Wickes Multi-Purpose vs Westland John Innes

Mine are pricked out early. I have no idea if it matters ... I figure I get them out with a single vertical root, and no transplantation damage, whereas if I leave them until they have a decent root system (first true leaf stage, say) then I definitely damage them pulling them apart and getting the roots out of the compost.

I think that seed compost makes pricking out easy - its very fine, and just falls off the roots.

But that's just my thinking ... nothing scientific about it! (I should really do half-and-half and prick out some a few days after germination, and some after first true leaf, and see which gets going faster.)

However, early pricking out frees up the seed trays, and their seed sowing compost , for reuse sooner ...

Yeah. I figure that it has only grown a few seeds .. and they were healthy. Biggest risk is that there are some slow-germinating seeds left, and they come up with the next batch, so I might get something unintended pricked out with the desirables - which is all the more tricky because I prick out at the seed-leaf stage. I'm OK if one is a Brassica and the other is an Onion!

I usually pour a boiling kettle on the compost, in the seed tray, to water it (and maybe that kills some things off) and also to "warm up" the compost ... if I could find a recipe I understood for dampening and microwaving soil I'd use it ... I think its important to cook it until the soil temperature is at X - but I don't have a suitable thermometer, and can't remember what X is !.

I also wonder if the structure of the seed compost is not as good after several batches? (compared to freshly mixed). Can't make up my mind if that is a real issue, or either in my head or the result of something else. I thought my onion the seeds didn't germinate very well - those that did tried to root along the surface, rather than into it. The compost seemed rather compacted when I pricked them out - I probably firmed it way too much, so I've adjusted my technique on that. I used to gently push down with my fingers, for any loose areas - particualrly in the corners - then stack another tray on top and push down quite firmly to get a flat & smooth surface to work with. Maybe I pushed too hard ... I also didn't use Vermiculite on the Onions like I have done in previous years ... and this is the 3rd year I've sown from that seed packet, and I would have bought in the Autumn sales of the year before - and the open packet has been stored on my desk which gets the sun from lunch onwards ... so it might not have been the reuse of compost, eh? !!

My new technique is to gently push down, with my fingers flat, to get rid of air pockets, but no additional pushing with a stacked-tray, instead I then sift compost on top and then scrape off the excess so its level with the rim. That gives me a flat surface to sow onto, but its "fluffy". After sowing the seeds I then pushed them gently into the nice fluffly layer on top with the point of my pencil (and the rubber-end is also useful for pushing them in a bit).

So, yeah, you could perhaps try saving a bob or two, but it may be false economy?

 

I've reused all of mine from last year, mostly b&q's multi and few grow bags, I mixed them all up in the compost bin then microwaved a jugfull at a time, I was nukin half a litre pirex jug full, for 1 min, second down from max!? what ever heat that is lol

in my hotpotch slug mix i've so far seeded

120 onions (Bed'f champ) now out in veg patch
200 ish Marigolds (half outside)
40 plugs Lobilia (doing fine for tiny things)
20 dwarf french bean (germinating)

plus Mrs Potty has put some other stuff in.....

I've not added anything back to the compost ether, to me, the plants look as healthy as they did last year!

That said there aint nothing like a brand new bag of compost on the dinning table, some trays and some seed