Source for soilless seed-starting medium

I am looking for an internet source for a soilless seed-starting medium. I had bought from Gardner's Supply Co., but they appear to have taken their individual bags from the catalogue. The transplant mix, however, I can still buy from them. Living in New York City, seed starting isn't a popular hobby here :)

Anyone have a good source?

Thanks.

I use coir fiber for my seed starting projects. The last bale I bought was from www.happyranch.com It's great and one bale usually starts a season worth of seeds. Pam

I find Miracle Gro seed starting mix at some local garden centers, that's usually what I use. If you've got a place near you that carries MG products you might be able to get them to order some for you. Or if you don't mind using those little Jiffy peat pellets to start seeds, I see those even at places like Walmart.

I use coir fiber, mixed w/ perlite and then top it off w/sand to prevent cracking..works great. I love the coir..been using it for a few years now. good luck!

Hi Peckhaus, I did some checking on the net and found two companies you can buy Coir from. Both Planet Natural and Hydroasis are included in the Garden Watchdog. They seem to carry various package sizes of coir, which appears to be used by both the hydrophonic plant field and the worm growing field. Hope this will help you. Dotti

Thanks, Dottik! I recently bought some paperwhites at Home Depot that came with a coir disk. It was the first time I had seen one, and it seems to be working well! Thanks for the links to companies that sell it.

It is much cheaper, and much better, to make your own, You can make different grades/types for different seed types. Plus, it is a lot of fun! One of my favorite things in gardening is making my own mix!

Popper, how do you make your own? What do you mix?

The media I use will vary depending on the type and size of the seed. he main components are:

Fine bine bark
coconot coir-coarse or fine
peat-chunky or fine
perlite
vermiculite and/or sand-top dressing

I use the bark to help loosen up the mixture and it holds water pretty well. Usually a equal parts bark , coir & peat mixture, the grade varies with the seed size-large seeds get coarse, fine grades and very liitle bark for small seeds. Basic mix would be:

2 parts fine bark
2 parts coir
2 parts peat
1-2 parts perlite

I my add coarse sand if I need fast drainage.. Equal parts coarse coir, chunky peat and fine bark is great for large seeds-mixture is very loose and airy. I like to add a benefical bacteria-either powder or liquid to the mix. Works very well to help prevent root problems. Also use the top dressing to help deal with damping off. I grow mostly, well totally, tropicals.

Very cool information thanks! What kind of beneficial bacteria do you use? Do you buy it locally or mail order?

I have used a few different brands/types. Soil Life, which is a liquid and seems to work well. Ther are also several granular types-Organica has one, Plant Success is another.

I think that inoculating your soil with this type of product is a great help for seeds and for cuttings. Seems to have really improved my success rate, much better germination and alot less loss.

I use Pro-Mix 'BX' Mycorise Pro:

http://www.premierhort.com/eProMix/Horticulture/Products/GrowingMediumTM/ProMixBX/BXRegular/fProMixBX.htm

Problem with Miracle Grow and some other potting mixes is they contain too much fertilizer. Tomatoes and other seedlings grow fast and get leggy.



This message was edited Nov 29, 2007 2:41 AM

I haven't used coir for seed starting but I have used it for other things. You can find it at your local pet stores in the reptile section. It is used as bedding.

I have used the Pro-Mix before. It is nice.

popper1...I started over 100 tomatoes, 30 pepper and a few dozen other plants in it. Had no damping off or other problems. Started a few tomatoes in Miracle Grow potting mix and they got big quick. They planted out OK and produced OK but didn't have the thick stems of the plants started in Pro-mix.

Have no way of telling how effective the endomycorrhizal fungi in Pro-Mix BX is. Read that when it was first introduced, excitement was high, then people began to report "well....maybe it doesn't do all that much.". It is interesting and has been shown to increase the uptake of Phosphorus (in which my soil was woefully deficient--less than 1 pound per acre. Not uncommon however in Connecticut). Some info on endomycorrhizal fungi:

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=932

If it wasn't already established in the soil, after all the Pro-Mix I used it probably is now. That can't hurt.

Last February and March, I had a difficult time finding a vendor nearby. Discovered, at least here, some stores don't start carrying it until April or May. Seemed it was everywhere by July (when I didn't need it). A store in town told me to let them know 4 to 6 weeks in advance and they'll have it it. A compressed 3.8 cu bale was around $30--that's a lot of seed starting. Does come in smaller bags but I always find some use for it (it is perfect for self-watering containers)


This message was edited Nov 30, 2007 1:20 AM

I grow numerous types of tropical from seed and, as you said, have noticed a lot less trouble with damoing off and other issues when using the Pro-Mix or my own mixes with
endomycorrhizal fungi added.

Thanks for the information. I don't do a lot indors but a few here and there- [no greenhouse- yet] but I do have issues with damping off- it's always so sad! good info from all of you- thank you- I may try the Pro-mix... thanks!