seed raising mix and fertiliser

[endemic]

You can use shitty soils.. heck sometimes even fucking dirt from the ground.. but at the end of the day u need a slightly higher level of phosphorus so the little buggers have strong stems..

[Frank Reynolds]

I would say low n and higher k levels lead to shorter stockier seedlings

[greentoe]

I searched everywhere for searles and yates last year with no luck so just went with some osmocote seed raising mix from Bunnings, was a bit too 'chunky' for my liking but got the job done anyway.

Last week I put my germ'd seeds into Jiffy 7-C coco coir pellets, cheap if bought online, very clean and easy to use and I'm confident they will perform well as the coir is very fine and airy. I'll post again in a week with some results.

[bluecheeseman]

Cool post thanks

[ZEN2U]

Here is what I've used for years and never had a problem.

 

5kg Cocopeat Block, Ph is around 6.5, very dry and very compact(around $6.60 a block from a nursery supply shop, at about 11cents a ltr, cheap)--> Add water and it turns into approx 60Lts of usable Coco. If you need less get a hand saw, just cut off a slice and add some water. You can get a couple of different size grades, course and fine, I use the fine. If I were to mix the Coco with something else, I would probably go for the course block. I add nothing, when the water is added it fluffs up great and is a nice and soft mix.

 

I use Jiffy Pots(80mmX80mmX80mm), little pots, not the round Jiffy pellets. The plants can be grown longer in the little pots before planting out, takes longer for the plant roots to grow through the pot walls. Big W stocks them in their plant section, 8 pots for $5(cheap I think for what they are and give, but that's me). The reason I use the peat pots instead of reusable pots is that with the peat pots there is no transplant shock. Just plant the pot and plant in one go, simple.

 

Place expanded coco into pots, tap down pot to settle material, fill the pot level to the top. DO NOT press down material with fingers,

 

Start seed floating in water, place over a warm heat source, like a DVD player or similar. Usually cracked in less than 24hrs, leave for another 24hrs. Transfer seed to mixture, 5-10mm into mix in already dibbled hole, cover up and you are done till plant emerges. I put the pot out in plant dishes with approx 5mm of water in the bottom, stops the freaking ants eating your sprouting seed(been there, done that and not fun). The more sun the merrier.

 

When the plant comes up I wait for the first true leaves to get to about 5mm long before I start feeding the plant. I start with Unfortified Seaweed Extract, this has everything the plant needs in minute quantities and wont hurt the plant. After the first true leaves get to approx 20mm you can feed it whatever you like, within reason.

 

 

[Bentato]

Now, I only use jiffy pellets, then pot up into a 60/40 (roughly) mix of coco/perlite.

 

Never looked back.

 

^-- This ! They are sooo convenient, cheap, reliable, virtually mess free, high strike rates and available everywhere (bunnings, big w).

 

Edit: A myco product is also a good idea to coat your seeds in as the beneficial bacteria and fungi will help fight off anything else that may be lingering around waiting to grab foothold on your plant while its at its weakest.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Bentato