With just three products: Perlite, Vermiculite and Coconut Hull, you can make a successful seed starting mix all on your own! Find the recipe below and check out the how to video!
Let’s face it. As a DIYer there’s rarely the time where I find myself saying “Oh, I’ll just buy some”. I’m ALWAYS thinking “I can MAKE that”! Always.
This line of thinking includes:
- Jewelry
- Clothing
- Cleaning Products
- Beauty Products
- Bread
- Marshmallows
- Kites
- Luggage
- Buildings
- Shoes
- Home Decor
- Soil
- Cheese
And now let’s add Seed Starting Mix errr… to the mix.
Simple to do and for those of us that are hands on, making my own seed starting medium gives me piece of mind that the ratio is right and there are no bugs in the mix. I’ve heard horror stories about folks that purchased mix that had gnats and bug eggs in the mix! Creepy.
I typically purchase in BIG quantities, Go Big Or Go Homestead™ as I like to say! This gives me the ability to make seed starting mix for years to come at my own convenience. We don’t have a lot of conveniences here so I’ll take this one!
The items I used were:
- Perlite from PVP Industries
- Vermiculite from PVP Industries
- Coconut Hull from Kempf (this product is also called Coir Pith or Coco Fiber)
Yup. That’s it!
For those of you that want to know that perlite is a type of volcanic glass mined in regions with volcanic activity… well, I’m not your huckleberry on this one. However, for those of us new to seed starting here’s a brief and very unsciencey explanation of why I used what.
Perlite is used to aerate the mix. It’s not good at water absorption but it’s great for leaving air pockets due to it’s irregular shape. Salad greens and other fast growing seeds enjoy perlite.
Vermiculite acts like a sponge and is used to retain water in the mix. Unlike it’s pal perlite, it absorbs water and keeps it away from the plant while still keeping the mix moist.
Coconut Hull is just what you think it is. The outer husk of a coconut. It goes by many names (coir pith, coconut hull, coco fiber, coco coir) but we’ll just call it CH for short. It’s effectiveness is similar to using peat moss but CH is sustainable and that sold me. It too holds water but will also shed it if there is too much water to be had. Smart CH. It helps to retain nutrients in the soil (after you transplant your lovely seedlings) which can give you a head start on keeping your plants healthy after you see them off to the garden.
Using the simple recipe (that you can print) below, you can make a nice batch of mix yourself! Once you create the mix just fill your trays, put in your seeds (we used this seed dispenser device) and lightly water.
I bought a couple of shelving units and some super grow lights that I just love. I assembled the lights and then just zip tied them to the shelving.
Be sure to print the recipe below and share the pin!
Take control and make your own seed starting mix
- 1 part perlite
- 1 part vermiculite
- 8 parts coconut hull
- 1-1½ gallons water – approximately. Use what you need until the mix holds together when you squish it in your hands but it's still somewhat flaky. You don't want to drown the seeds. You'll be adding water once they are potted.
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The coconut hull is easy to break apart if you submurge the amount you want to use in a bucket of water. we learned this trick after we used our hands to break it up. A tough job indeed.
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Combine all the dry ingredients into a bucket and incrementaly add the water. As you add the water, mix with your hands to distribute the dry ingredients thoroughly.
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Fill your trays with the mix medium and place your seed into each pod.
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Be sure to either mist or lightly water your seeds and use a grow light to up your chances of success! Happy Growing!
There are only 2 items in the list above that I haven’t made. Can you figure out which 2?
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