A special recipe

My friend Donald has been running errands for me, to Agway and the Long Island Cauliflower Association, among other places, searching for the ingredients that I need to make a special seed starting mix. Friends at a CSA in Amagansett, Long Island gave me the recipe nine years ago and I've been making batches of it ever since.

Special Recipe for seed starting mix

15 gallons Compost

12 gallons Peat Moss

6 gallons Perlite

6 gallons Vermiculite

3 Cups Azomite (may substitute Planters II)

3 Cups Bloodmeal

3 Cups Bonemeal

3 Cups Rock Phosphate

3 Cups Greensand

2 Cups Lime

Why do I go to the trouble of searching for these sometimes hard to find ingredients such as rock phosphate, perlite, and azomite? Let me explain...
Seeds are perfect little self contained packages that don't really need anything but heat and moisture to germinate. It is possible to germinate seeds on a wet paper towel placed on a windowsill. However, without added nutrients, the seeds will not grow past the cotyledon stage. Their nutrients are quickly depleted and the seedlings begin searching for more. The same is true when starting seeds in a sterile, soiless mix. The seeds lose their vigor, wither and die before the grower has a chance to transfer the plants to a better environment.

I like to start my seeds early and grow them to a nice healthy size before I transplant them outside. So I use the special mix that is loaded with enough nutrients to keep the seedlings strong until it is time to transplant them outside.

So, what's in the mix?

Compost is the end product of decomposed organic matter which provides a humus-like soil full of nutrients. Compost provides the base of the soil mix. Peat moss, commonly sold as a soil amendment is added because of its ability to absorb and retain water. Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass, typically formed by the hydration of obsidian. It makes the compost more open to air and makes the soil lighter, while still having good water retention properties. Vermiculite is formed by the hydration of certain basaltic minerals and is used as a soil conditioner. These first four ingredients give the soil mix a light, airy texture and an ability to retain water. Azomite is the name of a special rock found in Utah. It has 67 major and trace elements and ground to a dust, these minerals are small enough to pass through the cell walls of plants. Blood Meal is the dried powdered blood from slaughtered cattle which is used as a source of nitrogen. Nitrogen helps the seedlings to stay green. Bone Meal is made from ground animal bones and is used as a natural source of calcium and phosphorous. Bone meal stimulates root and flower production and also helps to reduce transplant shock. Like Bone Meal, Rock Phosphate is also a good source of phosphorous and calcium. It is derived from deposits of apatite rocks formed millions of years ago by fossils of shells. Greensand, is a naturally occuring iron- potassium silicate which has the consistency of sand and is able to absorb moisture. It contains potassium, iron, magnesium, calcium , and phosphorous plus as many as 30 other trace minerals. Lime raises the PH and reduces the acidity of the soil mix which is important in making sure that all the above ingredients are made available to the plants. If the soil's PH is off, the plants are not able to absorb the nutrients, no matter how many are added to the soil mix.

There are a lot of different seed starting mixes out there on the market, some better than others, but this particular recipe has worked well for me and that is why I will continue to use it.