How to prepare a nutritious soil mixture for seedlings

Not all beginning gardeners know how to prepare soil for seedlings at home. We decided to create a special master class that will help you mix the necessary ingredients to create a nutritious potting soil mixture yourself.

Peat, especially high-moor peat (extracted from the upper layers of marshy soil), is highly acidic, and only a few plant species can thrive in acidic soil. The main vegetable crops grown by gardeners in their backyards require alkaline soil. Furthermore, peat contains very little mineral content.

To achieve a good harvest, it is worthwhile, already at the seedling growing stage, to ensure that the plants grow in alkaline, nutritious soil, rich in the minerals necessary for their development.

Soil composition for growing seedlings

• universal soil for seedlings – 3 parts,
• coconut substrate – 1 part,
• vermiculite – 1/3 part,
• vermicompost – 1 part,
• dolomite flour – 100 g (if necessary),
• biological fungicide zircon - 1 ampoule.

Operating procedure

To correctly determine the ratio of all components for composing a nutrient-rich soil, any container, such as a large bowl, can be used as a unit of volume. This means that this bowl, filled to the brim, constitutes one part. If you need to measure out three parts, you'll need to add three such bowls; if you need to measure out a third, simply fill this bowl a third full.
First, you need to soak the coconut coir. To do this, pour 2.5 liters of warm, chlorine-free water into a container (to remove chlorine from tap water, let the water sit in an open, uncovered container for about an hour) and drop in a compressed block of coconut coir.

After 15 minutes, the coconut substrate will be saturated with water and turn into a thick, mushy substance.

You can begin preparing the nutrient-rich soil for the seedlings. As mentioned earlier, one cup equals one part of the volume.

Take three parts of universal soil as a base (pour three bowls of soil into a large basin).

Measure out 1/3 (one third of a cup) of vermiculite.

Add vermiculite to your all-purpose potting soil. Vermiculite prevents compaction, keeps the soil loose, and allows air to reach the plant's root system.

Measure out the required amount of vermicompost, fill it to a full cup (this is 1 part).

Add vermicompost to the soil mixture. Vermicompost is perhaps the most important component of our nutrient mixture. Vermicompost is a byproduct of soil digestion by earthworms, making it a biologically active substance. Vermicompost contains enzymes, vitamins, microelements, humic substances, nutrients, and soil microorganisms.

Mix all dry components of the soil mixture thoroughly.

Take a full cup (1 part) of swollen, wet coconut substrate.

Add it to the soil mixture and mix thoroughly again. Coconut coir is what reduces the acidity of peat soil. Coconut coir has a pH of 6.0, making it almost neutral. To make the soil alkaline, it's recommended to add ash or dolomite flour. If the general-purpose soil you bought at the store doesn't contain either ash or dolomite flour, add about 100 g of either substance to the soil. My soil already contained dolomite flour, so I didn't add it.

You've already prepared the nutritious soil for growing seedlings indoors, but that's not enough. It needs to be disinfected to prevent the plants from being affected by various diseases, especially the well-known "blackleg," which is the most common cause of seedling death.
Dilute any biological fungicide according to the instructions on the package. Don't worry, it won't harm the plants or you. Fungicides also promote root growth. I used Zircon.

Dilute one drop of zircon in 1 liter of water.

Spray the entire prepared nutrient soil with a zircon solution from a sprayer, turning it over layer by layer.

Ideally, the soil should sit for about a week to allow the microorganisms to thoroughly colonize the nutrient-rich soil you've prepared. If you're in a hurry, let the soil sit for at least a day before replanting. seedlings.
Have a good harvest!

Master class from Milena