Helping seedlings survive first two weeks . .

I've already posted a thread on here and got some helpful advice about a few things. I live in rural Texas and tried to grow last year but they died. One made it to a month and a half then died. Would it be best to use a humidity dome for them to get acclimated to the outside conditions? Starting them inside is not an option. They have to go straight from germ outside. Any good tips or advice you could throw my way would be great

I also read that a soilless mix is best for them to start in but no good soils are accesible in my area. What are simple ingredients that I can use to make my own mix?

hey kyle. this is what i done last year with successful results... i first germed them under my bed with cotten pads, norm tap water left out for day or two in a food bag in a cd case. Once they popped i then put into some moist seed & cutting soil, in a pot with some cling film over the top, agin under the bed till they popped the above. I then transported them outside in a shaded area with a clear 2ltr bottel, with the bottem off, over the top to act as a dome with the lid off. once they outgrow the dome and the last frost had gone, i then transplated into the ground into there permanent home. thats wat i done with 100% success. hope this helped.,.. perk

check this out. the base mix # 1 or # 2 are great. use the worm castings if possible. if you have to use manure make sure it is composted and let your mix sit awhile. i personally would use worm castings first, compost second choice.

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/377845-hillbillybobs-soil-mix.html

Regular garden soil with perlite added and rocks at the bottom of the pot for drainage worked good for me. Then transplanted into native soil, with top dressings and compost teas added.

Well i my native soil is clay mostly, so makes it hard to get a good soil cause all the chemicals.

that good if it clay. it will be full of nute for ur plants. there is only a few problems tho that can be amened. 1 is the ph but can be ajusted with lime and second, if heavy clay then airation... with that you could use sand, gypson or compost or maybe bit of each to air it out abit so the roots can breath. is it heavy clay tho that you have?

Its general loose clay. I have dug a few holes and it seems to be sandy too. But i def see the need for airation for the plants. I plan on germing them soon so i will start a thread for it and post pics, hopefully with some help i can make a harvest this year

Kyle Griffin said:

Its general loose clay. I have dug a few holes and it seems to be sandy too. But i def see the need for airation for the plants. I plan on germing them soon so i will start a thread for it and post pics, hopefully with some help i can make a harvest this year

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Make sure you mulch around the base of your plants, clay is sticky and when it rains it plops up and sticks all over you plants.