the roots of the plants should reach the more fertile potting soil shortly.

You can find some good info on preventing damping off at the following link:
http://tomclothier.hort.net/page13.html

Post #10003968
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drdawg43 Starkville, MS(Zone 8a) Jan 14, 2015

I use either pure peat moss or pure, milled, sphagnum moss. I really don't see a lot of difference between the two. For the purists out there, IF the plant is more acid-loving, start the seeds in peat. Peat moss is slightly acidic. Otherwise, use the milled sphagnum. Sphagnum moss has a neutral pH. I generally, but not always, transplant my seedlings to a "potting soil" mix in 4" pots, when they have grown a couple of "true" leaves and when the roots are well developed and will start using a 1/2 dilution of 20-20-20 fertilizer. If I am going to sell the plants, they will be potted up from those 4" pots into 1 gal. pots.

Ken

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tapla Bay City, MI(Zone 6a) Jan 15, 2015

I use the soils I grow in to start seeds in. The only difference is, I'll cover seeds in a bark-based mix with 1/8-1/4" of peat. Seeds of plants I grow in a more mineral based soil, I'll cover with a thin layer of Turface fines. I use a hand spritzer bottle or Foggit nozzle to keep the soil damp - never wet. Seedlings thrive with LOTS of air in the root zone, and open soils (soils with large macro pores that can be counted on to always be full of air) almost never have inherent damping off issues.

Al

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Post #10004703
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Baja_Costero Baja California, Mexico(Zone 11) Jan 15, 2015

Quote from tapla :
I use the soils I grow in to start seeds in.


Me too. A couple of differences... I pass the potting mix through a sieve to remove the larger particles and use a finer grade of pumice. I also like to cook the soil before I set up the seeds, and use clean pots, to cut down on the stuff growing in there. Have never had problems with damping off, maybe due to the amount of pumice I add (about 50% or more for the succulents I grow).

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