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Seed compost

colin.scarfecolin.scarfe Posts: 5
in Problem solving
Hi all, I am new to this forum and would like to know how to make my own seed compost or if it is possible to do so.

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hi @colin.scarfe and welcome to the forum  :)
    It is possible to make your own seed compost, but it is really only economically and practically viable if you need large amounts.  I use ordinary multi-purpose compost from the garden centre ... the sort sold for bedding plants etc ... and pass some through a garden sieve or riddle to get rid of the larger particles, and use the finer stuff for seed sowing.  Then I've got the rest of the bag to use for pricking out and potting on etc.  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • colin.scarfecolin.scarfe Posts: 5
    Hi @Dovefromabove, I have done that in the past and just wondered if I could do it differently. I am finding it very difficult to purchase any this year, thanks for your help will have to go back to sifting again.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Well, as seed compost needs to be very low in nutrients, you could try sifted home-made garden compost with some added sharp sand ... but I don't know the proportions ... I'd just do it by eye until it looked right.

    Are  @BobTheGardener or @Hostafan1 around?  They might have some ideas ...  :)

    Not saying that no one else will, of course  ;)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    edited February 2021
    I've been using sieved (with a riddle) MPC for that last few years but sometimes add other things, such as sharp or silver sand, depending on what a particular type of seed prefers.  I generally have a bag or two of MPC left from the previous year, so I use that on the basis that many of the added nutrients have probably decomposed by then.  I've had the best results when using those MPCs which have some loam in their mix, such as the Westland one 'with added John Innes' (although I don't like that phrase in this context and think they should just say 'with added loam.')
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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