how do you pre-moisten your bagged growing mix?

11 years ago

Never really thought about this until now...

Am I going about the process of pre-moistening my growing mix correctly before potting it and seeding it?

What I do is take a 5 gallon bucket and fill it about 1/2 way with the bagged growing mix. I then place the bucket in my utility tub next to my washing machine and slowly add in lukewarm water. As the water is added to the mix, using long rubber gloves I mix it by hand squeezing handfuls of the mix in the process. I stop adding water when squeezing a handful of the mix is the equivalent of wringing out a damp sponge (i.e. some water seeps out).

I then fill my growing pots, line them up in my trays, and let them sit in my cellar for a day (to make the soil temp uniform) before pressing seeds just underneath the surface (depth varies according to seed type).

This process seemed to work out fine last year, just wondering if anyone does it entirely differently. The first year I grew from seed I had no idea I had to pre-moisten the soil and subsequent waterings after seeding proved to be a challenge (lesson learned and applied).

BTW, this year I chose Espoma Organic Mix over Dr. Earth's because for the past two seasons I've noticed that the latter is not screened very well and contains a lot of twigs and other large objects not suitable for a 3" growing pot. Anyone else agree?

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Comments (8)

garystpaul
11 years ago
My practice: Put the bag on the floor next to a laundry tub fitted with a hose and spray gun. Slit open the top of the bag and, with gun set on "shower," spray very hot water into the bag until you think it's moistened enough. Close up the bag (I roll and use a clamp) and let sit over night. The water should distribute itself fairly evenly during this time and be ready for use. It should be moist, not wet.

I do this also with those huge compressed bags of Pro-Mix, but have to use much more water to get it to penetrate. Again, the water needs to be hot.

Gary
SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
11 years ago
njitgrad I do it exactly as you mention, the only difference is i think I keep mine drier. If I can squeeze any water out of the mixture I find, IMHE, that I will get algae growing before the longer germinating species come up. I also don't wait to plant as, again IMHO, the seed isn't going to rot in a day. I just mix it up and sow away.

SCG
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SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
11 years ago
njitgrad I do it exactly as you mention, the only difference is i think I keep mine drier. If I can squeeze any water out of the mixture I find, IMHE, that I will get algae growing before the longer germinating species come up. I also don't wait to plant as, again IMHO, the seed isn't going to rot in a day. I just mix it up and sow away.

SCG
dowlinggram
11 years ago
I do it like you do with these exceptions--instead of a pail I use a shallow tote. This allows me to moisten the soilless mix easier than reaching down to the bottom of a pail. The mix gets moist right through without getting too wet. Because my soil is kept in a cool basement I use hot water to moisten it. Since the soil is now nice and warm I plant immediately and then put them on the heating mat with a humidity hood. I always have good germination doing it this way
PRO
beesneeds
11 years ago
I moisten mine in the pot as needed. So say I'm starting a flat of 18 pots for peppers, I'll fill the pots with soil, bottom water and a drizzle on top, then let the pots sit for overnight or so to really soak up all the water. Then I proceed to planting in the seed. That way I don't have to worry about a bag or bucket of wet mix, and if the soil needs a bit more water, it's already there and set up in the tray. I extra like doing it this way for top sowing, like fine seed that just gets pressed into the top, or if it just needs a wee bit of sprinkle of soil over the seed I can use dry soil that tops off more nicely than moist soil.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
11 years ago
I do the same as beesneeds. I didn't say anything before because I thought maybe mixes were different in the US. Seems they're not. I've never found they need any moistening other than ordinary post sowing watering. Sounds messy and a recipe for a mouldy bag of left over mix.
aloha10
11 years ago
Some commercial starting mixes contain a wetting agent. Others do not. Which type you use might change your approach to moistening.
SouthCountryGuy Zone 4b-5 SE BC
11 years ago
Interesting, I use ProMix BX and it comes as dry as a popcorn's toot. I actually use a tote and pre-wet an amount that I think I will need at the time. If any is left over I just leave the tote open and it air dries like it would in a pot. I don't do things days in advance as I am not that good at planning when I will have time to sow and since I use heat mats for germination I don't worry about the temperature of the mix as it will be warm within hours. The mix being slightly damp makes it easier to work with and it doesn't move as much when I mist fine seeds to have them make contact with the mix.

Nice reading about different ways as I am always into changing things up for the better.

SCG