Seedling Soil questions

[4everhigh]

im looking for a lil help with the soil to start my seeds in. im going to be soaking them until they sink in water then straight into soil. what kind of soil should be the first soil that the seedlings live in? could i do just a basic potting soil and mix with a peat base seedling mix? or could i put them straight into the soil i will be using for the long haul(fox farm ocean forest)? it has all those natural ferts though, so i was unsure because i dont want them to burn and die. i tryed just using just the peat seedling stuff and they did not seem to like that and after about 5-7 days they stopped growing. used bagseed to test tho so its all good. please help quick. and i keep getting a buncha views on all of my posts i make, not a single reply. a reply would be greatly appreciated

 

[green stub]

too start I would buy regular topsoil
and some perlite, peat moss, and worm castings

 

[erudite]

you could go with just peat/perlite if you'd like or you could use ff's light warrior. I've been using lw for seedling/clones first container then up potting into some of my mix by the 3rd of 4th node.

 

[liketosmoke]

good drainage is the key

 

[Blaze]

I would avoid anything Fox Farm makes like the plague (some of their products do indeed carry plague anyway). Their quality control is non existent at this point and I have seen their products kill and maim may plants in the past. The problem with a lot of the bagged soils is they tend to be a bit hot for seedlings. You want a "seedling" mix not a "potting" mix.

For seedlings you want a very mellow mix that is light on nutrients and has plenty of aeration and drainage. Sunshine #4 works great all on it's own if you want something simple. Their quality has been very constant over the years, it is not too terribly expensive, and in general it is far superior to anything Fox Farm makes IMO.

The mix I have been using lately has been 1 part canna coco, 1 part roots organics, and 1 part black gold, with some mykos from xtreme gardening mixed in. If you are going to grow in soil be sure to mix in some mycorrhiza fungi (Like the mykos). It will make a huge difference in how fast the seedlings grows and the size of the root ball.

 

[hubcap]

im looking for a lil help with the soil to start my seeds in. im going to be soaking them until they sink in water then straight into soil. what kind of soil should be the first soil that the seedlings live in? could i do just a basic potting soil and mix with a peat base seedling mix? or could i put them straight into the soil i will be using for the long haul(fox farm ocean forest)?

while ive had no problems using fox farms to start seedlings in, it prolly a bit too hot for it until it gets itself established. while its hard to burn with organics, it IS possible.
for this reason, im an advocate for starting seeds in coco, perlite, a nute free seedling mix, or a peat based medium. basically a well draining medium with little, or no nutes.
nutes arent needed until about week 2ish.
start them in plastic solo (beer) cups with this nute free medium and transplant into the fox farms once a good amt of white roots form along the side of the cup.
(easily checked by carefully sliding the seedling and its medium out of the cup. your roots will hold the mass together if they are present and growing.

.......i tryed just using just the peat seedling stuff and they did not seem to like that and after about 5-7 days they stopped growing.

this is because they were entering their second week of life and were starting to require food.
peat seedling stuff, as far as i know, doesnt come with added nutes, so, they hafta be supplimented to sustain growth.


-cap

 

[4everhigh]

thanks for the replys. very appreciated

 

[OpTikFiber]

I have been using 3parts FF Light Warrior and 1part FF Ocean Forest for seeds, and I have a jug of distilled water just for seeds. Or RO water is fine. But I had almost a whole batch of seeds die from my tap water a while back! Thus the distilled. I keep a premixed bag with this "seed starting" mix around...also I use it for clones.

On a side note I have started cannabis seeds in 100% FFOF and it was too hot it seemed....but also have started a pack of Early Girl Tomatoes in the same with wonderful results, ;)

 

[HappyGrower]

To 4everHigh,

For seedlings I use a mix of 50% perlite, 25% spagmum moss, and 25% regular top soil. Never burned a single seeded plant. I use the papertowel method to germ the seeds, before placing them in small 3oz plastic cups. They site on a hydrofarm heat mat, and sit directly underneath 2 florscent light 4' fixtures with 2 cool white & 2 Bright white bulbs. Also have a small fan blowing on the plants to start stiffining the steams for later strong growth. Once they have at least 3-4 sets of new leaves, then i transplant them into 4" square pots, and again they go back under the florscents w/heat mat for another 2 weeks. Till they are about 4" tall. Then transplant in the last sized large plastic flowerpot, that holds 4 gallons. I use the GH 3 part series with Kool bloom, Diamond Nector, Flavor Nector, Tea Blend. To date no problems. You need to mix the nutrients at a 50% or less in strengh when feeding plants in soil. Then you can adjust the nutrients from there.

Take Care & Peace, HappyGrower

 

[420king-MASSES]

happy frog is excellent for starting seeds in