[CH] Re: Seed Starters
raincrone@juno.com
Fri, 19 Jan 2001 20:57:52 -0500
I've had good success with seed-starting media as diverse as expensive
custom starting mixes, sandy compost and plain old bag topsoil sterilized
in the oven; peppers have been around a lot longer than seed-starting
mixtures, and I'm not convinced it makes much difference, unless of
course chiles are your livelihood. I suspect if you had to, you could
start most of the _Solanaceae_ okay on a landfill: I mean, I once got
several perfectly respectable tomato plants from seeds pooped onto a
shaded mulch-heap by my tomato-loving dog. Having survived that, they
bore like maniacs once I got 'em someplace decent. :)
And when there is a difference in success, in my experience it's
sometimes positive. For those of us who grow a few (or a few dozen)
plants in the backyard in less-than-perfect soil and weather, there's
something to be said for the toughness plants get from not being pampered
much at the start, even if you get a few fewer plants per seed packet or
they're an inch or two shorter. They're stronger, they produce later
into cool weather, and IME, they come out a tad hotter, too.
But there's one exception: whatever you do, fellow backyard-gardening
types, don't succumb to temptation and try Jiffy 7-type pellets. Yes,
they're extremely easy and convenient and make transplanting a breeze IF
the young plant is still alive--but it usually isn't, at least here in
the Ohio Valley. I've had terrible luck with contamination of one kind
and another in those things (and nearly no trouble of that type when
using loose soil, so I'm guessing it isn't my seeds, procedures or
conditions.)
Rain
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