November 5, 2024

VIDEO: Back to Basics Ep. 5 – Ideal Seed Starting Mix


Make your own seed starting mix for a fraction of the cost.
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29 thoughts on “VIDEO: Back to Basics Ep. 5 – Ideal Seed Starting Mix

  1. I appreciate the sharing of information here, but I think this is overkill. I have been making my own seed starting mix for years. I use perlite only with the peat or coir.The extra vermiculite is just not necessary, especially when you are using potting soil as a base. I like that you were thinking about the worm castings, but again this seems like overkill. The seeds need no nutritional supplementation when starting. Now when transplanting, thats a different story. Ultimately the casting will end up transplanted into the larger containers or in the beds, so no real loss here. I'm not picking on you or your methods, whatever works for you works for you. I reserve the right to be wrong..LOL.

    I loved the idea about wetting the perlite though, I had not though of this. I always hated wearing the mask when mixing u my mix. This will be helpful. Thanks again for sharing this.

  2. Thank You!! I have been watching your videos and have subbed, i have watched almost your whole catalog of uploads. I really find it helpful that you take the extra time to explain why you are doing what your video focus is on. I've watched many other people's videos and tend to find many of them lacking in information about each process, and the importance of doing them. I grew up in a rural setting and we would almost always have a vegetable garden, along with several fruit trees and bushes. I grew up gardening by following what my family had done for generations without actually knowing the "why" we did things the way we did them, as it was never explained…it was always just said because that is how grandpa, or someone in the family had done it. I think a problem with many new gardeners run into is, when they begin to garden they often listen to advice from their local nursery, or garden centers. While the advice they get isn't usually bad advice, it rarely focuses on the "why" you should be doing a certain task, or practice. Often the new gardener becomes frustrated with a low yield, or less than expected return from their hard work because they didn't necessarily learn why a practice or task is necessary and beneficial to their gardens. So again, Thank You for spending a little extra time and effort to educate us gardeners in more depth than most gardening channels do. For me, it is probably the most relevant reason i subbed…

  3. was about to get some seeds started with some compost+peat+perlite, then saw this and figured id give it a try. I could not believe how much better the sifted soil was for the little effort and time. So glad you put this up when you did.

  4. What a great video Luke. Can you post the link to the perlite and vermiculite? Also, where did you get your pro mix potting mix? If you could post that as well, I would appreciate it.

  5. Can't afford any of that stuff. The seeds were costly enough of themselves. I am trying to garden to supplement what I can afford at the store. To spend so much capital on a project that might fail to produce even equal value in return would be quite silly. I am just going to stick everything into the soil and see what happens….and if nothing does, I will just move to buying a young plant or two that reproduces multiples of itself, like taking sweet potatoes from the store and then just make many slips.

  6. I put potting mix in half my seed pot and put seed starting mix on top to plant the seed. I also like to add in more perlite and vermiculite. So far it worked this year because by the time the roots reach the potting mix, they get a healthy dose of fish emulsion.

  7. Is it bad if I add perlite or vermiculite to my outdoor in ground garden in the Native soil well not really as the top soil was imported bc their was a pool not in ground

  8. I have two sieves with 1/4 inch and 1/8', mesh'. I just put the coarser sieve directly on top of a tub and sift it with a shovel. I then run that through the finer sieve.
    It goes through with less resistance and less airborne dust.
    I've heard of some vermiculite, containing asbestos, but even without, no dust is good to breath.

  9. I'm a bit nervouse about using vermiculite. I've read that it can sometimes be contaminated with asbestos. Not sure if there are different grades that could be affected differently, like perhaps insulation grade. I would propbably use charcoal chips instead. You can grind it down with an old cast iron meat grinder with a coarse plate, then a finer if needed. Charcoal has lots of other benefits too. Check out "terra preta".

  10. What grade of vermiculite and peralite did you use in your seed starting mix? I know for starting raised beds and pots you use coarse but you didn't mention the grade you used for seed starting. Also, please provide the links you mentioned to where you can purchase the items you combined for starting seeds. I love your videos and have an alert set so I know when you post another one. Looking forward to your reply and links.

  11. I was wondering how long before you want to use it can you mix this up? Can I make up a batch this year and save it for next seasons seed starting?

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