Seed Compost

[moggssue]

So - I now have lots of lovely seeds to sow for my lottie. I dont want to spend any more than I have to (do any of us!) but dont have any compost of my own - do I have to use proprietary seed compost to sow into, or do any of you have any other crafty tips?! Can I use the soil from the lottie, or do you think that would be too 'rich' and heavy? I aim to use plastic plugs on the windowsill to start with, since I have quite a few of these in the shed already.

[Flummery]

I do always use bought compost to sow seeds Sue. I don't want to introduce weed seeds and confuse the issue (I confuse easily!). A big sack of compost is cheap compared to how much you have spent on the seeds so I like to give them the best chance.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I think I'd buy a bag of proper compost, Sue, it might be a bit hit and miss otherwise - but see what the others think.

I bought 'New Horizons peat free multipurpose compost' on the recommendation of the peeps here, and I have half a bag left at the mo. Think I bought 3 bags in total last year and that included using it for 3 troughs and 2 planter things for a courgette and a tomato.

Cost last year was £3.99 a bag and it's available from Wyevale GC.

[Cutecumber]

I use the New Horizon compost or the Fertile Fibre (coir based) seed compost. The latter is lighter and easier to get into small modules, but the former holds moisture slightly better I find.

[veg4681]

I think it depends on the seeds. Some are so fine, I don't feel comfortable even with bought multi-purpose compost. I bought seed compost from Wilko for the first time for sowing my strawberry seeds. However stuffs like lettuce seeds although quite small, I find them robust and pull through anyway. Tomato seeds I find are quite forgiving but most leafy vegetables would grow like weeds (if you drop the seeds, no problem they'll grow in your garden). Beans seeds are quite big so you can direct sow but I think the slugs do go for them when they young and tender. Courgettes are also straightforward for direct sowing.

There is no reason why you can't direct sow (less hassle obviously) but from a planning point of view, I like to see clearly where things are going and you don't necessarily have to buy into proper pots, there are plastic food packaging that you can easily use as seed tray and pots. At the end of the day it's up to you what you like best.

For my needs personally, I intend to use both multi-purpose compost and seed compost depending on the seeds (their size and my past exprience with them) as the latter is more expensive so only use where I need to.

[Flummery]

You can lose peas and beans to mice if you direct sow though. I remember a bed of dwarf beans coming up in a very raggedy style on our old allotment. Some had been eaten, some disturbed, quite a mess!

[moggssue]

Hmm, I didnt think of weeds and diseases - think I'll stick to the bought compost and then plant out - at least until I know what I'm doing (if that day ever comes...). So, further question - are there any seeds which prefer direct sowing?? Obviously carrots hate being moved, but any others that would actually benefit from direct sowing?

And nobody uses 'home made' seed compost then I take it?!

[SarzWix]

And nobody uses 'home made' seed compost then I take it?!

Monty Don does... I did wonder whether to try it when skint - mixture of garden soil & silver sand & sterilise it with the steam wall-paper stripper. OH wasn't very impressed & did without his ale for a couple of nights instead

[Birdie Wife]

Seed compost needs to be not too rich so normal compost from the heap is usually too heavy. I use the New Horizons peat free and eke it out with sieved leaf mould and a few good handfuls of perlite to improve the drainage. Know what you mean about the cost!

[veg4681]

So, further question - are there any seeds which prefer direct sowing?? Obviously carrots hate being moved, but any others that would actually benefit from direct sowing?

And nobody uses 'home made' seed compost then I take it?!

I think from my experience with leafy vegetables (spinach, Chinese leafy stuffs, swiss chard???, lettuces) they're quite robust. I dropped a few Pak Choy seeds in my garden and they grew like weeds! If the seeds of these leafy veggies are big (enough to hold them between your fingers), you can chance with direct sowing but lettuces are quite small. I think I've lost a batch of lettuces to slugs when I direct sowed. One day they were there and next day gone !

Sorry I can't advise on root, onion, brassica vegetable family as I have no experience of direct sowing but I have done so with beans and courgettes with reasonable success but it only stresses me out wondering what if something happens...

You can make your own 'seed compost' if you want. But one look at my homemade compost, I was horrified . I just got lazy and wanted guaranteed success with my somewhat tiny (& expensive) strawberry seeds.

I think cheaper way of making seed compost would still be to buy a multi-purpose compost, sieve them finely with the proper garden sieve (although I can't find the sort I want that is very small and fine) and add to John Innes seed compost recipes on the Net. I don't know for sure but the other ingredients to add may be sand (to aid free draining), perlite/vermiculite (for moisture retentive). If I can find that blasted extra fine sieve!!!, I will attempt to make my own seed compost with a bought multi-purpose compost. I'm just as frustrated with this seed compost question, my last bought one is half finished already and I have hardly started.

[SarzWix]

A Google search found this;

Homemade Potting Compost
(I'm not recommending that you follow this recipe, but it's worked well for me)
Sieve ordinary garden compost (from your compost heap that is) into a barrow until almost half full.


Sieve an equal amount of good garden soil into the barrow.


Add a sprinkling of fish, blood and bone meal. I add a small handful, about two and a half dessert spoons I guess.


Mix it up.


I use a plastic kitchen measure to sprinkle it because, following mad cow disease and so on, I'm wary of handling bone-meal. An alternative to fish, blood and bone might be a seaweed based fertiliser. Compost maker - a balanced mix of nutrients especially formulated for the job - is also available.

As there are nutrients in both the soil and in garden compost there's a lot of guesswork in how much extra nutrient you need to add. But it shouldn't be too difficult to make something superior to ordinary garden soil. We're lucky enough to have a good meadow soil that has been cultivated for years.

For seed compost I add no nutrients and I sterilise the compost by steaming it for about 15 or 20 minutes in a soil steriliser. All the seeds I planted germinated and I didn't get a single weed appearing.

Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator

[moggssue]

Hmm, dont have a steriliser - or a steam thingy come to that - so now I dont think it will be possible to make my own. Thanks for all your replies though, certainly more food for thought for future years.

I'll have to bite the bullet and pay a manufacturer after all .....

[veg4681]

B&Q Seed Compost Special Price

Just in case you're interesed, I just got myself 2 bags (55 litres each) of seed compost from B&Q for a fiver. If you just buy one, the price is £4.98 each ! With this much seed compost, I reckon I won't be needing that extra fine garden sieve after all . I think it's a fab buy, substantially cheaper than my last Wilko one.

[bramble]

I think overall you are better buying a bag of seed compost and sowing in modules. At least then, when you go to plant out your veg you know exactly where you are putting them and can take precautions to protect them.

[Cutecumber]

I am always surprised by how little seed compost I actually need - if you are careful and use only as big a module as you really need, you can make it go a very long way.

Good seed compost is worth the money, in my opinion. It makes life cleaner, easier and more predictable (well, the seed sowing part of it, anyway!)