Australian growers - is this soil good for seedlings? Buying seeds online?

Hey all, I've just started my first grow (indoors, roughly 5-7 days old now) and I recently read somewhere in the forum that Jiffy's peat pellets aren't exactly the best start for saplings and I would like to transfer them to a cup and grow them in there instead but I'm not exactly a green thumb and bought this soil recently (Scotts Osmocote seed raising and cutting mix) and was wondering if this was good?

I was also wondering has any Australians have ordered seeds online overseas and received them? Thinking about ordering some feminized seeds instead of growing bag seeds.. Thanks all, one love!

Good hydro shops will sell the "Canna Terra Professional" range of soil which is specifically designed for our favourite plant, and includes perlite and worm castings. I am not sure on the specific potting mix you posted - I don't have any experience with that one. One option if you don't buy the Canna stuff could be to get a bag couple of bags of potting mix, a bag of composted chicken manure and some perlite, blood and bone etc and make your own. I went with the Canna soil because it is made by a reputable company and is a "known quantity" so to speak. And I raised my seeds in it and have been using the Canna Terra Vega and Canna Terra Flores nutrients just to keep things simple this time around. For my next grow though I might just amend the soil with rich organic nutrients like blood and bone etc that I previously mentioned, something like the TGA Subcool "Super Soil" with all the good nutrients in it that plant can use throughout the entire process.

Specifically in relation to raising seeds, I don't think you can go too wrong with a good quality seed raising mix, the nutrients in there are likely to be at low levels, low enough not to burn the plant. And weed is very resilient. Don't make the mistake I and most noobs have done which is to overwater. Jiffy pellets are okay and I have used them but be aware they do hold a lot of water so you will not need to water them very often to begin with, if you use those.

The Mandala Seeds website has some excellent information on all aspects of growing, I highly suggest spending some time to read through it - you may not buy this brand of seeds but it is relevant to all brands of seeds, obviously:

http://www.mandalaseeds.com/Guides/Germination-Guide

Look for more info in the "Grow Guides" link at the top of the page.

About ordering seeds, I've ordered twice from Herbies Head Shop and post times have had no dramas - and they are very helpful.

Second Herbies. 100% success. Or, if you are in the right place, just find someone with some nice clones

Millenium373 said:

Hey all, I've just started my first grow (indoors, roughly 5-7 days old now) and I recently read somewhere in the forum that Jiffy's peat pellets aren't exactly the best start for saplings and I would like to transfer them to a cup and grow them in there instead but I'm not exactly a green thumb and bought this soil recently (Scotts Osmocote seed raising and cutting mix) and was wondering if this was good?

I was also wondering has any Australians have ordered seeds online overseas and received them? Thinking about ordering some feminized seeds instead of growing bag seeds.. Thanks all, one love!

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the osmocote will work in a pinch. im not a fan of anything with slow release for seeds/seedlings

Is there a better brand of soil I can go with that I could find at bunnings or a nursery then?

By most accounts the potting mixes sold in nursery's in Australia are vastly inferior to those used in the US such as Fox Farm "Ocean Forest", for example. I believe the stuff we have here has been known to have pH issues as well as contain a lot of unknown junk and generally be very inconsistent. But you may get lucky and find something that works - there might be a bit of experimentation needed.

I wanted to order "Happy frog soil" I'm pretty sure that's the name but sadly I haven't been successful in finding an online shop that will send to Australia :/ Thinking of trying to mix my own soil now -.-"

Awesome thank you Should I add any form of drainage with this brand? Here goes a dumb question - I know that you need those but I don't know how much of each :/ I see people have written 1/4 or 3/4 so and so but is that cups or what? :/ And do I need to do that with my seedlings when they are a bit bigger - like before reporting them do I mix it in the soil or is that I different stage all together? I don't want to do slow release in case I burn them, I'd rather do a liquid feed or whatever you call it

When they say about how much perlite or other components you should add, it usually means a ratio.

What am I to compare that ratio to though

If the measurement isn't given in units and it isn't given in a ratio form either, then disregard the advice because it is too vague.

Go with something like this:

http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html

Lovely thank you

Millenium373 said:

Is there a better brand of soil I can go with that I could find at bunnings or a nursery then?

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for seedlings and cuttings i use debco seed raising mix with some vermiculite mixed in
https://www.masters.com.au/product/900007305/debco-seed-raising-mix-10l

for pots i mix my own soil from what i can buy at bunnings/masters

my current mix is

20% Searles 5IN1 Organic Plant Food Range ( 30L dig in bag) (got mine from masters but they dont have it listed online)

40% cheap potting mix as a filler as the 5IN1 isnt designed to be run by itself in pots
https://www.masters.com.au/product/900007421/resource-gardening-potting-mix-25l

and 40% perlite which i buy in 100l bags from the local hydro shop as its a hell of lot cheaper than bunnings.

only just started with this mix but it seems to be going great

With your percentage, how do you measure it out?

Millenium373 said:

With your percentage, how do you measure it out?

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depends on how much your mixing up. i only mix what i will need at that time.

ive used a bucket ( 1 bucket of perlite, 1 of cheap potting mix and 1/2 of the 5in1 etc) but generally i just guestimate

you don't need to be perfect with your ratios just close

reza92 said:

for seedlings and cuttings i use debco seed raising mix with some vermiculite mixed in
https://www.masters.com.au/product/900007305/debco-seed-raising-mix-10l

for pots i mix my own soil from what i can buy at bunnings/masters

my current mix is

20% Searles 5IN1 Organic Plant Food Range ( 30L dig in bag) (got mine from masters but they dont have it listed online)

40% cheap potting mix as a filler as the 5IN1 isnt designed to be run by itself in pots
https://www.masters.com.au/product/900007421/resource-gardening-potting-mix-25l

and 40% perlite which i buy in 100l bags from the local hydro shop as its a hell of lot cheaper than bunnings.

only just started with this mix but it seems to be going great

Click to expand...

Do you add any dolomite lime in? Have you experienced any problems with pH from these brands?

Millenium373 said:

Hey all, I've just started my first grow (indoors, roughly 5-7 days old now) and I recently read somewhere in the forum that Jiffy's peat pellets aren't exactly the best start for saplings and I would like to transfer them to a cup and grow them in there instead but I'm not exactly a green thumb and bought this soil recently (Scotts Osmocote seed raising and cutting mix) and was wondering if this was good?

I was also wondering has any Australians have ordered seeds online overseas and received them? Thinking about ordering some feminized seeds instead of growing bag seeds.. Thanks all, one love!

Click to expand...

I use osmocote premium potting mix once my seedlings grow out of my cups which I will upload a photo of. I have no problems with this soil and everything has been going great with it so I'm sticking to it. With seedlings like your asking about I start them off in tomato seedling kits that you can buy from bunnings or k-mart garden section. If you do end up going with the tomato kit I recommend to take the lid off in the store and check that both "jiffy pellets" or compact soil is inside because where I shop people like to steal them.

I'm not saying this is the best soil and seedling starter mix, it's just what I use and have no problems with and is also inexpensive and easy to get a hold of. Hope that helped in any way. Good luck!

apeshot said:

Do you add any dolomite lime in? Have you experienced any problems with pH from these brands?

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i didnt add any dolomite to this mix as it already contains a decent amount of cal/mag from the 5in1. never had big ph problems i havnt checked this one since the day i mixed it which imo doesnt give a definitive result, I normally let the mix settle for a few days so im due to ph it tonight/tomorrow so ill let you know

Grow4you said:

I use osmocote premium potting mix once my seedlings grow out of my cups which I will upload a photo of. I have no problems with this soil and everything has been going great with it so I'm sticking to it. With seedlings like your asking about I start them off in tomato seedling kits that you can buy from bunnings or k-mart garden section. If you do end up going with the tomato kit I recommend to take the lid off in the store and check that both "jiffy pellets" or compact soil is inside because where I shop people like to steal them.

I'm not saying this is the best soil and seedling starter mix, it's just what I use and have no problems with and is also inexpensive and easy to get a hold of. Hope that helped in any way. Good luck!

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most people on this site (myself included) warn against using slow release, found out the hard way in my first grow that it can cause more problems than it solves