Re: Vermiculite and seeds
- To:
- Subject: Re: Vermiculite and seeds
- From: M* T*
- Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 19:14:32 -0500
Doreen,
Once upon a time, when I used to do veggies and lots of annuals, I always
used pure vermiculite to start the seeds...don't remember exactly why
anymore, but did it for years. Works well, as I recall, but you have to
watch it because it will dry out very quickly. The other downside is that
there are absolutely no nutrients in it to feed the seedlings once they
pass the seed-leaf stage, so you have to fertilize with a *very* dilute
liquid feed every time you water. For people as unorganized as I can be,
this can become an issue.
Now, I use Pro-Mix, simply because it is semi-sterile and comes in big
bales that last me quite a while....at least it does not harbor the weed
seeds my home brewed mix does....with added grit or perlite and topped with
a thin layer of what I call "chicken grit" - starter size. This is approx.
1/8" dia. crushed granite, obtained from local feed and grain
store....marvelous stuff for increasing drainage in potting mixes or
topping up seed pots. The seedlings can survive in this for longer without
feeding as the Pro-Mix has some fertilizer added to it.
If you go searching for grit, make sure it is pure granite and has no added
salts or anything...I've read horror stories from people who have gotten
bags of it so salty it's killed everything, having had "additions" to aid,
I assume, the poultry it is designed for.
As others have said, the little black bugs are fungus gnats encouraged by
overwatering the pots. You don't want seed pots to dry out, but you don't
want them soggy, either. That's one of the other things that a grit
topping is good for; it keeps the potting mix moist (acting as a mulch) and
starts to lighten in color when things start to dry off a bit, helping to
remind one to water the pots.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor: Gardening in Shade
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----------
> From: Doreen Knihnicky <knihnick@mail.med.upenn.edu>
> Date: Wednesday, February 24, 1999 3:30 PM
>
> I have two questions:
>
> 1. Does anyone know if vermiculite alone is good enough to start
> germinating seeds?
>
> 2. I'm being threatened by my husband and son. Help. I planted lots of
> seeds, different varieties of annuals and perennials and I've got those
> nasty little flies (gnats?) everywhere, especially around my little pots.
> What can I do? What did I do wrong?
>
> Doreen
>
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