Post by bobberguy on Mar 8, 2009 19:24:56 GMT -5
The first thing you need is a container like a box lets say a foot square or larger! You need 3 to 4 inch deep minimum! There are alot of potting soils on the market.Wal Mart is probably the cheapest at 2 cubic foor at about $9 and one cubic foot at $6.95. Most of these mixes have peat moss plus a mix of like sand, pearlite or vermiculite. This soil mix is great if you keep it watered all the time! If you plant alot of boxes like I do here is a way to get great results with less expense!+++ I go to my garden where there is plenty of good rich top soil. I find a spot and scrape the top 3 inches of soil away and get a wheel barrel of dirt thast has fewer weeds. I fill the boxes up and sometimes pace a layer of leaves at the bottom of the box to hold moisture. When the box is filled to about a inch from the top I mix some white sand in the top 1 inch layer of the dirt. This sand allows the seeds to penetrate the soil easier and gives the roots something to grab onto! The sand also stops the soil from getting a hard crust over the seeds!~ I spread the seeds then put a inch of the store bought peat pottiong soil on the very top! The potting soil I moisten before I spread it over the seeds! Next push down the potting soil firm over the seeds so it will not dry out too fast. This next step is the most important and is to cover the container with a cleaer plastic or glass for about 7 days till you see the seeds coming up! if the containers are in a 65 degree or above area the seeds should sprout in 7 to 10 days! The peat moss is important on the very top because it stops the plants from getting damping off from a fungus that gets on the stem! I put in 10 bioxes of tomatoes peperes and a few othere today ! I also put in my lettuce bed today out side but that is another story!
