View Single Post
Old March 5, 2018   #817
Douglas_OW
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: NJ z5
Posts: 281
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by guruofgardens View Post
I just bought 25 lbs. of this at O'Reilly's for $11 as they did not have any other absorbent medium. Could I still use this for starting seeds?

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/e...t/9805/4525770
It looks like it is labeled 100% DE, so it should be OK. the different brands have different average size particles, but they perform similarly.

If you are using standard inserts or pots in a 1020 tray, you will find that the precut drainage holes in the bottom are much too big to hold back the DE. I turned my 72 cell inserts upside down and put masking tape over all of the drain holes. i turned the insert right side up, put it on a couple of layers of cardboard, and used a home made tool- 1/2 PVC tubing with 3 or 4 small finishing nails duct taped to it, to make new, smaller holes. If you use the original holes, you'll have a lot of DE wash out, especially if you lift the insert to bottom water.

Jim
Douglas_OW is offline   Reply With Quote