Wow, John that is some difference!! Was it home made compost you made or store bought?
Alberta

Not a good idea. Actually, that's NEVER a good idea to use compost as a seed starter.
There's just too much wrong with compost that can desroy seeds.

The vermiculite with added peat moss or perlite is a good medium to start seeds. These products are sterilized and will not pose any harm to seeds like the compost would.

The picture on the left labeled "50/50 peat vermiculite"; picture on the right labeled "50/50 peat and compost".
Text message says "50/50 vermiculite/compost".

Confirm the picture on the right should be labeled "50/50 vermiculite/compost"?

Lloyd

I make my own compost and the photo on the right has been corrected


John

of course do what you want, but my experience concurs with jeannie. if i use compost for seed starting, i have many more problems with damping off. once they get started i transplant to a mix of compost and don't have any problems from there.

Wow, I hope my seeds do as well. I didn't know about damping off when I mixed my seed starting mixture. I just sprinkled cinnamon on them in an effort to suppress the mold and possible fungus.

"seeds planted same day"

Wow, that's good growth either way for one day. ;-)

Seriously though, nice photos to show what many of us know in our hearts.

-Kyle

Easy fix, heat sterilze the compost or use a sulfur based fungicide that will keep dampening off away. I would go for the compost if it is working for you. Forget the naysayers, you made it happen and that is what matters. Compost in the garden blows peat away on so many levels it isn't even funny.

The salad greens in these photos were taken this winter. They are growing in 100% compost.


John

Here is a link that might be useful: Greens in 100% compost

You will have to figure it out:) I should not be doing this at 6:00 in the morning.


John

Damping off, and many other diseases that afflict seedlings, occurs not because the starting medium is one thing or another but because the grower is doing something that grower should not be doing, most often related to watering too much. Most people that I correspond with around the world will use the compost they made as a seed starting medium rather than peat moss simply because they do not have to buy it and none, because they have learned to not over water, have disease problems with the seeds they start.
Only someone that knows not what they are talking about would suggest that compost would be more disease ridden than peat moss.

hey kimmsr, just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they don't know what they're talking about.

Wow, thats a big difference!

John, do you use grow lights? Or do you have a green house?

I have a Rion 44GH hobbie greenhouse.


John

That's why they look so great, too. I'm growing some indoors and there not looking to hot.

Compost starter sounds great but I had always heard that compost alone will not drain very well without adding perlite type stuff. is this not true or in other words how are your pots draining?

I've used everything from store bought seed starting mix to pure homemade compost and various mixes inbetween. The only times I've had problems were those times the mix was too heavy with some garden soil added and when the mix was too wet or air circulation was too poor. I'm a firm believer in whatever works for you.

John, thanks for posting this picture and telling us about your results. In my experience some compost in the mix always gives better, sturdier growth. But I've never done a side-by-side comparison like this. Very informative!

Here's a suggestion on how to prepare compost for starting seeds - outdoors - in winter. I don't know if the boiling-water treatment is sufficient for indoor sowing.

But if you wish to sterilize your compost, it could be done by heating it on a grill outdoors.

Here is a link that might be useful: Prepping compost for starting seeds

What a difference! Thanks for posting the pics. I think I'll try a few flats with a compost mix.
Karyn

I never could understand why some people are so worried about using a seed starting mix. I say this because my Grandmother, just used garden soil and never had any problems. I do the same.

crabjoe, It you use garden soil in greenhouse conditions it will turn into a brick. Also if the garden soil has to much nitrogen in it, it will rot the seeds before they sprout.


John

Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Starting

Crabjoe, I agree!! how ever did all the world's plants survive 1000's of years without seed starting mix??? lol

Mxbarbie, I donÂt know about 1000s years ago but not too far back in our history, indigenous seeds were planted directly in the garden where they would grow to maturity. The problems arise when you try to do Mother NatureÂs job yourself. It is easy enough for anybody to try different potting mediums with a few seeds side by side and see for yourself what works best for you.


John