I got bit by the gardening bug today. I started a batch of seedling soil using about 6-7 gallons each of ProMix and peat moss. To that I added about 2.5 gallons of perlite. For nutrients I mixed in about 3 cups each of bone meal and blood meal. I ordered a bunch of kelp meal today and will be adding a few cups of that once it's here.
I also started a batch of compost tea using commercial EWC, a handful of my own compost and a few tablespoons of unsulphered molasses. That's what I'll use to wet the mix once the kelp gets here.
After it's mixed, I'll place the tub it's in on a seedling starting mat and wrap the sides of it around the tub. Then I just need to set the thermostat to about 80o and give it a stir every couple of days for the next month or so. It should be ready to go by the time I'm ready to start seeds in early-mid January.
I had great results last year (once my seeds germinated). The mix I made last year seemed a bit weak nutrient-wise, though. I needed to add supplemental fertilizer a couple of times before outplant. So I'm adding about 4x the initial fertilizers to the mix this time around. We'll see what happens.
Anybody else using a living organic soil for seedlings this season?
I also started a batch of compost tea using commercial EWC, a handful of my own compost and a few tablespoons of unsulphered molasses. That's what I'll use to wet the mix once the kelp gets here.
After it's mixed, I'll place the tub it's in on a seedling starting mat and wrap the sides of it around the tub. Then I just need to set the thermostat to about 80o and give it a stir every couple of days for the next month or so. It should be ready to go by the time I'm ready to start seeds in early-mid January.
I had great results last year (once my seeds germinated). The mix I made last year seemed a bit weak nutrient-wise, though. I needed to add supplemental fertilizer a couple of times before outplant. So I'm adding about 4x the initial fertilizers to the mix this time around. We'll see what happens.
Anybody else using a living organic soil for seedlings this season?