Meditations 9: Getting Started Part 1, Seeding to Soil

Starting Seeds

Commercial Options

• Ferry~Morse $99
• Hydrobuilder $151.95 Hydroponic Specific
• Burpee $20.95
• Options also available at Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, and Amazon For Various Prices

DIY Options for Seed Starting

For Soil Growing, all you really need is a tray with a lid, and some form of light, let’s forgo the lighting conversation for now and just deal with the growing area.
Seeding medium can be near anything, but I have found that Vermiculite and Coco Coir work best as they are less likely to get compacted around seeds.
Just like seeding medium, Trays can be damn near any shallow container, personally I like to use egg cartons as the less expensive ones come in Styrofoam and I prefer to reuse unrecyclable material rather than trash it. As for the lid not being clear to let light in, I utilize plastic wrap to serve this purpose. One thing to note, you will want some drainage holes, so whatever you decide to use will have those holes permanently.

As for the hydroponic seed starting solution, this does require a little more outside of the DIY scope products.
Seeding in Plugs, (Most) hydroponic units use plugs that the plants are based in, this makes them an obvious candidate for seeding. Replacement plugs are usually available if you are using a commercially available kit, if you are a 100% DIYer, you will have to make the decision how you intend on basing your plants, and if that would be hospitable to germinating seeds. Either way the tray will be the same regardless.
In regard to the tray there is a specialized piece of equipment you will want to take advantage of, A Wicking Mat. These are generally cheap (as low as $7.00) and last about 2 years of consistent use. If you have a trusted distributor of felt (no chemical treatments) that is another substitute for a wicking mat. You will be basically building a small wicking system to germinate your seeds.
In the initial tray there will need to be a stand of some sort (you can make yourself or purchase one from a retailer) for the plugs to stand on, add on to that a clear cover and you are all set!

Nutrients

If you are in a situation where commercial fertilizer is your only option, there are plenty of options available on the market, many of them with directions for use with germinating plants and seedlings. As these are the most tender the plants will be you will want to err on the side of caution and dilute your fertilizer, even if you are using compost or compost tea. In regard to compost tea dilute even further than the recommended for full size plants to avoid burning.

Space, Temperature and Humidity

These factors are very personal to each situation, between the available area, the particular plants you are growing, and the climate you are operating in. All the advice I can give is do your best to meet the needs of the plants and they will produce.

Lighting

The outdoor situation is pretty much what it is, so I will not spend time waxing philosophically over that, better to spend time on indoor options. As I had said in the podcast, I am very interested in the Vivosun line of Lighting Products, however I am not sponsored by anyone, therefore I am not financially partial. Currently I run a single fluorescent T8 bulb over the potatoes and it is sufficient, but when I put the full system online, I will require a larger lighting system. There are very energy efficient Sunlight Simulating bulbs in Fluorescent and LED options available, if you are looking for high power or heat generating light, High Pressure Sodium bulbs and fixtures are available (however they are pricey).

Raised Bed Growing Systems

Commercial Raised Bed containers are easily available at all major retailers, in a plethora of colors, shapes and sizes. The things to avoid are BPA Plastics and Pressure Treated Woods, aside that it is player’s choice.

DIY Raised Bed

You can utilize any number of materials for creating your raised bed, the main goal is that it be stable enough to handle the pressure of the soil behind it, and that it drains sufficiently. I have seen people tongue and groove, Lincoln log, fasten with hardware, and other methods for building wood beds. Similarly, I have seen mortared and stacked brick beds as well as alternate materials, such as Cob bricks, sheet metal, and the like. So, just as with our commercially available retail options, players choice, especially if you have aesthetic goals. Another main perk to a DIY solution in raised beds is that your bed is exactly the shape and size you want, your imagination and ability are your only limit on the project!
One suggestion I would make is that you do put an underlayment below your raised bed and poke holes for drainage. This will act as a barrier for pests. there are permeable market products, however, eventually they will all decay, requiring replacement.
With any Container Garden, Raised Bed or Free Standing, you will want to employ mulch to the top layer, this will help retain moisture in the soil and help manage soil temperature.

Free Standing Container Gardens

These are smaller systems, and they can be transportable, many of the commercially available options are on wheels. One of the main perks of a container is that it can feature a water reservoir, this stretches the time between watering, and in dryer climates can act as a water conservation set up, as evaporation will happen slower in a chamber underneath the plants.
Commercially available options are everywhere, so I do not feel there would be much benefit going through them all, let’s instead jump into the DIY

DIY Container Garden

The level of simplicity to complexity here is completely up to you. Planters fall under the umbrella of container gardens, and are by far the simplest versions of containers. Let us talk about the more complex options, self watering container gardens. These systems are incredibly easy to assemble, from household items.

This is a rudimentary schematic

I used storage totes like this for self watering container gardens.

They were placed on dollies like these, though I made mine, you can buy these at any major retailer.

In the next (possibly few) podcasts we will be deep diving into the world of hydroponic systems and DIY Options that you can create at home!