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What are some good/basic types of seeds?

Propogation trays smell like ammonia. Seeds dead?

  • Hey All, last year I started six 72 cell 1020 Jiffy propagation trays, and planted a diverse range of vegetables and herbs - mostly tomatoes, peppers and basil. The planting medium was simple seed starting mix and the seeds came from Burbees. About a week after planting, there was near universal sprouting. This year, I've got 21 trays (mixed 72, 36 & 18 cell) going and because I was planting so many more trays, I tried to make my own starting mix. I used one of the big blocks of peat, a couple 40 lb. sacks of top soil, some perlite, vermiculite and tossed in a little of what I thought was fertilizer from an unmarked bucket in the shed. I used seeds collected from last years crops. They've been in the trays for 10 days now, and growth is minimal. About 5-10% of the seeds have started - mostly tomatoes, basil and a mesclun salad mix. None of the peppers have started, and I planted 4 types. I lifted up some lids yesterday, and there was a strong smell of Ammonia in there, so today I took all the lids off assuming the seeds were suffocating for lack of oxygen. Last year it just smelled like rich, wet soil. Since some of the seeds have sprouted while most have not, my question is, have I ruined the planting? Should I start over? Did I kill the seeds? I've still got enough tomato, basil and 2 types of pepper seeds to replant. Should I try to rinse the mix in the slop sink? Thanks in advance for all replies.

  • Answer:

    With gardening you learn from your mistakes. Never make-up seeding compost because its difficult to ensure a good quality and a sterile mix at home with limited resources. So I advise that you buy ready mixed seeding compost. I've had similar trouble in the past and now always buy mine-in and use a John Innes No1.

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With gardening you learn from your mistakes. Never make-up seeding compost because its difficult to ensure a good quality and a sterile mix at home with limited resources. So I advise that you buy ready mixed seeding compost. I've had similar trouble in the past and now always buy mine-in and use a John Innes No1.

Huge

"tossed in a little of what I thought was fertilizer from an unmarked bucket in the shed." BIG mistake. You should never apply fertilizer to seed or seed starter mixes. But if you're getting sprouts, there's no reason why they would be unusable. I suspect the ammonia is from the fertilizer (or a cat peed on them), but again, if you have growth, use it. FYI, seeds do not require oxygen to germinate. They should not be in a damp anoxic environment because that leads to disease, but plants do not require oxygen until they have roots. It's highly unlikey, though, that they would "suffocate" based on the odor alone. Water is normally what suffocates them. If you have the time, it won't hurt to restart seed. Use a proper seeding mix this time: coir/peat/compost mixed with perlite or vermiculite.

Kaviani999

"tossed in a little of what I thought was fertilizer from an unmarked bucket in the shed." BIG mistake. You should never apply fertilizer to seed or seed starter mixes. But if you're getting sprouts, there's no reason why they would be unusable. I suspect the ammonia is from the fertilizer (or a cat peed on them), but again, if you have growth, use it. FYI, seeds do not require oxygen to germinate. They should not be in a damp anoxic environment because that leads to disease, but plants do not require oxygen until they have roots. It's highly unlikey, though, that they would "suffocate" based on the odor alone. Water is normally what suffocates them. If you have the time, it won't hurt to restart seed. Use a proper seeding mix this time: coir/peat/compost mixed with perlite or vermiculite.

Kaviani999

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