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Question

bazora

Will year-old soil-less potting mix work for starting seedlings?

Answer

Question details

Last year, I spent a good chunk of money to buy a (bale?) of Sunshine Pro Mix#1 to use for starting our seedlings. It's a HUGE amount of stuff, though, and we only wound up using half of it!Now I'm in a bit of a quandry. I don't exactly have another $60 or so this year to buy another bale... and I still have this half sitting in my sun room. I'm curious as to whether it's okay to use the mix that I have? It's still totally dry... and Pro #1 is a soil-less mix and no compost in it. I don't want to waste a lot of time if the seeds won't grow in it, but I'm just not sure what the best first step is. Thanks so much for the advice in advance!

Jessica Still

Tue, 03/08/2011 - 15:56

Since you say your mix has been kept dry, I think it's age will not matter at all. If it had been wet & developed mold, algae or a sour smell - then some rain-washed & sunny use for it would be better. To condition a supply of dry peat mix for seed planting, you might want to toss it with hot/warm water in a large container until it is slightly moistened overall. Let it sit for a day to hydrate evenly. Peat can be quite water-resistant.

Bill_Brikiatis

Tue, 04/19/2011 - 11:58

I think Jessica is right. I used one year old soil-less seed starting mix (organic) this year and didn't have any trouble. It was kept dry in a plastic container. I had a very high germination rate, probably about 80% and no damping off. Maybe I was just lucky?