can I reuse seed starting medium?

I have several cell packs of seeds that did not germinate, it was a gamble, they were old seeds. My question is can I plant other seeds in those cells with the same seed starter mix, or do I need to bake it to sterilize it first?
Thank you, Kathy

I am going to take a guess that you probably shouldn't use the same mix without sterilizing it first. I just lurk around here and am hardly an expert, but I bet that's what one would say! There's a chance your seeds didn't start because of rot or something, in which case you could "infect" your other seeds by starting them in the same soil. But, I'm sure a real expert will come along soon to give you a definitive answer!

I don't reuse potting soil for exactly the reason stated above. If you don't want to just dispose of it, you can put it in your compost heap. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

thank you, I will put it in the microwave and zap it just to be safe.
Kathy

I agree--if it were full grown plants then I might be lazy and reuse it, but with seeds I wouldn't take any chances.

I wouldn't microwave it. I wouldn't reuse it. Unless you're talking about a mountain of potting soil, how much are you going to save?

well, I know that it's not much, and in the summer I would just throw it on my compost pile, but hubby hasn't worked since last fall, (kidney cancer, 3 vertabrae replaced) and I am on Social Sec. due to MS, so money is very tight, I don't have much seed starter left thats why I was going to reuse it. I baked pans of dirt to do my winter sowing in, because I had a heap of mushroom compost. You would crack up if you saw how we lived. In a 1920 cabin, heat with only firewood that we cut and split, cook over an open fire or grill, yada yada. We are pretty primitive here, due to both finances and the love of nature and hard work. I had a roof worker ask me one day if I was Amish, lol. Outside hanging clothes, cooking over the fire ,,,. He said his wife complains because they don't have a dishwasher. rotf I told him to have her come over and follow me around for a weekend. You just do what you have to do. It won't stop me from gardening though, lol. I will just bake the old dirt then use miracle grow later, lol.
Kathy
our cabin below

Your cabin is so beautiful! For what its worth, although I said you probably shouldn't reuse it, last year I reused mine when my first set of seeds either didn't sprout or got too leggy because I started them too soon. I just poked the seeds down in the old dirt, and they grew just fine. And, I had TONS of veggies in my garden, so I don't think it hurt it at all. And I didn't even bake or microwave it. So, I'm sure it will work. There is probably still a chance it won't, but more than likely it will. If I can do it, I'm quite sure you can do it! Hope things for you and your husband turn around

Kathy - your place is lovely! i am an urban apartment dweller - i can't imagine living your way, but i will say from my perspective there is a certain appeal!

amy
*

Thank you Amy~! It is so quiet here, all I hear are birds and running water. My friend brought me a huge bag of seed starter last night, whoohooo, and my neice took me to Wallmart and bought me a small greenhouse, it has shelves and a zipped cover, I AM SET! Gotta love your family..........I am so thankful.
Kathy

Oh wow, Kathy. Your place is beautiful! I work in the city, am moving to the city soon, but I'd REALLY love to be moving back to the country. I am so envious! :)

Kathy, glad to hear things have worked out for you. You're place is just lovely. I too have one of those small greenhouses and am loving it! I have it sitting on my porch facing the morning sun. It's been great and I've had good luck with some things I never thought possible. Enjoy! And give that niece an extra big hug!! good kid!! :)

I see your member name is doccat5, are you a Veterinarian? My neice that bought me that greenhouse graduates from Medical School and will be a Pediactric Surgeon, in May. I have helped her study over the phone through all of her schooling, I was a Veterinary Nurse.
Kathy

I'm a retired Chiropractor. :)

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I love havin my bones crakked, lol

Me too. ;)

Kathy, I'm so sorry to hear about the health problems you and your husband are dealing with. We do all our heating with wood or pellet stoves too. I do cook on a regular stove, though. LOL Your cabin is so pretty.

Here's an idea that won't require any potting soil - did you know you can get good germination from seeds sown outside by just covering them with jars or plastic containers? It makes a mini greenhouse that keeps them moist and protects them from the bugs. Leave the jars on until you have fairly decent sized sprouts and if they get too moist or too hot, prop the jars with a stick.

hart,
Thanks for the tip. I have a ton of milk jugs outside, I am trying the winter sowing for the first time this year. I used the mushroom compost in the jugs. I pray it worked! I went to the recycling center and relieved them of BAGS of jugs, lol.
;;crossing my fingers;;;
Kathy

You can use milk jugs or 2 liter soda bottles if you cut the tops off or bottoms off. What I'm talking about is sowing directly in your garden rather than wintersowing with potting soil actually in the bottles.

ohhhhhhhh ok, I get it. Thank you for the tip, I have plenty of 2L pop bottles left. I love trying new things!
Kathy

Wow! You Amish sure know how to garden! Your place is absolutely beautiful. Couldn't resist throwing in my 2 cents since that's not far off of my gardening budget. My husband works in construction and there's very little of it to go around at this time. That means lots of layoffs so I have learned to garden on a shoestring. I know it is not ideal to re-use the starting medium, but to save money I did. Not once, but sometimes as many as four times. Maybe I was just lucky, but I never had problems doing so. Each time I just dig out a small amount of the starter with the seedling and re-pot it in reg. soil. - then add new starter and begin again. I do the same with potting soil. I know some of my plants are growing in 10 year old soil. Again, it's better to use new, but if it's not an option, you can get by with older soil. My grandma grew plants of every kind in her house and garden - 100's of them - and not once did she purchase soil, perlite, vermiculite, insecticides or fertilizer. I recall milk jugs of water sitting around with crushed eggshell in the bottom, bags of used coffee grounds and mayonnaise jars housing plant starts throughout her garden. I sure wish I had inquired more about how she made it all work. That's the thing I like most about plants. Given the smallest bit of assistance, they will reward you with an amazing display. I've loved plants since I was about 12 - for about 37 years now - and they never cease to amaze me. PS I hope your husband is doing well. That's alot for one person to deal with.

Chris

now Chris, if I were Amish would I be on the computer?? ROTF
Thank you for the kind words. I too wish I had asked my Gramma about her ways of gardening. I remember a huuuuge backyard without a blade of grass to mow, it was all flowers. I would sit on the swing and smell the wonderful fragrances in the air from all of the flowers.
Kathy

Kathy, maybe I'm Amish, but I don't know what ROTF means. I'm kind of new to this forum and I'm just beginning to learn the abbreviations. If you don't mind spelling it out for me I'd appreciate it. I didn't mention it above, but I don't think my grandma ever bought a plant either. She traded with friends, collected seeds from everywhere and occasionally took a small "slip" from an inconspicuous spot on a plant. I remember once she took a bunch of flowers from my school dance coursage and started several plants from it. Whenever I can't fall asleep at night, I try to visualize the different areas of her garden. It was truly magical to walk through the winding paths. It sounds so hokey to say it like that, but it's the only way I can describe it. All of this was inside a rather small city lot with a very busy highway out front and a broken glass strewn alley out back. You would never know you were in the middle of all this when you were in the garden. The colors were brilliant, birds were darting around her yard and splashing in the birdbath all the time and as you mentioned above - the fragrances were better than any room freshener or perfume I ever smelled. Lastly, I don't think she ever killed a plant. Every year I lose a few things in my garden. She would divide and move plants, dig clumps up for friends and thin plantings, but I don't believe she killed a single one. Maybe we're better off having limited budgets to work with. My friends with ample money to spend on their gardens seem to lose several expensive plants every year. They know there's more where that came from - no need to make it work!
Nice talking with you...
Chris

Chris,
ROTFL means rolling on the floor laughing, when something cracks you up. It sounds like your Grandma and mine loved their flowers. I have a gorgeous picture of my Grandma's back yard, I love to look at it. My brother gave it to me just a few weeks ago so that I can have a enlarged copy made to frame and hang. I really never knew my grandparents, my parents were in their 40's when I was born and my last grandparent died when I was just 6, but I still have the memories of the garden. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Kathy

Thanks for the info., Kathy! I'll get the hang of this yet. I was almost 40 when my son was born and I try to teach him a little about gardening here and there. He may never use it, but it doesn't hurt to have the info. tucked away in your brain. Gardening brings me so much joy and I've learned so much from following these forums. It's the next best thing to having my grandma back again! Gosh, I just looked at the time...I have to go to work in the morning, so I better go now. See - once again I got caught up in a discussion with a plant friend and lost all track of time. Hours go by like minutes when I get "talking" about plants. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone in my passion for plants. So, off I go to bed now to recreate my grandmas garden in my mind. It makes for very peaceful rest!!! Good night!
Chris

Guspuppy,
I hope you will post that picture here so we can all enjoy the memories of your grandmother's garden. Somehow, I think it would inspire us Frugal Gardeners.
Misty

Back to reusing potting mix.....I just read somewhere that you can pour boiling water through your potting mix to sterilize it. I tried it not too long ago and so far the plant I put in the old potting soil isn't dead! Just make sure to let the soil cool off before you plant in it!

I re-use starting mix often. Just bake it, somehow. In the oven at 250 for an hour, or grilltop, whatever - just get it hot for a while to kill fungus, etc. I generally moisten it a bit, and when it steams I know it's working.

I also use aluminum lasagna pans, with the plastic lids, to start seeds, so I can just throw the whole thing in the oven! I like these pans better than plastic seed starter trays because they are cheaper, deeper, and the dome/lid fits WELL to trap moisture until the seeds germinate, and if you are careful with those lids, you can use them a couple of seasons. I have even repaired tiny cracks at the lid edge with scotch tape, and kept on...