How to Make Your Own Seed Starting Mix and Potting Mix: Save 75% - The Rusted Garden 2014

Seed starting mix will cost you about $4-$5 per 8 dry quarts. Starting mix and potting mix are often made from perlite and peat moss. If you buy the individual products a little bit differently, mix them yourself and add in some organic fertilizer... you will have 8 quarts of seed starting mix for about $1.50. It is easy to make.

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[ReginaReRoma]

Thank you Gary, always explaining will and right to the point with excellent clarity.
Elham.

[kwodell]

FYI for everyone ... Both perlite and peat should not be inhaled. Perlite is volcanic so it's particles are like microscopic bits of glass. They damage lung tissue and they stay in the lungs for a long time, if not forever.  Peat can be host to a microorganism that infects lung tissue as well as breaks in the skin.   Always mix them outside in good ventilation and wear a mask and gloves until both have been wet down thoroughly.  I keep my perlite moist and in a trash can with a lid.  Same for peat.  They are very safe to use with a bit of precautions and it does take a lot of exposure to have problems but if you garden a lot, you will get lots of exposure.  Vermiculite is a good alternative to perlite but it should be moistened too, since it's also a volcanic rock.  There used to be asbestos concerns with vermiculite but it is no longer a concern as the problem stemmed from a single mine which is no longer in production.  Vermiculite is good for holding moisture while perlite aids in drainage and makes potting soil lighter in weight.  

[ronaldhemmings]

I plan to try your potting mix this week . I will let you know the out come .  Thanks

[SimpleGardening]

Hi Gary, I had purchased Sugarcane press mud termed as Organic manure, it's very dark seems to be very rich. I'm planning to prepare potting soil under this ratio 2:2:1:1- Cocopeat: sugarcane press mud: perlite: vermiculite. My question is can I use 2 parts of sugarcane press mud or shall I restrict it to one part?

[Chickenfoothomestead]

Thank you Gary, exactly the information I was looking for.

[rmsine]

Gary what do you think of using Coco Fiber instead of Pete Moss?

[mukunda]

if your seeds are expensive then expensive starter mix needed. otherwise you can sacrifice some seeds with cheap garden soil/compost.

[llamatom]

Organic fertilizer but your using miracle grow? Anyone interested in outdoor growing youse all organic soil and compost /manure when you youse artificial soil like miracle grow it kills all the beneficials organic fertilizers youse salts to break down the n-p-k (nutrients) and are great for indoors but outdoors your soil will go bad if you don't replace it every so With organic soil and nutrients you help build your soil but to help break down the n-p-k in organic gardens I highly recommend mycorrhizal and azomite these are beneficial fungies the mycorrhizal is the one that breaks up your n-p-k and the azomite takes nitrogen out of the air and a half a teaspoon of molasses per gallon of water this will feed all the benefitals in your soil

[LearnToGrow]

Thanks Gary, great idea and saves a lot of money! I will adding worm castings to it as well...Just harvested some from our worm bin! Misilla

[AlbertaUrbanGarden]

Great tutorial! I find I have to add coconut core to my mix to help hold water. My grow area is very dry. Thanks for sharing !

[franpipkin]

I've had great results with your seed starting mix. I come back to this video every year to make sure my mixture is right. Thanks for the info.

[DJMovit]

Gary, your wife isn't looking for her bowls is she? LOL Nicely done!

[acorn]

Hi Gary: Don't you want to add top soil and compost (either animal or plant base) in your seed starting mix soil. Do you add those once you transfer your plants into bigger pots once they start growing from seeds?

[CitizenKate]

I tried some of this mix recently, and I'm afraid the results were not good. And yes, I mixed it exactly the way you described - 8 cups sphagnum peat, 2 cups vermiculite (you said in a previous comment that this was okay), 1 Tbsp of GardenTone fertilizer. I filled 3 flats with this mix and seed that were pre-sprouted in wet paper towels, which normally emerge from the growing mix within 3-4 days. This time, after more than a week... nothing. Not a thing. I dug up a few of the seeds, and they were alive and apparently healthy, other than the fact they didn't want to grow. No signs of fungus or other malady.

So I tested the pH, and this mix came out at 5.0, which is very acidic, way out of the ideal range for most plants. The mix I have been using is less acidic, and another one I am testing now that contains coir is actually slightly alkaline. I may try this again with coir instead of peat and see how that does. Only this time it won't be with 3 whole flats. :-/

[tomlandon]

Gary! Perlite dust --- like you breathed in this episode -- contains volcano silicates, tiny shards of glass. Once inhaled, they lodge in the air sacks in your lungs and cannot EVER be removed without taking part of a lung.
Eventually SILICOSIS results in silicosis and COPD.
PLEASE, wear a high quality dust mask when handling this stuff. You should also wear painter's dispossiblle overalls which you can remove into a plastic bag to be sealed and disposed of. Safety glasses would also be smart; a scratched cornea is no fun.

[RevolutionGardens]

Great video. I made the same starting mix. I read what was in the Miracle Grow bag, and realized I could just make it. I added lime to mine to help cut the acidity of the Moss.

[mukunda]

The advantage of peat moss is rooting. Roots grow well in peat moss; more roots means seedlings will be healthy and grow fast. Thanks to peatmoss application discoverer. Outdoors wind dries things up to prevent damping off. You do not need fan and light in day time if you leave them outside. But it is a lot of
work.

[CCbalconygarden]

This is great! I don't ever need too much seed starting mix but one day when I do i will surely make my own!

[eileensailing]

Where do you get those produces so cheap? I can't buy them at the price you pay!!!

[mikecioka]

Hello Gary, what do you think on using compost in potting mix ? I think will be even better because compost have a lot of microorganisms. I also add some worm casting and trace mineral as well. :)