Best Compost for Seeds?

[goosander]

Been using Sinclair's f2 seed compost the last 2 seasons and are going to do the same again this season. Found that I got better germination and sturdier seedlings with a far better root system this way. Some of my bedding plants go into the final compost right off.
As over the years my wife has given plants to her friends I now have to grow several hundred toms for them and they need to be as good as I can get them.
Bob.

[rary]

I use multipurpose compost as it comes just remove any big lumps then mix the same quantity of course sand, that helps, it makes it cheaper

[KevinM67]

Does anyone use those little coir jiffy things ?

I was thinking of getting some to use at this time of year before I buy some multi-purpose compost in late Feb/Mar.
The reasoning being I got some MPC delivered at around this time last year and it had obviously been left outside all Winter as it was sodding.

I've got a big pile of home made compost but I'm saving that for going straight on my beds in the next couple of weeks.

[veggiechicken]

Do you mean those little round dried up things that expand in water?
If so, they're awful as they dry up again very quickly.
However, the blocks of coir that expand in a bucket of water are quite good - for mixing with compost to make it go further.
Sometimes they're for sale in the £shops or in your case the Euro shops.

[rary]

Do you mean those little round dried up things that expand in water?
If so, they're awful as they dry up again very quickly.

VC if it is the small peat pots you are referring to, try adding some washing up liquid to the water, as this helps break down a natural wax that coats the peat, allowing it to absorb more water, when I am mixing the compost for baskets I add some liquid soap and it seems to help stop the basket drying out, and that includes peat free as well

[veggiechicken]

I mean these things - Jiffy pellets.



Thanks for the tip though.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

I keep saying I'll give em a "Bash"

But remember BM telling me to steer clear!

Others use them to good effect though!

I'll stick with what I know and gives good results for this year me thinking!

[geepee]

I mean these things - Jiffy pellets.



Thanks for the tip though.

sowed and then Planted out some Beetroot in Choir Pellets, Good germination but at Harvest the beets were still sitting in the pellet.
Needless to say they were not massive despite having had a fairly long growing time.
The Choir hadnt 'Naturally Bio degraded at all..!!!
Dont think I'll be trying that this time .
Gp

[veggiechicken]

sowed and then Planted out some Beetroot in Choir Pellets,
The Choir hadnt 'Naturally Bio degraded at all..!!!

That made me chuckle, Gp. I can "see" all these little choir boys, clutching handfuls of beetroot seeds, singing hymns and waiting for spontaneous decomposition.

I'll get my surplice.

[Chris11]

Personally, I think seed/cutting compost is worth it, as it's generally much finer and much better quality than MPC. Although obviously you can save a few pennies if you think your time is well spent sieving and removing all the larger and woody bits you typically find in MPC.

Maybe it also depends on what you're growing. Smaller seeds like chillies and tomatoes benefit from seed/cutting compost, whereas larger seeds like courgettes/squash/beans would probably do nearly as well in MPC.

I'd also be cautious about re-using old compost for starting new seeds, unless it's been sterilised in some way. Some things, especially tomatoes, are prone to 'damping off', which is generally not caused by...err....damp....but soil/compost fungi. Using fresh compost dramatically reduces this risk.

Having said that, damping off is a particular risk with tomatoes, and other more robust things will probably be fine, as they might be if they were sown direct in soil. I re-use old compost or old compost/soil mix for starting sunflowers in pots in the greenhouse for example, and they don't have any problems.

[geepee]

That made me chuckle, Gp. I can "see" all these little choir boys, clutching handfuls of beetroot seeds, singing hymns and waiting for spontaneous decomposition.

I'll get my surplice.

There wasnt any 'Surplice' VC hardly enough to go round ..Lol

[rary]

There used to be an implement for making small planting plugs with soil, I think the last time I saw this was Monty Don using it for seed sowing, wonder if these are still made

[WalterWhite]

I use vermiculite & sand (hort/sharp) of an equal mix for germination with very good results for the last decade. The local plant nursery also use the same method.

[Thelma Sanders]

There used to be an implement for making small planting plugs with soil,

Make one yourself lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV3AUKGUD6c

buy here
https://www.worm.co.uk/products/eco-soil-block-maker

[Martin H]

I use sieved MPC for most veg seeds, including legumes, brassicas, sweetcorn, salads.
I will also use it for easy flowers and those with large seeds, like nasturtiums, calendula, sweet peas.

For some more temperamental stuff that is slow to germinate I use John Innes seed compost. Sadly the quality of JI isn't what it was and I usually have to sieve it first. I might mix in some vermiculite for extra drainage or some MPC for extra moisture retention, depending on what the seeds like. I've found that pure MPC can be a bit rich and also can develop mould or moss on the surface.