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soil STOOPID soil-less grow ix!

Katrina

Katrina

I got this soil-less potting mix to start my seeds in and the stuff WILL NOT moisten!!

I have watered from the top and the trays are sitting in an inch of water and STILL, when you poke the mix, it is powder dry under the surface!!

Anyone else ever experience this? Is so any idea how to deal with it?

I am starting seeds in the small 50 cell 1"x1" trays. Currently sitting on a 90 degree F mat to try and force the moisture..... NADA!


Thank you!
Kat
 
I do have that problem with the ferry morse stuff I use. I just put it in a big bucket and mix it around with my hand and it eventually moistens. Then just scoop some out and squeeze it to remove excess water. A little dirty but quite easy.
 
I always moisten the mix b4 adding it to the flats, but you may be able to add a small amount of coco-wet or dish soap to the water and get the media to absorb.
 
Recently I tried the Jiffy Seed Starting Mix for first time and experienced your problem. Even after thoroughly wetting the mix, it would dry out in few days and repel water all over again. I got tired of watering the seedlings so often so went back to MG's seed starting mix. MG is more for lazy gardeners like me, no need to mix around in water before use. I don't care for their ferts but the mix absorbs water well after drying out.
 
I use hoffmans and don't have a problem..put it in the tray dry (or however moist it comes out of the bag), plant seeds, pour 1/2 gallon water in bottom of tray...put in germinator...it may take up to 12 hours for it to soak up all the water, but it eventually does...
 
I used jiffy/ferry morse for several years. I had the same problem the first time I used it. It did not want to get wet. I did as suggested above and wet in a bucket then filled the trays. Never had a problem with it not wanting to rewet though. This year I am using Promix and it absorbs water very well. No problems as all.....well except that it is twice the price as jiffy, but you get what you pay for.

jacob
 
I had been using the Jiffy Seed Starter with great results, as it has ~ 1/2 vermiculite, but my last bag was what you described. I cannot keep more than the first half inch wet. Many seeds have sprouted but when I remove them from the tray, most is dry and falls apart in my hand. I'm lucky I haven't lost any due to shock.
 
Take a squirt bottle full of water, spray the surface of the soil down a bit, and then water normally. :)
 
i usually use pro mix...... straight out of the bag into the trays...... spray the top with water with sprinkler setting on hose and the volume of the promix decreases in the cells..... so i compress each cell a bit...... place my seeds on top and then throw another 1/4" layer on top of that and rewater.......
 
jjs7741 said:
I used jiffy/ferry morse for several years. I had the same problem the first time I used it. It did not want to get wet. I did as suggested above and wet in a bucket then filled the trays. Never had a problem with it not wanting to rewet though. This year I am using Promix and it absorbs water very well. No problems as all.....well except that it is twice the price as jiffy, but you get what you pay for.

jacob
Click to expand...
Amen to ProMix! Since i first started this mess i was trial/error with prepack soil mix, miracle-crap, mixing my own blend of peat/vermiculite/perlite (worked okay), ProMix has won me over. It's cheap-ish and includes a wetting agent that is plant derived, so while it's not organic, it is natural.

To the OP, have you tried a few drops of detergent? I found that helped with my self mixed medium along with warm water. You really just want to break the surface tension of the water and it'll absorb right in.
 
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