Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - Diatomaceous Earth Organic Seed Starting Mix Experiments

fonseca · April 29, 2015

Are you using screened Napa 8822 (calcined DE)? I have tried mulching with it in the past to deter slugs and earwigs, but have yet to incorporate it into soilless mixes due to concerns it will break down after a few seasons.

Edit: nevermind, am reading your thread. I'm pretty sure Napa 8822 is more coarse than UltraSorb, which would make the former a better choice for a soil structure component but not starting seeds. I'll give it a shot the next time I start seeds. I usually use a sterilized coir pith/peat/vermiculite blend.

April 29, 2015	#17
fonseca Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 205	Are you using screened Napa 8822 (calcined DE)? I have tried mulching with it in the past to deter slugs and earwigs, but have yet to incorporate it into soilless mixes due to concerns it will break down after a few seasons. Edit: nevermind, am reading your thread. I'm pretty sure Napa 8822 is more coarse than UltraSorb, which would make the former a better choice for a soil structure component but not starting seeds. I'll give it a shot the next time I start seeds. I usually use a sterilized coir pith/peat/vermiculite blend. Last edited by fonseca; April 29, 2015 at 10:40 PM.