Starting Vegetable Seeds Indoors
Some of the better commercial soil mixes on the market today include Redi-Earth, Jiffy Mix, Pro-Mix. Check more out on your own if you can't get your hands of these names.
Another option you may have is to make your own soil mix by "lightening" it with sand or peat moss. To make one of the best soil mixes today blend together four quarts of vermiculite or perlite, four quarts of shredded peat moss or sphagnum, two level tablespoons of ground limestone, and four level tablespoons of 5-10-10 fertilizer.
If you are an avid gardener like I am, you need more soil than the above formula gives you. To make a larger batch of soil, mix two bales of peat moss, three four-cubic-foot bags of vermiculite, six pounds 5-10-10 fertilizer, two pounds superphosphate, and five pounds agricultural lime. To mix this, shovel roughly mixed ingredients from one cone-shaped pile to another, adding each shovelful to top of the pile and allowing the soil to tumble down the sides of the cone. This is how the greenhouses here in Canada make their soil mixtures for their bedding plants.
If you're like me and don't really want to measure and fool around with this stuff - it's time consuming; simply mix one part loam, one part clean sand or perlite, and one part leaf mold or moist peat. This is the one that I use and it ensures that I can make as much as I want based on how big I make my parts.
You hear a lot about sterilizing soil, but have you ever tried to do this? Let's face it, as with sterilization in everything, sterilizing soil kills off weed seeds and potentially harmful disease organisms, but it is a messy job. Large quantities of soil can be fumigated with methyl bromide, chloropicrin, and other similar chemicals. Just follow the manufacturer's directions on the label.
When I do sterilize soil, I usually put the soil in a shallow tray (I found an old roaster and use this roaster exclusively for this purpose) and bake at 350F., for about 1 ½ hours. It stinks though. Some containers that are less shallow may take less time. In order to test the soil, place a potato in the soil; when it is done, the soil is ready. Remember you are not cooking your dirt, you are sterilizing it, so never overcook.
Now, this one I have never tried, but know some people that do this: thoroughly soak soil and bake at 275F., until the surface begins to cake (about 1 hour). Or place the soil in a fine-mesh sieve and pour boiling water through it. When the water running through the soil gets very hot, the soil is sterile.
Sterilizing soil is not always necessary, but I do like to sterilize soil that has been infested with spider mites as a precaution to ensure that the spider mites don't spread to my other plants (especially house plants).
