Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - Diatomaceous Earth as a seed starting medium

b54red · December 14, 2012

I have had terrific results with the UltraSorb with everything that I have tried it with except beans. Beans don't have a large enough root system so they don't hold to the medium when transplanting very well.

Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, rutabaga, cauliflower and cilantro transplanted great.

I had a little problem with some of my onions because I let them dry out too much and some died. I learned my lesson and am keeping them watered better now.

I did keep my first batch of spinach too wet and they either got damping off or just drowned roots. The second batch did great only watering when the de got too dry looking.
I have also been using a bit of MG when watering after the first true leaves form on everything and it does help them grow faster.

I started some pepper seed a bit early this year in de to see if I could get an early start with them. Uually when I start seed this early I get too much damping off because of the cloudy damp weather common in the winter. I will be starting a few tomato seed soon.

I absolutely love using this stuff. It is so much more reliable than any seed starting medium I have ever used. It has definitely cut down on the damping off problems I have. I am not using any distilled water either, just the stuff from the tap. I am also finding I don't need to start nearly as many seed because of the higher germination rates I am getting.

Ray, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!

December 14, 2012	#213
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have had terrific results with the UltraSorb with everything that I have tried it with except beans. Beans don't have a large enough root system so they don't hold to the medium when transplanting very well. Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, rutabaga, cauliflower and cilantro transplanted great. I had a little problem with some of my onions because I let them dry out too much and some died. I learned my lesson and am keeping them watered better now. I did keep my first batch of spinach too wet and they either got damping off or just drowned roots. The second batch did great only watering when the de got too dry looking. I have also been using a bit of MG when watering after the first true leaves form on everything and it does help them grow faster. I started some pepper seed a bit early this year in de to see if I could get an early start with them. Uually when I start seed this early I get too much damping off because of the cloudy damp weather common in the winter. I will be starting a few tomato seed soon. I absolutely love using this stuff. It is so much more reliable than any seed starting medium I have ever used. It has definitely cut down on the damping off problems I have. I am not using any distilled water either, just the stuff from the tap. I am also finding I don't need to start nearly as many seed because of the higher germination rates I am getting. Ray, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!, THANK YOU!