The soil you start your seeds in makes all the difference, Friends!
Potting soil, or seed starting soil, is very different from your garden soil: Its particles are both finer and lighter, making it easy for seeds to quickly germinate and establish root systems.
Each season we start tens of thousands of seeds using this potting mix and you can, too! If you are local enough to pick it up on the farm and would like larger quantities, call a few days in advance (585.374.8903) to pick it up on the weekends in April and May between 10 and 2, our regular Farm Store hours.
If you don’t have access to high-quality potting mix, your next best bet is to simply add our granular organic fertilizer to the best (preferably organic) potting mix you can find.
First, let’s cut to the chase:
if you’re looking for potting mix to grow your own, this is what we use. If you’re close enough to pick it up, please do! And if you’re looking for larger quantities, email me (petra@fruitionseeds.com) and I’ll prepare it ahead of your visit so it’s ready for you 🙂
The Potting Mix of Fruition’s History
I recently asked my father what mix we started seeds in when I was a girl. With a smile and a shrug of his shoulders he said, “Whatever was cheap at the store I happened to be in!” We all do what we can with what we’ve got. And thank goodness! I can’t deny the fact: that soil helped found the life-long passion for growing plants, food and community I hold so dear. That soil was priceless.
That being said, you get what you pay for.
When I was 19, working on the Fellenz Family Farm in 2003, we used Pro-Mix (the big bales you’ll often see at nurseries) and, though certified organic, Andy decided to switch to Vermont Compost Fort Vee Soil Mix halfway through our seeding season. The contrast was remarkable, even to my untrained eye.
The first growing season of Fruition Seeds was spring 2013. Matthew and I, on a limited budget and convinced we could save money, made our own mix. And it wasn’t bad. Here is the recipe:
5 parts screened compost (mature, well-managed compost sifted through a wire mesh 1/3″ screen, using only the finest particles for your mix)
5 parts organic Pro-Mix
1 part worm castings
Mixed thoroughly, it is an economical and solid seedling soil mix.
Now we augment Vermont Compost’s Fort Vee Blend, adding extra worm castings, kelp meal, bone meal, feather meal and gypsum for exceptional plant nutrition from germination to potting up 8-week tomatoes. We share it here as well as on the farm when we’re open in spring.
ps
We use the same soil mix to grow winter microgreens and baby greens as we do to start seeds, and so can you!
