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dsb22_gw

New here, with container soil question

dsb22
12 years ago

Hi, I'm new to winter sowing. Last year was my first year starting from seed, and I started everything under lights indoors. This year, I really want to get started but of course it's too early to start much indoors, so I started looking at my seed packs and reading the FAQs on here and realized I can probably ws a lot of them. I'm excited. :) The seeds I'm looking to ws are agastache, lavender, baby's breath, balloon flowers, penstemon, borage, lettuce and chives.

I don't have jugs or plastic containers but I have 20+ ceramic pots of all sizes on a somewhat sheltered, east-facing deck. Most of the pots still contain the soil mix I made last spring (1/3 MG, 1/3 pine bark fines, 1/3 soil perfecter similar in appearance to gravel). If I stir up the soil in each pot to make sure it's not compacted or filled with roots, can I ws in this mix? Or would it be better to start with new soil? Or keep the mix, but top with a soil specifically for seed-starting?

Deanna

Comments (8)

  • donn_
    12 years ago

    The mix sounds good, but it's a potting mix. I'd save it for that, and use a mix more suited to seed starting for your WS. My favorite for seed starting is SunGro Metro Mix 510, which is the same stuff I use as a base for my own potting mix.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    12 years ago

    Donn, a description of that product on the manufacturers website shows it to be a potting mix. "Metro-Mix 510 - Excellent for a wide variety of crops grown in mid to large containers. Especially suited for stock plants and container plants."

    I never use a seed starting mix outdoors - too lightweight and no need for sterile outside. I use a good quality potting soil/mix, there are a few on the market depending on where you live.

    Deanne, more than the medium in your containers, it's going to be harder to transplant seedlings out of your ceramic pots. My guess would be you will experience more transplant shock and root disturbance. You might consider something like clear glass drink cups from the dollar store if you have no other containers.

  • donn_
    12 years ago

    MetroMix is a potting mix, but it's insufficient as a potting mix,in my opinion. It constitutes about 20% of my own potting mix. The rest is pine bark fines, perlite or vermiculite and my own compost..with a dash of lime.

    It works fine as a seed starting medium, after I sift out the coarsest bits.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    12 years ago

    OK, and I wasn't trying to sound critical, just making sure a newcomer isn't confused. The product used best for WS is a potting mix as would be used for growing mature plants in containers, actual seed starting mixes aren't required or even especially satisfactory outdoors (i.e. Jiffy's seed starter etc).

    Reusing soil depending on how much debris/roots it contains from the previous year may be acceptable although not always - my bigger concern for the OP was the containers themselves.

  • kqcrna
    12 years ago

    Re: containers, I'd be concerned with ceramic ones cracking in winter.

    Any good potting mix should work fine. You don't need seed starting mix, just good potting mix. The old stuff might harbor diseases or bugs. New potting mix is a small investment for so many new plants.

    Karen

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    12 years ago

    And, looking back, I see I said glass drinking cups - certainly not what I meant. Plastic, please! Drinking glasses maybe, but not made of glass.

    So much for not wanting to confuse a newcomer :(

  • dsb22
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Lol...not confused yet :) Thank you all for the feedback and suggestions!! I did not even think about transplanting issues. I will go find other containers and get new soil!

    If I use other containers, then I have one more question...prior to thinking about ws-ing, I ordered a small greenhouse off Amazon. It hasn't arrived yet, but I'm thinking I could lay it down sideways and use it as a sort of cold frame for my seeds-in-plastic-cups? Or would it be better to cover containers individually?

    Thank you again

    Here is a link that might be useful: greenhouse on amazon

  • dieg01991
    12 years ago

    I have heard of others who have successfully used a small greenhouse to winter sow their seeds. I have tried using large containers (like a large sheet cake container) with smaller containers inside. I have found that the individually covered containers sprout better and are easier to manage/move around.

    There are so many different containers you could use for winter sowing, it's easy to start collecting them. Get your family/neighbors/friends/coworkers involved. I work in an office where everyone eats out and they give me their take out containers. Some of them are sturdy enough to use for more than one year!

    Amy

    Here is a link that might be useful: Containers for winter sowing

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