Seed starting with grow lights

Danggit, Feldon, you could've save me a lot of typing if I'd known we were posting at the same time! (*grin) :>)

And yes, Jarsh, 'What feldon said..."

Happy Day!
Shoe

Thanks both of you!!! So of course I have questions, LOL! When u said "2 inches of compost to a new garden bed" do u even it out over the surface or do u mix it in with the dirt? Also, I have noticed that I do not have a big worm population and was wondering if I should buy some and set them "FREEE" on the garden?!?!

Thanks
P.S. Take a look at the pic and see if anything seems wrong with the plants

and another

Okay just got back from the store found PlantTone All Purpose plant food. Got manure and Micrel gro garden soil not sure if I needed the soil but I figured if u said no I could just take it back. Here is the pic of the things in the manure.

Sounds like you have compost with about 10% manure. Which can be fine if the other 90% is well-broken down and good stuff. It's hard to tell compost just from specifications. I go by look, feel, and smell. I'm not usually interested in the fertilization numbers (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potash). Again, compost can be shredded leaves, shredded pine bark, cotton burrs, cow/sheep/llama/alpaca/horse/zoo animal/etc. manure or any combination of the above.

As for usage, I lightly mix the compost or composted manure into the top layer of soil. I generally put 2-3 bags of compost over a 3 x 12 bed to start that bed out. I just don't want it right on top because otherwise the sun will break it down faster. Once I've got my compost and fertilizers mixed in, I plant my plants and then put down a good layer of mulch of leaves or pine straw.

Realize that you are not really "fertilizing" with compost. You are improving the soil fertility and friability. It's a subtle difference. Compost is also very good at loosening up soil and improving soil texture. Compost is a long-term solution.

Fertilizer provides food to the plants. Chemical fertilizers ignore the worms and beneficial microbes in the soil and just provide raw materials to the plants. Whether that is good or bad I leave up to you. Organic fertilizer seeks to make the soil fertile, increase beneficial microorganism activity, increase earthworms, etc. Earthworms aerate the soil and break down organic materials in the soil into a form that plants can use. Either way, fertilizer is a more short-term solution.

I use both compost AND fertilizer. I do use them at the prescribed rates according to the packaging.


You can use Miracle Gro garden soil just realize it already contains fertilizers so you may have to back off on how much other fertilizer you add.

Most of us have heavy clay soils, so adding loose, light, fluffy soil based on peat or coir or other organic matter is a necessity. I grow in raised beds, so I have to bring my own soil which gets rather expensive. I finally had a truckload of 3 cubic yards delivered. It sounds like a lot until you start doing the math of how much soil each garden bed needs.

This message was edited Apr 2, 2009 12:07 PM

So should I take back the topsoil since I will be adding plant tone?

I have heard the city dump offers free composted leaves from the bags they pick up in the fall. You might want to look into it, it worth a shot if you can get free compost.

You have to decide if you have enough soil depth to grow vegetables. You typically want a garden bed with loose soil at least 10 inches deep for the roots to grow in. If you need more soil, you can add topsoil but realize it's just "filler".

You've got your bagged compost which is good stuff, and you want 15-30% of your soil to be compost if possible. The rest can be bagged garden soil, top soil, peat moss, shredded leaves. I never fill a garden bed with just one thing. I try to mix a bunch of different things together.

This message was edited Apr 3, 2009 9:53 AM

What is "pinching" a plant? Ex. Pinch the central tip to promote side branches. Do I need to pinch a tomato plant?