I HATE MY SEED SOWING MIX.

[malaprop]

I hate my seed-planting mix. It's dead stuff, really. And what was the price of it? Something silly. All it is is peat moss and giant pieces of perlite.---and I do mean giant pieces, Compared to the size of the seed, the pieces of perlite are like giant boulders, that no tiny germinating hosta seed could have a chance in pushing it out of the way!

And of course, there's the darn white mould. If the mix is dead, why is the mould popping up? I run my fingers over it to try and destroy it-die, die, die, mould.

Now that I've got 95% of my sowing done I've come to realize there's gotta be a better way to do this.

I'll make my own darn mix, that's what I'll do.

I'll use peatmoss and vermiculite. And I think I'll use coffee grounds--we always poured any coffee left in our cups into the office plants, and they seemed to like it.. (I'm rinsing the grounds right now)..........and bone meal--that's it, I'll add 1 teaspoon of bone meal per dry cup of mix........


Whew. There. Now I feel better getting that off my chest.

[NWhosta4life]

Yeah i know what you mean, my first flat has developed this white mold....why is it there? And is it going to kill my seedlings? And how do i get rid of this crap?!

[barbara]

Don't buy or use leftover potting mixes ...if it has a pinhole in it, crap gets in and grows. You'll still have seeds germinate, but you will lower you germination rate if its old and moldy. Buy fresh, and the freshest is avaible from places that also sell hydroponic equipment and mediums....wonder why?

[maidofshade]

Did you ever try cinnamon?? I sprinkled some on the hostas I am trying to grow and no mold here. Also I haven't noticed any gnats either.
Has anyone else tried this??????????????
Cheryl

[GrannyNanny]

I've said this before, but here it is again. I moisten my potting or seed starting mix with boiling water, and leave it, covered, to steam itself out. When it's cool, then I use it, and I seldom have mould, or gnats either. The seed starter I get has no perlite in it at all -- I add it in the proportions I have found useful, and this way I can buy the tiny pieces and not the boulders of perlite! Phyllis

[John]

Some of the seed mixes are so high in peat moss they seem to hold too much water. I think the hosta seeds will be okay with the giant perlite though. And the cinnamon is something I've not tried, but keep seeing recommendations.

I don't know about the coffee grounds for starting seeds, although it is a good amendment in the garden. Why? It seems to get moldy and smelly if kept in the house too long... I was using a 3 lb. coffee can to collect grounds, and it got gross. Now I throw them outside more often.

[Don Rawson]

Keep in mind that everything (the mix, trays, etc.) should be kept sterile. Otherwise you WILL HAVE mold that will destroy your seeds and seedlings. If you use old trays, you have to sterilize them with hot water, bleach, or whatever. Coffee grounds, peat, sand, etc. has to be sterilized too. Don

[Rob]

I used to grow cacti.

Due to the sowing conditions, a closed container with a very humid atmosphere, fungus outbreaks were unavoidable without precautions before sowing and treatment after sowing.
Before sowing, all the equipment, the containers, even the seeds were thouroughly cleaned to make them as close to sterile as possible. The sowing mix was steamed (I can still smell the horrific odour this produced).

In order to avoid fungi spreading too easily, 1 separate container was used per species.

But, beware, fungi are airborne, you can't keep your sowing kit clean.

After sowing, when watering was needed or when a fungal infection was detected, the seedlings were sprayed with a solution of water and a wound(skin) desinfectant or water and sucking tablets for a sour throat (2 tablets in 1/2 liter or one pint of water).
This may seem very unconventional, but the purpose of these medicins is to prevent ore cure infections.

And most important, it works !!

[Justaysam]

Very interesting Rob, and makes sense. I wonder what name brand stuff we could get over here? I will have to take a look at the pharm. and see what I can find that would disolve well. I have not had a mold problem since the first one or two years I tried growing seeds, but I do sterilize everything now, and clean the seed well before I sow. I have used the cinn., also sand and herbal tea before, but the mold won out each time.
Mal, I also mix up my own mix, peat, bagged pine bark, that I grind up smaller, and perlite. I wet it with boiling water and cook it in the microwave for atleast 10 min, sometimes more if it is a large batch. All the containers are cleaned and soak in bleach before using, and the seed is screened to remove as much of the black "wing" as I can get off.

[JoshS]

A fungicide will take care of the mold. Doesn't have to be anything special...just find something at Wal-Mart (or similar). Something that can be used to prevent damping off in seedlings...it will say this on the label. I treat all my seedlings with a fungicide soon after sprouting just as a precaution.

[Rob]

Josh,

You're absolutely right.
The only disadvantage with some fungicides is that they have a negative impact on the number of seeds sprouting. I suppose it's all a question of trial and error.

The medicins I used were:
-Chinosol tablets (German): active component: Chinolinolsulfate
-Superol tablets (Dutch): active component: Oxychinolini sulfate

Trial and error proofed that these "fungicides" have no negative impact on the sprouting of (cactus)seeds.

Greetings from Belgium


Rob

[malaprop]

Do you guys remember the time I almost started a fire in my microwave from nuking the dry sowing mix? It started smoldering, and glowing fire in the middle.

Scared me to death!

Doing it in the over was so smelly. Pouring heated water over it didn't stop the moss, gnats.

What kills gnats is RAID. A can of Raid, by golly.

The white mould I got a couple of weeks ago, I broke it up with just touching it, then sprayed 409 on it. Mould has NOT RETURNED!!! and I'm still getting germiniation.....
the gnats I've always hated....and with the lids on they can't get out and multiply.

[malaprop]

It's that time of year............my cake tins

[Willowy]

Malaprop,
I'm glad you posted a picture of the cake tins....I did not realize what you were talking about and I was having difficulty buying growing trays this time of year. However, I am having a hard time believing you use 409. Sorry but the dog with the goggles is too funny...are you serious about 409?

[gootziecat]

Malaprop,

I enjoyed seeing your setup. I haven't looked for sheet cake pans for a long time. Do they sell them with the domed lids or are you using bakery cakes from some place like Walmart?

Guess I'll have to break down and buy a can of Raid. I've tried everything for the @!*& gnats and so far, they still plague my seedlings.

I haven't found mold to be a big problem either. I also broke up the soil but didn't use 409. Instead, slacked up on the high moisture. Germination didn't seem to be as good as expected but there were still several seedlings that braved my mistakes.

gootziecat

[malaprop]

I make my own 409 for 15-cents a litre soda bottle. Haven't bought the real 409 for 10 years--except to get the bottle.

1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
1/4 cup ammonia
1 glurg or squirt of dish detergent
fill the soda bottle with water


Costs about 15-cents.

I got my cake pans with lids at the Dollar store. I'll never go back to Jiffy pots trays.

[gootziecat]

Malaprop--

COOL!!! Thanks.

gootziecat

[malaprop]

Malaprop,
I'm glad you posted a picture of the cake tins....I did not realize what you were talking about and I was having difficulty buying growing trays this time of year. However, I am having a hard time believing you use 409. Sorry but the dog with the goggles is too funny...are you serious about 409?

Yes. I was mad.