Written by Angela Goebel | 30 September 2010

What do you get by mixing perlite, sand, compost and woodchips? With a little bit of light and water, this concoction is the perfect home in which to raise newborn seedlings. Seedlings require special attention and care for their first weeks of life, until they are baby plants ready to play in the nursery.

Hayes Valley Farm is building a network of mini-greenhouses to raise seedlings. Volunteers will be growing seedlings in their windowsills, kitchens, and backyards. On Sunday, Jay taught us how to create a soil mix the seedlings will thrive in, as well as an easy trick for spacing seeds.

How To Start Seedlings

Materials Needed

• 2 Flats
• Newspaper
• Seeds
• Compost
• Woodchips Sand
• Perlite (optional)

1. Sift woodchips and compost to remove larger objects such as twigs. Seedlings prefer fine soil to grow in. We did this by pouring the woodchips and compost over flats and into buckets. Shake the flats like you are gold panning, resulting in refined soil matter.

2. Mix the materials that will compose your soil:

• Handful of Perlite
• Handful of Sand
• 1/3 Part Woodchips
• 2/3 Parts Compost

The perlite helps retain moisture, the sand aids in drainage, the compost adds nitrogen, and the woodchips provide carbon. Jay said he didn’t recommend purchasing perlite because it is an expensive industrial product. But, in our case, it was donated, so we went ahead and used it.

3. Line a flat with newspaper and place another flat on top of it. Now, lay the soil mixture you created in the flat. The newspaper helps capture excess moisture.

4. Plant the seeds so that they are spaced a few inches apart. One effective technique is to lay another flat on top of the soil. Put a seed in every other space in the flat’s grid to ensure they are evenly spaced. Punch holes and place the seeds in the holes, so that they are about ½ inch deep. Cover the seeds with the soil.

We planted summer squash, purple eggplant, cucumber, turnip, swiss chard, daisies, marigold, and cosmos. I planted some rainbow chards, my favorite new colorful green this year. I brought my flat home and placed it on the window seat in my bedroom facing east. I might move it to my kitchen if I find there isn’t enough sun.

We will be swapping tips and sharing progress on the Hayes Valley Farm Facebook group under the discussion “Show Me Your Starts!” Soon our seedlings will join their older siblings in the freeway food forest.

Photos by Angela Goebel, April 2010