Another Ohio gardener here, I've watched your older videos and decided to use your recipe. I used a little less earth worm casting and mycorrhizal in my first batch of seed starting mix. I plan to adjust if needed. This is my second year starting seeds and having great success with your mix. Thanks for all the comparisons and tips.
I am a leaf mold guy. I did a side by side comparison with peat and the leaf mold last year, plants started in the leaf mold were more robust and had a more substantial root structure, just my own personal experience. The leaf mold I used had no distinguishable leaf particles, and was aged for 5 months. The leaf mold I am using this year is aged 17 months, left over from two years ago. I do add some perlite/vermiculite for drainage. My potting mix is 40% leaf mold, 40% aged homemade compost and 20% worm castings. The only thing I am doing a bit different is watering in some Mosquito dunk granules. Bacillus thuringi- ensis subspecies israelensis. (B.t.i.). B.t.i. is a bacterium that is deadly to fly larvae but harmless to other living things. Had a bit of a fungus gnat problem last year. So far so good! Did not use mycorrhizae last year, think it made a difference 2 years ago, will try it again this year. Good information as usual, Stay Well!!!
@@michaelgusovskyno, the process of changing the clocks doesn't in and of itself doesn't change the number of daylight hours. But it is an indicator that the spring equinox is quickly approaching, when the days are getting longer and the nights are getting shorter. So I get what the op was saying. We are already
Getting geared up here. In the heart of Appalachia I am holding off for about 3 more weeks on peppers and tomatoes . Even at May 10 I will get frost a lot of years. And even if I don’t the cold nights just hold everything back.
We go the lazy way and look for discount promix at big box stores in the fall 😆. Found $8 bags at Walmart last November. Wishing you a wonderful season, hope you get to slow down and enjoy the magic!
I'm starting the jalapeños tomorrow and tomatoes next week I'm planting earlier than last year, but 2 years ago, I had Midnight Snack and Black Krim June 30. I'm 6a Ohio Columbus using the third method as you taught last season it did great Thanks Gardener Lady
It IS getting close to GO time! My onions are looking good. It's still early for me, but not too early for you to share with folks how to make a seed starting mix. I'll have to consider the EndoBoost stuff. It sounds like it would be a worthwhile addition. Thanks.
I use a half portion of perlite. I also include green sand and rock phosphate approximately half cup more or less depending on the amount of the final mix
For the first time last year I made my own mixes and I'm sold. My favorite was 2 parts coir, 2 parts compost (mine is half leaf mould), 1 part rice hulls. But all my experiments performed better than the commercial mixes I've bought. Maybe this is the year to give micorrhizaea try.
If you do make sure they're well blended with the other ingredients. If they clump, any plant roots grow into that clump will rot. Which I found out with my houseplants 😄
I make my seed starting mix on a large scale, so here is the seed staring measurements I use. 4 heaping shovels of peatmoss, Sifted to get out the sticks and clumps. 2 heaping shovels of compost. (My source is Black Kow) 1 Quart Cup of Pearl Lite. Note: This mix is only used to germinate seeds. You could get by without the compost, but I like to mix it in just so the first plants that set true leaves will have some nourishment until they are potted up in Bigger Cups. For this to happen, I usually wait until MOST of my plants have set true leaves.
I’m currently using a mix of my own compost, a slight addition of my own vermicast, pro-mix potting soil with microrhyzea. After I set the seed in, I cover with a little bit more then sprinkle perlite on top. So far the germination rates on my onions is near 100%, and still waiting to see if my butterfly weed pokes through. Last year I only used seed starting mix, and even when things germinated, only a few survived. This year, I’m gonna have to make more garden beds before spring hits 😂
I’m almost out of worm castings, and need to make more starting mix. Gonna see how Holy Cow organic composted manure works. Already got some peppers started, and it looks like I’ll have to find homes for some fairly happy poblanos.
Mine is a lot like your mix except I crushed the pearlite in my hands as I added it to keep the pieces small and then put in equal parts of the mix with an equal part of potting soil sifted through a pasta colander to keep everything small and fluffy and it has worked amazingly so far
Thanks for such a cool ideal for mixing up the homemade potting mix and then storing it with the lid on and I mean it, because I am always using my wheelbarrow or a tarp to mix it up in and then I have to move it into all the buckets of trays and I have all these small bags of amendments sitting all around and getting spilled etc, but now I am going to use this technique this year and see if I can save some money on ruined stuff!
Hi Jenna. I tried playing around making my own mix this year. I kept it very simple and just used 2-3 parts peat to 1 part vermiculite. I had a big problem with fungus gnats last year and I probably told you in previous notes that I've had problems with brassicas dampening off. So to sterilize the mix I boil a gallon of water and a cup of peroxide with some mosquito bit in it and use that boiling mixture to hydrate my mix. So far no gnats and my brassicas look good but still young so won't know for sure until a couple more weeks. I fertilize with a water soluble every other watering and plan on using this same mix for transplants and just stepping up the fertilizing a little.
Your timing is good. Seeds are just out at the stores, Walmart, Krogers, Meijers, Dollar Tree. Do some window shopping. Pick Up something interesting to try. I found my Moonwalker and these Sunray Yellow Hybrid sunflower seeds that only Walmart carries for some reason. 14 flowers per plant/seed!
Thank you so much. I am just getting ready to start some seeds soon. I have purchased the coconut coir for the first time and excited to give it a try. I have all of the other things you listed and will be trying your mix this year. I am very hopeful.
I make my own potting mix becuase I mainly do large container gardening, so I have what I need to make seed starting mix. But when its time to start seeds, I am usually real busy. So I opt for some good quality potting mix that I sift. Last year I came across 2cuft blocks of promix for $8 on closeout. I bought 9 cubes so I have enough for the next few years.
That is pretty much the same way I start my seed start mix, but I use a tote that has a flat, smooth bottom so that my mix doesn't get stuck in the grooves.
Subscribed to your channel after watching the video when you did the experiment with different fertilizer. I've used Agrothrive in the past few years with good result but it's not a very convenient fertilizer to use as it is not easy to apply using a spray nozzle. I'm curious if you have done similar experiments with seedling starting mix. If not I'd love to see one. The reason I'm asking is because you're using a lot of different ingredients to make the mix. Does one need both vermiculite and perlite, is myco really necessary, etc...? In the past I tried just coconut coir (terrible result for me), jiffy seedling mix (decent), miracle seedling mix (decent), etc... but in the last two years I just bought a bag of 3 cu ft BM2 (Berger seed starting mix) and that gave me good result without having to mix my own.
I did a test where I compared my base mix (coir or peat, vermiculite and perlite) to a version containing adding earthworm castings, and a version where I added castings + myco (results here: ua-cam.com/video/r_jZETsiLAw/v-deo.htmlsi=QbyNtwGcJFitVJA7) The 'deluxe' version performs best, but all those additions are not necessary and you could use just vermiculite or perlite if you wanted.
How long do seedlings last in this mix? Like would this be good for my peppers that I’m starting 8-10 weeks before they’re ready for the garden, if I up pot into more of this mix?
I'm wondering as well. I let my chickens free range in the garden after the growing season is over. My chickens were eating the perlite, so I no longer use it in my mix.
My veggie garden is completely fenced off, so the chickens cannot get in unless I intentionally let them. I can't say I've ever seen them try to eat the coir-- but mine will definitely peck at the perlite if they got the chance!
How did you choose which Mycorrhizal product to use? I am getting so confused about which brand to use. I thought that I had it narrowed down but then I saw your video. I may switch to the brand that you are using, but I am curious if this is something that you have had past success with?
Some years back I tried a couple of different products and the one I'm using in this video (Green Eden) was the one I was happiest with... so I stuck with it. I've been impressed with it not just because of performance, but also with the amount of information that Green Eden offers on their website-- it's a great learning resource.
@@GrowfullywithJenna Thank you so much for answering my question. I have changed my mind on the one that I was going to try and I ordered the Green Eden through your link.
You are my favorite to learning gardening doing a garden of 46 by 60 with over 10 beds. So overwhelmed. Any recommendations? Also Okay I may have made a mistake and started hot peppers, bell peppers and eggplant in February will this be okay?😊😮 I'm in NY zone 6a/b depending on your resource
Have I told you lately that I love you? I love your channel, your approach to teaching. God has blessed us with your gardening advice.
😊💚
Getting ready to start some seeds this week and this was a blast to watch! I appreciate how much detail you give on each component.
Have fun starting seeds!!
Another Ohio gardener here, I've watched your older videos and decided to use your recipe. I used a little less earth worm casting and mycorrhizal in my first batch of seed starting mix. I plan to adjust if needed. This is my second year starting seeds and having great success with your mix. Thanks for all the comparisons and tips.
I am a leaf mold guy. I did a side by side comparison with peat and the leaf mold last year, plants started in the leaf mold were more robust and had a more substantial root structure, just my own personal experience. The leaf mold I used had no distinguishable leaf particles, and was aged for 5 months. The leaf mold I am using this year is aged 17 months, left over from two years ago. I do add some perlite/vermiculite for drainage.
My potting mix is 40% leaf mold, 40% aged homemade compost and 20% worm castings. The only thing I am doing a bit different is watering in some Mosquito dunk granules. Bacillus thuringi- ensis subspecies israelensis. (B.t.i.). B.t.i. is a bacterium that is deadly to fly larvae but harmless to other living things. Had a bit of a fungus gnat problem last year. So far so good!
Did not use mycorrhizae last year, think it made a difference 2 years ago, will try it again this year.
Good information as usual, Stay Well!!!
Yes-- I remember you telling me this, and want to try it one of these years!
I love the bti for fungus gnats too!
Yay spring is around the corner!!! Couple or so weeks we will be turning the clocks forward too. More daylight!!
um...no, that's not how turning clocks forward works.
moving the clock forwards or backwards doesn't change how many hours of daylight there are.
@@michaelgusovskyno, the process of changing the clocks doesn't in and of itself doesn't change the number of daylight hours. But it is an indicator that the spring equinox is quickly approaching, when the days are getting longer and the nights are getting shorter. So I get what the op was saying. We are already
I'm getting antsy-- we're in fool's spring right now in Ohio 😆
Didn't congress vote away daylight savings time?
Saw you in the the Gurney’s ad with your son and Mr. Kinerk. Loved it! 🎉🎉🎉
Yah!! yahoooooo!! Spring is springing in the northeast !! Now comes the fun..seeds, seeds everywhere. Great video
Yahooooooo is right!!
Getting geared up here. In the heart of Appalachia I am holding off for about 3 more weeks on peppers and tomatoes . Even at May 10 I will get frost a lot of years. And even if I don’t the cold nights just hold everything back.
Same here! Just starting some more of my cool season crops now!
We go the lazy way and look for discount promix at big box stores in the fall 😆. Found $8 bags at Walmart last November. Wishing you a wonderful season, hope you get to slow down and enjoy the magic!
Smart!!
Dear Jenna, you are doing a phenomenal job of educating us in many aspects of gardening. Thank you so much. Love tosee more such videos from you.
I'm starting the jalapeños tomorrow and tomatoes next week
I'm planting earlier than last year, but 2 years ago, I had Midnight Snack and Black Krim June 30. I'm 6a Ohio Columbus using the third method as you taught last season it did great
Thanks Gardener Lady
Happy planting!!
It IS getting close to GO time! My onions are looking good. It's still early for me, but not too early for you to share with folks how to make a seed starting mix.
I'll have to consider the EndoBoost stuff. It sounds like it would be a worthwhile addition. Thanks.
I'm glad to hear your onions are looking good!
I use a half portion of perlite. I also include green sand and rock phosphate approximately half cup more or less depending on the amount of the final mix
Thanks, Jenna. I've been using Fort Vee but am hoping to start making my own seed starting mix with leaf mold next year, so this was very helpful.
For the first time last year I made my own mixes and I'm sold. My favorite was 2 parts coir, 2 parts compost (mine is half leaf mould), 1 part rice hulls. But all my experiments performed better than the commercial mixes I've bought. Maybe this is the year to give micorrhizaea try.
I keep meaning to try rice hulls in my mix!
If you do make sure they're well blended with the other ingredients. If they clump, any plant roots grow into that clump will rot. Which I found out with my houseplants 😄
I make my seed starting mix on a large scale, so here is the seed staring measurements I use.
4 heaping shovels of peatmoss, Sifted to get out the sticks and clumps.
2 heaping shovels of compost. (My source is Black Kow)
1 Quart Cup of Pearl Lite.
Note: This mix is only used to germinate seeds. You could get by without the compost, but I like to mix it in just so the first plants that set true leaves will have some nourishment until they are potted up in Bigger Cups. For this to happen, I usually wait until MOST of my plants have set true leaves.
Thanks for sharing your mix!
The links for purchasing the products is very helpful, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
I’m currently using a mix of my own compost, a slight addition of my own vermicast, pro-mix potting soil with microrhyzea. After I set the seed in, I cover with a little bit more then sprinkle perlite on top. So far the germination rates on my onions is near 100%, and still waiting to see if my butterfly weed pokes through. Last year I only used seed starting mix, and even when things germinated, only a few survived. This year, I’m gonna have to make more garden beds before spring hits 😂
Excellent!
Thanks for sharing this!
I’m almost out of worm castings, and need to make more starting mix. Gonna see how Holy Cow organic composted manure works. Already got some peppers started, and it looks like I’ll have to find homes for some fairly happy poblanos.
I bet it will do well for you!
Mine is a lot like your mix except I crushed the pearlite in my hands as I added it to keep the pieces small and then put in equal parts of the mix with an equal part of potting soil sifted through a pasta colander to keep everything small and fluffy and it has worked amazingly so far
Nice!!
Thanks for such a cool ideal for mixing up the homemade potting mix and then storing it with the lid on and I mean it, because I am always using my wheelbarrow or a tarp to mix it up in and then I have to move it into all the buckets of trays and I have all these small bags of amendments sitting all around and getting spilled etc, but now I am going to use this technique this year and see if I can save some money on ruined stuff!
The lidded tote definitely comes in handy!!
Hi Jenna. I tried playing around making my own mix this year. I kept it very simple and just used 2-3 parts peat to 1 part vermiculite. I had a big problem with fungus gnats last year and I probably told you in previous notes that I've had problems with brassicas dampening off. So to sterilize the mix I boil a gallon of water and a cup of peroxide with some mosquito bit in it and use that boiling mixture to hydrate my mix. So far no gnats and my brassicas look good but still young so won't know for sure until a couple more weeks. I fertilize with a water soluble every other watering and plan on using this same mix for transplants and just stepping up the fertilizing a little.
Glad to hear there are no gnats and your brassicas look good!
Your timing is good. Seeds are just out at the stores, Walmart, Krogers, Meijers, Dollar Tree.
Do some window shopping. Pick Up something interesting to try. I found my Moonwalker and these Sunray Yellow Hybrid sunflower seeds that only Walmart carries for some reason. 14 flowers per plant/seed!
I hope those do great for you!
Thank you so much. I am just getting ready to start some seeds soon. I have purchased the coconut coir for the first time and excited to give it a try. I have all of the other things you listed and will be trying your mix this year. I am very hopeful.
Best of luck!!
I make my own potting mix becuase I mainly do large container gardening, so I have what I need to make seed starting mix. But when its time to start seeds, I am usually real busy. So I opt for some good quality potting mix that I sift. Last year I came across 2cuft blocks of promix for $8 on closeout. I bought 9 cubes so I have enough for the next few years.
That was smart-- ProMix has been my go-to for a premixed medium!
Trying you mix this year. Just ordered all your amazon links.
I hope you love it!
Hi girlie!! I’m so excited for this season I’m gonna start my seeds in a couple of days love from chicago
Oooh-- have fun starting seeds!!
i love mycorrhiza! important to note though that they are not compatible with brassicas!
It's time!!❤
Hooray!!
Thanks for this informative video. Would you recommend this for plant propagation?
Didn't know micchorizae expired😔 mine probably is. I use this just at transplant. But I use rock dust inlieu of in my soil mix.
That is pretty much the same way I start my seed start mix, but I use a tote that has a flat, smooth bottom so that my mix doesn't get stuck in the grooves.
Smart!
Hi Jenna, what kind of scooper are you using?
This is the scoop that I have: amzn.to/43gwWtl
Hi gorgeos gardener! I have been planting things already getting way to impatient, I'm afraid! 76 here today lol but that is a freak deal
Hello!! And holey moley-- I though it was warm here at 64 the other day!!
But today it's snowing 😆
Subscribed to your channel after watching the video when you did the experiment with different fertilizer. I've used Agrothrive in the past few years with good result but it's not a very convenient fertilizer to use as it is not easy to apply using a spray nozzle.
I'm curious if you have done similar experiments with seedling starting mix. If not I'd love to see one. The reason I'm asking is because you're using a lot of different ingredients to make the mix. Does one need both vermiculite and perlite, is myco really necessary, etc...?
In the past I tried just coconut coir (terrible result for me), jiffy seedling mix (decent), miracle seedling mix (decent), etc... but in the last two years I just bought a bag of 3 cu ft BM2 (Berger seed starting mix) and that gave me good result without having to mix my own.
I did a test where I compared my base mix (coir or peat, vermiculite and perlite) to a version containing adding earthworm castings, and a version where I added castings + myco (results here: ua-cam.com/video/r_jZETsiLAw/v-deo.htmlsi=QbyNtwGcJFitVJA7) The 'deluxe' version performs best, but all those additions are not necessary and you could use just vermiculite or perlite if you wanted.
In your educated opinion what improvements does Black Strap Molasses make in soil?
Have you tried rice hulls? It’s my new thing 🌷
Not yet. I've been meaning too... now I'll have to try it!
USDA has updated the growing zones. Kenosha Wi, has gone from 5b to 6a
Yes they have, but mine has remained the same-- I'm still 6a!
Hi,
What coconut coir do you use? What do you look for when choosing one?
How long do seedlings last in this mix? Like would this be good for my peppers that I’m starting 8-10 weeks before they’re ready for the garden, if I up pot into more of this mix?
As long as you're adding the worm castings (or compost) to the mix, it can be used all the way up till transplant time.
Do you have to keep your chickens away from anything with coconut coir?
I'm wondering as well. I let my chickens free range in the garden after the growing season is over. My chickens were eating the perlite, so I no longer use it in my mix.
My veggie garden is completely fenced off, so the chickens cannot get in unless I intentionally let them. I can't say I've ever seen them try to eat the coir-- but mine will definitely peck at the perlite if they got the chance!
How did you choose which Mycorrhizal product to use? I am getting so confused about which brand to use. I thought that I had it narrowed down but then I saw your video. I may switch to the brand that you are using, but I am curious if this is something that you have had past success with?
Some years back I tried a couple of different products and the one I'm using in this video (Green Eden) was the one I was happiest with... so I stuck with it. I've been impressed with it not just because of performance, but also with the amount of information that Green Eden offers on their website-- it's a great learning resource.
@@GrowfullywithJenna Thank you so much for answering my question. I have changed my mind on the one that I was going to try and I ordered the Green Eden through your link.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
My backyard really need a nice garden. In northeast ohio
Every backyard needs a nice garden 😀
@@GrowfullywithJenna so true. I hope this works for me. Maybe just tomato's peppers and zucchini this year. Start small and maybe do more next year.
Coco coir worms casting perlite
Jenna, are you and Kirsten Joy Weiss sisters?
We are not
You are my favorite to learning gardening doing a garden of 46 by 60 with over 10 beds. So overwhelmed. Any recommendations?
Also Okay I may have made a mistake and started hot peppers, bell peppers and eggplant in February will this be okay?😊😮 I'm in NY zone 6a/b depending on your resource