I've never been successful with any of my dirt except with, at least, half from seed-starting soil. Even then, the mold problems was bad. I even sterilized the soil by baking it. Didn't seem to help for me. Of course, not all dirt is the same. and mine were indoor starts. Outdoor starts behaved better.

I've considered using my better garden soil with something natural mixed in like crushed peanut hulls or something similar. (I have clay.) I might try that in the fall.

My neighbor was making his own out of leaf mold and other stuff he found in the woods by his house. He had beautiful plants, but there also seemed to be a learning curve he had to go through. I just use LC1 potting mix and a mixture of a potting mix that a local greenhouse mixes up. Both the local mix and the LC1 are around 13 to 15 dollars for a large bag. I use the same to pot up into, I lean more to the LC1 when the plants are larger because it is a little cheaper and I can buy it closer to home. At this time I don't feel it is worth my effort to mix my own 'Home Made" mix because I don't use that much, but I would like to know how to do it.

Larry

I think is kind of an accepted one by a lot of folks on GardenWeb

Tapla's 5-1-1 Mix

5 parts pine bark fines
1 part sphagnum peat
1-2 parts perlite
garden lime
controlled release fertilizer (not really necessary)
a micro-nutrient source (seaweed emulsion, Earthjuice, Micro-max, STEM, etc,)

I was thinking container mix. I buy starting mix.

Thanks :)

It doesn't take much seed starting mix to plant a lot of plants. Actually I just use soil less potting mix for seed starting. This year I used Miracle Grow and a potting mix sold by a local garden center that they use to pot all their bedding plants. It is pretty fine with peat and perlite and other stuff. I think seeds are too expensive to expose to soil or cedar debris. You can make potting mix by gathering materials like soonergrandma mentioned. Finding all the parts is a chore for me. The micronutrients and how much lime have been hard for me and also tracking down pine bark fines.

Yeah, I wouldn't want to run all over town buying different ingredients... I was just wondering about stuff I could go outside and get. If I go out shopping, I'll just buy a ready made mix.

Has anyone used straight Pro Mix BX as a seed starting mix? If so, what were your results and when did you pot up? Planning to start hot peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and corn under lights this winter. Any suggestions appreciated.

Pro Mix is great for starting peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant. I'm not a good one to answer the 'when' question because I start in soil blocks and just keep moving up until I put them in containers.

Pro mix BX is a good mix for both seed starting and potting up. As far as potting up, for Tomatoes I pot up the first time at about 2 weeks from seeding and then again at about 4 weeks. Peppers take longer to germinate for me so they get potted up the first time at about 3 weeks and then again at about 6 weeks. I haven't grown egg plants for a few years so don't remember exactly but I think they are about the same as tomatoes but once potted up they grow pretty fast and the plants need more room under the lights then tomatoes and peppers because of the large leaves. Some people only pot up one time with only about 2/3 or so of the pot filled with medium and then as the plants grow on they gradually fill the pot up around the stem to encourage root growth. Corn can be started under lights but you need deep cell packs or the tap root will get stunted. Corn will germinate in about 4 days and then at about 7 days when about 80% or so have sprouted you will need to start hardening them off and plant out into the garden at 14 days.

How do you make soil blocks with ProMix BX? Just wondering if it was worth the trouble. Also, when do you first fertilize the seedlings started in the ProMix BX?

I don't use soil blocks, I use the traditional 6 packs or plug trays of various sizes depending on what I am starting. For most seedlings I start fertilizing at about 1/4 strength when the seedlings have developed their first true leaves which is about the same time as I pot up the first time.