Sure, seeds will try to grow anywhere, and 5-1-1 is a good medium.

The bigger the seed the stronger, which is why the squash were probably recommended for outdoor sowing. Try to find a medium where they won't sprout up!

;-)

This post was edited by johns.coastal.patio on Wed, May 7, 14 at 10:05

Good to know, thanks. How deep do you suggest planting them? 1 inch?

After germination, what's a safe way to water tiny seedlings so that they don't get accidentally uprooted in the very loose growing mix?

Just plant at recommended depth, keep the surface damp until you see something break the surface. Water from the top with a light spray that won't disturb things. They should root themselves in just fine. Then you can start to transition to more plant like (and less seedling like) watering.

These things want to grow, we just need to give them a chance.

Update: added a link to an old discussion of small seeds and 5-1-1, but with reports that squash are just fine

Here is a link that might be useful: small seeds in 5-1-1

This post was edited by johns.coastal.patio on Wed, May 7, 14 at 10:24

I germinated about 60 varieties of peppers in 5-1-1 this year. it worked just fine.

okay great, I will certainly try that.

If the mix is too course, for small seeds I might mix in a little seed starting mix on top just to get them going.

great idea....I have a small bag of seed staring mix left over from all of my indoor sowings

Peppers I start in the little 1.5" starter cells. I tried 5:1:1 in those and of course the seedlings did fine, but the coarse mix made me fear mechanical damage. So now I start in a commercial potting mix and move into the coarse stuff when they are ready for 3-4" up-potting.

Dennis