So my local places are all out of seed starting mix. I want to start mine now and I have potting soil will that work?
Potting soil or seed starting mix?
- Thread starter ChelswannabeGT
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It will "probably" be OK. The only thing I have found wrong about using potting soil instead of seed starting mix is that the potting soil is not sterilized. And if it is not sterilized you take a chance of your new sprouts being afflicted with damping off disease. There are two things you can do. You can either sterilize the potting soil or as soon as the seeds sprout sprinkle whole ground or horticultural cornmeal on the surface of the soil. Or do nothing and take a chance.
have you ever just taken a chance?
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A few times, before I learned about cornmeal. Most times everything was OK but some of the time I lost everything that sprouted. Have you ever seen damping off? When the plant is still in the cotyledon stage the stem of the plant becomes very narrow right at soil level and the seedling falls over and dies. And sometimes the seedling can even have its first set of true leaves and still gets it. Damping off disease is a fungal disease and horticultural cornmeal acts as the growing medium for trichoderma fungi, a beneficial fungus that destroys all kinds of harmful fungus.
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I start my seeds in Pro-mix BX, or Pro-mix HP, or Roots Organic potting mix, depending on the seed I'm planting. The trick is to not water them after they first sprout. In the photo the seeds are just beginning to sprout (1dayold) and that's the time to hold back the water. When using regular potting mix the nutrients are released with every watering and when you limit your water, you have better control of nutrients. I have waited as long as 12 days before watering the second time with super results. The plants roots only grow in search of nutrients or water and when you hold that back the root grows a lot faster producing bigger plants. .
