I thought I would go over seed starting mix since this will give you time to decide if you want to purchase your seed starting soil or make your own. I have personally used both.
Most garden stores will carry small bags for the gardeners wanting to start just a few seeds. For gardeners planning on starting multiple plants, it may be cost-effective to make your own mix.
Making your own seed soil mix is very simple and can sometimes be of better quality than what can be purchased at stores. The three ingredients needed can be found at just about any garden center: compost, peat moss, and perlite with a mixture rate of 1:1:1 of each ingredient.
Compost can be either farmyard compost, mushroom compost, or seaweed compost. I personally use farmyard compost since this is something that is readily available to me at any time. Compost is needed to release nutrients into the soil mix slowly.
Peatmoss can be just about any brand you like. I personally use Promix. I find fewer sticks, tree bark, and other unwanted matter in this brand.
Perlite is the third ingredient. Perlite is a white expanded rock that has tiny cracks and pores in it, almost resembling popcorn. Perlite helps with aeration and to prevent over-watering and root rot.
Once you have the three ingredients, it’s time to mix them.
How I mix is what I call the three-gallon mix. I add one gallon of compost, one gallon of peat moss, and one gallon of perlite. This allows me to work in smaller, more precise amounts without mixing up too much and having to store it.
Before mixing the ingredients, I screen the compost and the peat moss. I do this by putting it into a screen sifter that has 1/4-inch square holes that allow the compost and peat moss to pass through, but not sticks, stones, and other debris that may be in the compost or peat moss.
I also do this with the peat moss because peat moss can become very clumpy. This will break all the big pieces into workable material.
Once I have all three ingredients mixed, I use a small garden fork to mix the ingredients up. I find that this tool works well for mixing the ingredients without much work.
Whether you purchase your starter soil or make your own, you will need to add water before placing your seeds into the soil. Your soil should have enough water added to make it dark in color and look like cake batter. If you would pick up a handful of soil, you should be able to squeeze a small amount of water out of it. This would be the perfect water to soil ratio. I would also recommend using water that is room temp because the soil temp needs to be between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit for seeds to germinate. If you were to use cold tap water, it would take longer to get the temp of the soil up for the seeds to germinate.
One other ingredient I put into my water when wetting the soil is Superthrive, which is an organic plant food with fish emulsion. I started using this last year and found my plants seem to germinate faster. I also had fewer problems with disease found in young seedlings. I must warn you, though — this product does have a strong odor. If you plan on starting your seeds in a room in your home, you might find that the smell might be a bit much. In my case, I start my seedlings in my garden shed now, so no one must smell this but me.
I do have some garden friends that include a few other ingredients.
One ingredient is Azomite, which is a rock dust from volcanic ash. It is said to give the young seedlings essential elements of minerals to give seedlings better growth.
The other ingredient is worm tea. Worm tea is made by adding worm castings and molasses. This should be made 24 hours before you plan to use it. The reason is that the worm castings and molasses need time to ferment, making a liquid high in nitrogen. The only thing to remember is that using worm tea is to be sure to dilute it before using. It is recommended one ounce per gallon of water.
