The Great Seed Starting Soil Debate

Season 5, Episode 10, January 18, 2023

In this week’s episode, we discussed, yet again, microgreens, along with starting flower seeds and vegetable seeds, and several other gardening topics. Dee couldn’t remember when to cut her microgreens. Listen on to hear more.

Carol got fancy adding in some applause when I told her I sowed pansies and violas. It was pretty funny.

Starting flower seeds can be a little bit more difficult than starting vegetable seeds. Some, like most milkweed seeds, need cold stratification. Some, like morning glories and mistletoe, need a little scratching up or to pass through the digestive systems of animals. The fancy word is scarification. You can also soak these seeds to open up that seed coat. Mistletoe needs to be eaten by a bird. You can read more in Carol’s article on growing mistletoe from seed although I’m not sure why you’d want to.

Basically, follow your seed packet instructions. They won’t steer you wrong if you buy from a credible source.

Carol has two older books on seed starting that have great information:
Seeds: The Definitive Guide to Growing, History & Lore by Peter Loewer (1995) (Amazon link to used copies) and Park’s Success with Seeds by Ann Reilly (1978) (Amazon link to used copies.)

Then, we moved on to vegetables. I’ve written several blog posts about starting seeds, including Grow your own transplants from seed and Starting tomato seeds. Then, Carol and I argued about discussed whether you need a seed starting mix to start your seeds. I’m in the unamended potting soil camp. It’s cheaper and doesn’t float. Carol likes that the seed starting mix is sterile.

On the bookshelf, Carol read Groundcover Revolution: How to use sustainable, low-maintenance, low-water groundcovers to replace your turf by Kathy Jentz (Amazon Link). (Kathy is also the co-author with Teri Speight of The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City (Amazon Link)

For our dirt, we both really enjoyed Margaret Roach’s latest article in the NYT on flower seeds. This should be a gift link so you can access it. In Margaret Roach's NYT article, Andrew Schulyer recommends the Dramm 510 hose sprayer.

Our rabbit holes are diverse. Mine has nothing to do with gardening because I had to research vitrectomy eye surgery last week. Listen to hear why. Carol researched another Lost Lady of Garden Writing (Josephine Nuese) and decided to pursue a Month by Month reading project. I think it will be confusing and hard.

Voles and moles? I wrote about them for Family Handyman: The differences between moles and voles.

Another book we mentioned. Seed to Dust: Life, Nature and A Country Garden by Marc Hamer (Amazon link), who also wrote How to Kill a Mole: Wisdom From a Life Lived in Nature (Amazon link)

Another flower, Nasturtium ‘Baby Rose’, an All-America Selection

Finally, the Bird of Paradise Lego set (Amazon Link)

Okay, that’s it! Listen to the episode to hear everything else. It’s a long one. You might need a cup of tea.

The usual links:

Affiliate link to Botanical Interest Seeds.  Book links are also affiliate links to either Bookshop.org or Amazon.

Email us anytime at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com  

For more info on Carol and her books, visit her website.  Visit her blog May Dreams Gardens.
For more info on Dee and her book, visit her website.  Visit her blog Red Dirt Ramblings.

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