Dankohzee's Ultimate Seed-Starting Mix

Over the years--and especially in the two years I've been hanging around the city--I've come to realize one very important fact: most grow ops go awry within the first month or so. Another important realization: most guides completely skip over the period between germination and the grow hole. This thread will help dispel some of the mystery of the first month of growth--the most critical month in the life of a cannabis plant.

First lets talk about soil mixes. In my outdoor grows I use two separate soil mixes: a starter mix and a hole mix. The ingredients in each can be very similar, but as we will soon see they serve two very different functions. For those who may be unfamiliar with the main ingredients of most soil mixes, I have added a (stolen) description of what each is and does, as well as a brief description of what worm castings are and why we like them..

• Vermiculite – is a natural volcanic rock, finer than perlite, consisting of small porous crumbs which act like small sponges which absorb water and release it slowly into the soil. Fine-grade vermiculite is preferred for seed starting, and coarse vermiculite is used to improve water retention in light, sandy soils.
• Perlite - is a natural volcanic rock that’s heated until it expands into rigid granules filled with tiny holes. The granules absorb up to 4 times their weight in water and then release it slowly which is ideal for young plants. This slow release of water helps maximizes nutrient intake. Its rigid crush-resistant structure also helps improve heavy soils by reducing compaction while increasing aeration and drainage.
• Peat Moss – is an organic material consisting of shredded, partially decayed sphagnum moss. The peat moss that is commercially sold in the US, as a soil amendment, is typically the decomposed product of Canadian sphagnum moss which has been growing for thousands of years in wetland areas called peat bogs. Relatively small quantities are needed for seed starting mixes.
  
• Worm Castings:the heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and pure vermicast produced during the course of normal vermiculture operations. Vermicast, similarly known as worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by some species of earthworm. Vermicast improves soil structure, enriches soil with microorganisms, enhances germination, plant growth, and crop yield, and Improves root growth and structure.

Now that we have an understanding of some of the main ingredients in soilless mixes, I'l explain the difference between a starter mix and a mix used to amend grow holes and fill large pots. As we all know, cannabis seedlings can be very sensitive to nutes. Often regular potting mixes are inappropriate for starting seeds as they will burn. Most starter mixes have little if any nutes in them. They are sterile (many potting soils--believe it or not--aren't), and are made with a much finer, lighter grade of peat. Material used for aeration (usually vermiculite but sometimes perlite) is of a much finer grade than what is used in regular soilless mixes, allowing weak sprouts to travel through the medium without encountering large, maybe impassable chunks of material. In short, they are much more suitable than regular soil for starting seeds, but not really suited to the demands of organic cannabis growers--at least not this one.

A while back I bought a bag of Miracle-Gro Organic Choice potting soil (not seed starter soil) and was surprised at it's consistency. Clearly it was a very high grade of peat and had a wonderful texture, so I began thinking of ways I could use it. At roughly the same time I bought a bucket of casting and found a recipe on it calling for equal parts potting soil and castings. I thought about it for a minute and realized that mix would be too heavy and decided to throw some vermiculite in it for improved aeration. I liked the idea of having a nute pack around the core of the rootball and though it would serve me well.

The results I have had so far have completely blown me away so I thought I would post it up. The roots on my seedlings, which are only a couple of weeks old, are as well formed as they usually are at a month. I've experimented with quite a number of seed starting mixes over the years, but this is my first time trying worm castings which are really hard to find and expensive as hell around here. Anyway, here's how I mixed it:

3 Parts Miracle-gro Organic Choice Potting Mix
3 Parts Earthworm Castings
1 Part Vermiculite


Miracle-Gro Organic Choice does have some nutes in it, but it is very mild and will not burn when mixed in this way. This mix is sufficient to nourish your girls until they go in the ground. What does this mean? It means nubes can stop fertilizing your half inch sprouts!! It's not necessary so stop!! Do you want a harvest or not?

Oh. Sorry about that. All these pics of fried sprouts is affecting my head...

Here are some pics I took a couple of weeks ago after my seedlings had been growing for around two weeks in this mix. As you can see they are all perfectly healthy and green. If you're wondering how I did that, it's because I use the LITFA technique: Leave It The Fuck Alone!








Here's what you do:

1. Mix up some of my seed-starting mix
2. Use the paper towel method or directly sow seeds.
   
   Note: There are many different ways to germinate seeds, and I've tried them all. Surprisingly I failed to notice any difference in germ rates with one technique over the other. Directly sowing my seeds as I did this year, was as effective as any of the other methods. The venerable Cantharis is one that will usually discourage the paper towel method in favor of direct sowing. He believed that the paper towel method is an unnecessary trauma to the tender taproot. Nevertheless, I'm going to give you all a good description of several different methods of germination. It really doesn't matter which one you use.
   
   Paper-towel Method: Get a small plate and place 10 or so layers of thick paper towel on it. Spray with mister until thoroughly damp, making sure it is not so wet that water is collecting on the plate. Place seeds between layers five and six. Put plate and towels inside a ziplock bag, marking the strain on the outside to avoid confusion. Use separate bags for separate strains. Seal the bag and put it in a warm place like the top of the fridge or on a propagation mat. As soon as sprouts emerge they can be planted.
   
   Direct Sowing: This is self explanatory. Poke a hole in your soil about a quarter inch deep and drop the seed in. Cover seed with soil and mist. Keep soil very damp but not wet. Remember the soil will dry very quickly in a small pot, so be vigilant!!
   
   The Cup Method: Take a cup--any cup--and put about an inch of water in it. A drop of kelp extract can also be added--supposedly it helps. Put seeds in cup overnight, then place in soil. The seeds will probably not have sprouted overnight, this just softens them and gets them ready. If you leave them in the cup too long, however, they will sprout and will need to be planted very soon.
3. Use a propagation mat. For those who are not sure what this is, it's just a heating pad designed to keep the roots and medium warm while tender seedlings germinate and begin to grow. They cut germ time in half and will increase your germ and sprout rates considerably. Cannabis seeds are expensive and I hate it when they don't germinate. A prop mat will keep that from happening so often. This is one of the wisest purchases you can ever make. The mats come in different sizes and are waterproof. If you like to start your sedlings on the back porch, you can use a propagation mat to keep them warm at night. In the old days they called this a hot-bed.
4. Water with a mister to avoid disturbing the seed--or later--the roots. The last thing you want is to displace your seed and roots every time you water as this will slow growth or worse.
5. When your sprouts emerge put them under a CFL grow light, a floro warm tube, or out in the sun during the day. Make sure to harden them off in partial shade for a couple of days. If you put them under a light, make absolutely sure you have the light as close to your plants as possible and have a gentle fan blowing on them. This will stiffen the stalks and make any sort of support unnecessary. I can't stress the importance of a fan and CFL enough. Mother nature cannot be depended upon to provide a nurturing environment for a tender sprout. In fact, early spring is a terrible environment. It can be cloudy, rainy, too windy, snowing, sleeting, or drop below freezing and you can't do shit about it because you're at work. Don't take chances on pricey seeds. Setting up a little germ/sprout area in your home is easy. You won't have to do anything fancy like indoor growers do with all those digital thingys and wires and hanging stuff and those hoses (what are those hoses anyway) and all those fancy chemicals they use with all the neat pics on them. You don't need any of that. My grow room is simple. I put my little Hydrofarm CFL on a table with a prop mat on top. I set up an oscillating fan five or six feet away so the breeze just bounces them a bit, and I keep the light very, very low, like this:
   
   
6. If you'll keep them indoor for more than a week or two, remember, fresh air is essential!!! Not air from your attic or living room, but fresh air!! After the first week in my living room, I use an old out-building that has cracks in the walls and busted out windows, but a dry roof and a power source. Another method is to put them in a garage or spare room with the window open. Do not underestimate the importance of fresh air--fresh air! Not just new air. Arjan from GreenHouse Seeds says that next to genetics, fresh air is the most important thing plants need.
7. Practice the lift technique for watering. Let the pots dry almost all the way out before re-watering and then drench them. A mister is essential because drenching when really small will detach roots from their purchase if just poured on top of them in a stream. Then you'll have droopy, leaning, or falling over plants.
8. When it's time for your plants to be transplanted, realize that there will be a growth spurt afterwards. Will it still be practical to have them under lights then? Is the weather okay to put them outside or is it raining cats and dogs for the next week? If so, hold off on transplanting.
9. Top or fimm your plants after the third or fourth set of serrated leaves, keeping your grow light as close to the tops as possible. This discourages stretch, encourages thickening of the stalk, and will help you raise up some bushes.
10. Do not be tempted to add additional ferts. You may think they need it but they don't. If they did they would tell you. Take a look at these pics and you'll see my plants are telling me they're happy--not hungry. This is the LITFA technique in it's purest form (Leave It The Fuck Alone, remember?). Just practice self restraint. Don't view your nutes as steroids because they're not that. They're just food and we all now what happens to people who over-eat. They lose their health eventually. Plants aren't any different.

The Old "In and Out" technique (no, not that in and out): One of the major challenges a grower faces is getting their plants sturdy enough to face the elements as soon as they possibly can. This means utilizing every tool you have at your disposal to nurture seedlings that have strong stalks and a healthy root system so the first stiff wind and driving rain doesn't blow the bitches flat. Spring can be nasty and and cold and some days aren't suitable for seedlings to be outdoor. Most nights are still frosty and plants will die if left out. The way I handle cold nights and too many rainy days is with the old in-and out, a very popular technique in the UK and other places with crazy weather.Once my plants have at least three sets of leaves I start putting them outside on nice days. First I put them under a tree where they only get a little bit of direct light, but by the third time outdoor I put them in the full sun. Almost everyone has a spot large enough to hide a flat of seedlings in their yard. At the end of the day I bring them inside and put them under lights overnight then back outside in the morning, weather permitting (be sure to check the weather report or pay the price).


Here is some pictorial evidence of the superior root development afforded by this mix:










A word on pot choice and "potting-up": (almost)Invariably Grass City Growers use Solo cups to start their plants. They work just fine, I hear, but I don't use them and I'll tell you why. When a plant's roots touch the sides of the pot their above-ground growth slows. The roots, however, continue to grow into the medium. This is one of the reasons why starter cubes in flats are so small: it keeps the plant from growing itself bigger than it is yet able to support--follow me? How many of you have planted a seed in a cup, put iit in the window, and then watched it grow and grow and grow until finally it collapsed under it's own weight? That's right, probably all of you have experienced this. One of the reasons this happens is because the plant is growing too quickly with nothing to keep it in check while it beefs up enough to support its own weight. There are two very popular ways to reduce your plant's growth upward and instead encourage it to grow out, or get bushy and thick in the stem: an oscillating fan and "potting-up." The fan agitates the stem from the moment the sprout emerges. It's as though they were pumping iron from infancy, so a one inch sprout generally has the thickness of a six inch sprout grown without one. the question I get more than any other question is "How do you get your stems so thick at such a young age?'. Well...the answer is a fan and at least one more transplant than many growers use. I start my sprouts in tiny starter cubes and let them grow a couple of inches, then I transplant into 3 inch pots and grow them until they are ready to top for the first time (sometime after the third set of true leaves appears), then I transplant them into one gallon grow bags and let them grow until they are about a foot tall. After that I put them in their final spots. At each stage the roots are growing into the space they have available, getting nice and strong. (to be continued)


This thread was recently made a sticky and is still under construction. Thanks for your patience...

 

Try your local Agway for worm castings. Vermiculite you can get anywhere--most perlite is too course IMO for a seed starting mix.

 

That looks more like a regular grow mix Doc--and probably not a bad one of you were to add a little perlite and maybe some blood meal.

The thing about using worm castings in a seed starting mix is its is very mild and won't burn your plants. It's a powerful fert, but it is also a substrate, having the texture of some good aerated soil. If you use it in your seed starting mix there will be a fresh supply of N available to the roots at all times and you won't be tempted to do something stupid to your seedlings like give them fertilizer.

If you can't get the castings though, Yo ucould probably do without it. Just use the MGOC and add some vermiculite--that's it. There should be plenty of nutes in it to get them through the first several weeks.

 

Bone meal is fine for younger plants--but I don't generally use it in seed starting mix (although there is trace amounts in this mix as I added a pinch of my gargantuan-mix to it. In that mix I have a measurable amount of both blood and bone meal, but probably nowhere near the 3 cups of each I see some "hole-mix" recipes call for.

 

Righto.

 

If you use a large enough pot/cup to start them, this mix will keep them until they go in their holes. But You'll need to probably use a 1 qt pot or bigger.

 

I'm going to bump this in case anyone is still starting seeds.