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ydfz

jiffy mix is too boggy for self-watering seed propogation

ydfz
11 years ago

hello friends

i have engineered some self-watering seed-starting trays for the coming season. they function similarly to how i would imagine the burpee ultimate growing system does (i mention this for reference only).

anyway, the system does a more than adequate job of maintaining a moist mix...in fact, it may do too good a job. the jiffy-mix i am used to using under a traditional seed-starting set-up now retains far too much moisture. jiffy-mix peat is quite finely shredded and so the tends to form a big, heavy, wet, non-porous brick. i'm sure the moisture-retentive vermiculite in the mix does little to help the situation either.

do you think i could remedy the problems with my seed starting mix by adding chunkier peat (i.e. bigger pieces from an actual bale) and maybe some perlite to make the stuff lighter and more porous? or should i ditch the jiffy-mix and start from scratch in order to have a vermiculite-free mix? i ask because i've never made my own seed-starting mix before and the only recipes i've found would probably tend to retain too much water in a self-watering environment.

help me! otherwise my precious little seed babies will be doomed!!!!

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