No till seedling mix

[Rustybiff]

Howdy.. Not sure if there's a thread that covers this but I'm wondering what the best medium is for keeping seedlings in that will end up in a no till bed. Using Clover at the mo but it's 100% peat and I feel that adding small amounts of peat to a 40l pot could throw the balance off over time. The other thing is it's not organic and the nutes run out fast so the plants don't really take care of themselves which goes against the whole idea of no till if you still have to play around with bottled nutes.. 

 

@MindSoup @lildaveham @FarmerPalmersNT

 

Hope you fellas don't mind me tagging you in for a helping hand, and to see what you do. Cheers!

[FarmerPalmersNT]

If you're sticking to small pots I wouldn't sweat it. If it's in something like that just knock off a fair bit before you put it in the main bed. Alternatively switch to an organic option and just feed with a bit of seaweed or fish mix until you put it in the big bed.

[MindSoup]

I'm a big fan of using what you have, so I'd use the clover, I can't see it causing any issues, plenty of people use peat as a base for no till soil. It might not be certified organic but i doubt its full of chemical feeds.  

[lildaveham]

As above I don’t use anything specific just what I have to hand to pot seedlings up with. Usually it’s all mix but only because it’s what I try and keep mums in.

 

[BilgePump]

Organic certification is very subjective , in the UK peat isn't viewed as an organic media due to the sustainability issues.

 

Whereas on the continent peat is considered a fully organic media and is certified so.

 

Look at biobizz allmix , marketed at organic growers yet it's finely graded and blended peats, almost 100% peat in fact.

 

Considering the amount of peat still being burnt commercially to generate electricity I think a bit in a no till bed is small potatoes.

 

Heck at least it's not coco.

 

[Rustybiff]

Ahh well that's put my concerns to rest, thanks for the swift replies, much appreciated.. I'll crack on in that case and have a look into an organic option  wasn't so much the ethical reason behind not using peat, but wasn't sure if constantly adding it to a small pot would alter the ecothrive soil composition in a negative way, although thinking about it that way does make me feel less responsible @BilgePump, very fucking small spuds indeed...

 

Will hopefully begin the no till adventure in 2-3 weeks so I may have a couple more queries if problems arise! 

 

Thanks again

[MindSoup]

@Rustybiff Whatever you put in there will be passing through the guts of a worm eventually, I noticed when I planted the other day that after my soil has transformed from that chunky texture of Dalefoot to a nice fluffy loam consistency. The worms and beneficials making nutrients available is basically them eating stuff and shitting it out. 

[Rustybiff]

@MindSoup that's a good point, I wasn't sure if they ate the peat or not but now that seems silly haha.. tbf I think I'll srick with clover then as I have success with it. Can't wait to crop and get on with it now!