This is Micro Homestead Ecology. We have been growing our own food and building a more sustainable life, in the high desert on less than an acre of land, since 2012 here in zone 6b. I am excited to use this platform to share some of what we have learned over the years.
Today, we share our current seed starting mix that is useful for both seedling trays and if you are so inclined, soil blocking, which is what we are using it for quite a lot this spring. I hope your growing journey is off to a great start this season!
As promised, here is the recipe give or take....
2 parts Coco Coir and/or Peat Moss. We used a large gallon size tea container in the video as our unit of measure.
1 scant part fresh worm castings.
1-2 parts sifted potting soil. The better quality the better the health of the mix I would imagine. The important thing is to get out the chunky bits.
Hand fulls of the following....
1. Kelp Meal
2. Azomite
3. Greensand
4. Insect Frass
5. Playground Sand
6. Vermiculite (About 1 part)
7. Balanced Organic Fertilizer (I used a 4-4-4 in the video) Anything close would work and honestly, you could error on the side of being high nitrogen like a 7-4-3 or something like that. That would really help the vegetative growth of your seedlings if it is in a plant available form.
It has been my experience that the plants need little to no feeding on this mixture, although they would surely enjoy a shot of fish fertilizer now and then if you want to really speed things up. Liquid organic feeds like that are highly plant available and a welcome addition to the process.
My theory is that the biology in the worm castings and perhaps insect frass act as a catalyst to open pathways to all the other nutrients present in this mix. The plants have ready access to all sorts of key elements for growth and active soil biology to help them get it into their rapidly growing cells. But that's just my theory.
Most of these things can be purchased online and/or at big box stores and if you see links here someday, that means I have probably activated an affiliate program of some sort so I thank you in advance for using them to help support our channel.
Follow us on Instagram:
/ micro_homestead_ecology
If you have any questions about gardening you would like to see us answer, please reach out to us in the comment section of this video, or shoot an email to ktoutdoorz@gmail.com We would love to help you find the answers you are looking for.
5 апр 2024
