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seeds Pro-Mix Seedling Mix

Binganero

Binganero

Hi Folks,

I made an inquiry last season about this seedling/potting mix and no one seemed to have much experience with it.

http://www.premierhort.com/eProMix/Gardening/fGardening.htm

(click on the link for 'PRO-MIX for Potting and Seeding')

I decided to take the risk and try it as the ingredients seemed to be right for pepper seeds.

My review of the mix... it is FANTASTIC. The mix holds moisture well but also drains well to retain the appropriate moisture levels for seeds. You can squeeze it like a sponge and the water drains easily and it expands back to its full volume almost instantly. It is very loose, so air can penetrate easily, and the seeds seem to LOVE it.

I started Bhut Jolokia, Trinidad Scorpion, Chocolate habs (all from Neil), as well as cherry hots, numex big jim, douglah, and fatali, and in less than three weeks, I have over 95% germination of all of them.

You can get the stuff at Amazon for cheap:

http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Horticulture-0442P-32QT-Pro/dp/B000BZ4RQC

In review, if you are looking for a GOOD, hassle-free mix for seeds, this is the one. I don't see it carried in many places, so I am plugging it in hopes that Premier will continue to make it for a long time.

I will keep everyone updated!

Bing
 
I just bought a bag for potting up. It's so light and fluffy, when I bottom watered in my 1 gallon pots it soaked the water up pretty fast too . I'll give it a shot with germinating seeds when my next order gets here. So far I like it. And it was cheaper than MG.
 
I've gotten very good results just using the Pro-Mix Ultimate Organic Mix from Menard's. Not even a seed starting mix, but it's working very well. It's pretty light on the nutes anyway, I had to start fertilizing after about 2-3 weeks after they popped as the seedlings started showing signs of deficiencies. A little fish emulsion and they're back to a healthy green and the purple veins are gone. It's the only Pro-mix I can find here, and the only decent potting mix I can find here at all (of course, why should anyone sell a decent potting mix in a town of only 80,000 people? :rolleyes: ). It's only $5-6 at Menard's.

What is the shipping like on that? I would think that the shipping on potting soil would make it too expensive to order online.
 
i have a bale i bought last spring and it works nice. i had good germination with my new planted seedlings.

other than the mycorise, i don't believe it has any other N/P/P added, so you will have to fertilize as the seedlings get bigger, i add coffee grounds, kelp, sand, green tea and coir to my promix and my seedlings look strong.
 
Is Pro-mix easy to find in Canada BC? Premier Horticulture is a Canadian company right?

Scott's has a stranglehold on the US potting soil market. :banghead: Oh well, I'm making my own this year anyway. At least the hardware stores carry 3.8 ft^3 bales of Premier Horticulture peat for ~$10 so I can make my own for pretty cheap.
 
I am confused...are you guys using the same mix for potting up as you are for seed germination?
 
AlabamaJack said:
I am confused...are you guys using the same mix for potting up as you are for seed germination?
Click to expand...

I am, but I didn't use a seed starting mix. Maybe I should have, but I got ~95% germination with the Pro-Mix ultimate organic potting mix, and it's very low in ferts and pretty fine, so it worked well for me.
 
Is Pro-mix easy to find in Canada BC? Premier Horticulture is a Canadian company right?
Click to expand...

yes to both questions but i thought they had a distribution locale in north eastern US.
scott brand is readily available, i believe they miralce-gro.
when i go to either a large chain store or a nursery they usually have several brands and various sizes.

I am confused...are you guys using the same mix for potting up as you are for seed germination?
Click to expand...

i do, but again i doctor up my promix (now i forget if it is hp bx, it's sitting right behind me, on my deck, covered to keep the snow off, i could just open the sliding glass door, step out on the deck and look.........but it's too damn cold and i am in my shorts, goofing off as usual.

....and if a seed doesn't germinate in its cell after a period of time, i recycle it back into my mix pail. which has lead to a surprise plant growing in with my choc bhut. i usually keep very good record of what i am growing but this new fellar escapes me. it is either a dorset naga, butchT, it doesn't look like a locato, if the seed is really old could be a scotch bonnet - guess i will just have to wait and see.

the promix cost $27,
 
I find germinating in soil takes forever. Once I moved to pots the speed of growth comparison is insane between cheap regular potting mix and high quality mix.
 
AlabamaJack said:
I am confused...are you guys using the same mix for potting up as you are for seed germination?
Click to expand...
Yes, I've been doing quite a bit of that. Since I germinate the seeds in a baggie or cup, it made sense to me to put the little buggers straight into 3 or 4-inch pots, try to eliminate one step. This meant going straight into something like Pro-Mix normally for potting up. I think Nicole mentioned she likes to plant straight into larger containers also.

Here's some Thai Hot that made their way into the world straight from a baggie into a home made mix. You can see the soil is rough from the perlite, but they made it through. (Also a little container of cilantro and a couple of Jap M. Just testing stuff with that mix.)

IMG_0827.JPG


I think this will work for smaller scale growers like me, going for around 50-75 peppers.
You guys let me know what downsides there is to this, please! (Just a noob-- getting close to launching my main grow.... :cool:
 
Siliman said:
Yes, I've been doing quite a bit of that. Since I germinate the seeds in a baggie or cup, it made sense to me to put the little buggers straight into 3 or 4-inch pots, try to eliminate one step. This meant going straight into something like Pro-Mix normally for potting up. I think Nicole mentioned she likes to plant straight into larger containers also.

Here's some Thai Hot that made their way into the world straight from a baggie into a home made mix. You can see the soil is rough from the perlite, but they made it through. (Also a little container of cilantro and a couple of Jap M. Just testing stuff with that mix.)

IMG_0827.JPG


I think this will work for smaller scale growers like me, going for around 50-75 peppers.
You guys let me know what downsides there is to this, please! (Just a noob-- getting close to launching my main grow.... :cool:
Click to expand...

Those look like the "Thai Hot" plant I got at Lowe's last year...they produced tiny tepin-sized pods chock full of seeds. They're pretty hot, but not a good pepper for eating imo. Not much taste and tons of seeds. I didn't really care for them. Not sure if you've grown them before but they don't seem to be of much use imo, other than as an ornamental. And in that case, there are far cooler and better looking ornamentals out there...
 
Wow, tough crowd! Thanks for the heads up, though I think you hurt them little fellers feelings.... :cool: I got these from Seed Savers Exchange. They have endured some of my noobie testing and I hope they turn out well. Hope to use these little pods whole in a fish soup broth, so doesn't matter about the seeds.

Thai Hots at SSE
 
Yeah, those are the same ones. I didn't mean to be a Debbie Downer, just didn't want you potentially wasting too much time and money with those if you didn't know what to expect. The various kinds of bird peppers...cumari, piri piri, tepin, etc. are a lot better peppers are far as tiny hot ones go imo, but on the other hand, they can be hard to get to produce for us Northerners the first year. But who knows, maybe you'll like the thai hot. Might as well try it out I suppose. :)
 
AlabamaJack said:
I am confused...are you guys using the same mix for potting up as you are for seed germination?
Click to expand...


Hi AJ!

No, I make my own pot-up mix from ingredients I can get at Home Depot and my peppers seem to love it. I just have struck out the last two years with seedling mix, and the closes Pro-mix distributor is 35 miles away from me.


Avon Barksdale said:
What is the shipping like on that? I would think that the shipping on potting soil would make it too expensive to order online.
Click to expand...

Shipping was 6 dollars I think? No more than that. It was less than gas and time to go get Pro-Mix myself, so I ordered it. Again, 35 miles and an hour and a half saved make it worth it.


Everybody has their methods, but for cost, ease and effectiveness, this is the best thing I have used thus far.

Pumped for another pepper season! I have an experiment I will be trying this year! I'll keep everyone posted!
 
@ Avon, Info much appreciated! I'm bumbling along here and actually spent a couple hours yesterday researching 'bird peppers' and all the variants. Would like to grow these, even if I have to overwinter them.

...Meanwhile, back at the thread ranch...

edit--post answered while posting

@ Binganero, link and info much appreciated... :cool:
 
I just planted some tomatoes in this mix earlier today, so I'll see how it goes for seeding. So far i've only used MG Seed Starting Mix and have had decent results with it.
 
Avon's mix appears to have alot more perlite than the mix I discussed. I would say the seedling mix is about 20% perlite.
 
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