hey Vicky

I used Microsoft Excel and Word extensively in my job but I wouldn't pay for it. OpenOffice is free and works the same. I just started using Google Docs for notes or recipes I want to save. I like it because its available on any device you have Google on and you don't need to be online. If I had my garden journal on Google sheets I could take my tablet out to the garden with me and add notes.

I agree with Weedwacker using ground soil for seeds is not a good idea. The soil could be harboring all kinds of bacteria/ fungus that prohibit seed from sprouting. Plus it compacts when put in pots. If you have no other option take some leaves and grind them up in your food processor til really fine. Bake the soil in the oven to kill fungus, and mix the soil and leaves together. The leaves will help to keep the soil friable and help feed the seedlings. Its not ideal but its better than all soil.

@Yardenman:
Hi! I have some more questions for you about seed starter soil. I finally found perlite & vermiculite ( 8 cups for $8, the vermiculite was slightly more). I see I can get 4 cubic ft of perlite for $25 & 4 c. ft of vermiculite for $29 through Amazon, a much better deal. But that's a lot of soil amendments! I'll do that next year if this works. What do you think of those prices? (I DO know you are not a store, knowing prices of everything...but..if you have any thoughts about this I'd appreciate them).

Next question: I have lots of compost outdoors....I compost leaves and coffee grounds & weeds, etc during the growing g season. Can I use that in my starter soil or will I be introducing pathogens?

I get my 4 cu ft of perlite at Home Depot. Never have seen the large bags at Lowe's. My best compost is what's underneath all the pine needles and leaves in the forest.

Cayuga said:@Yardenman:
Hi! I have some more questions for you about seed starter soil. I finally found perlite & vermiculite ( 8 cups for $8, the vermiculite was slightly more). I see I can get 4 cubic ft of perlite for $25 & 4 c. ft of vermiculite for $29 through Amazon, a much better deal. But that's a lot of soil amendments! I'll do that next year if this works. What do you think of those prices? (I DO know you are not a store, knowing prices of everything...but..if you have any thoughts about this I'd appreciate them).

Next question: I have lots of compost outdoors....I compost leaves and coffee grounds & weeds, etc during the growing g season. Can I use that in my starter soil or will I be introducing pathogens?

Oh no those are terrible prices! My local Home Depot store sells the 2 cubic feet bags of vermiculite for $21, 2 cubic feet of perlite for $17, 3 cu ft of peat moss for $11 and I have never paid thatmuch for any of those. Look for sales at DIY stores. The Amazon prices are decent and the stuff keeps forever.

Your compost has to be very good to use in starter soil. It has to be nearly sterile. I buy mine from a local store by the trailerload, but they sell it in large bags too. Theirs is heated up so much in the processing that the temp gets well above what kills weed seeds and most microbes.

What a great thread! Dave has started a new forum for ideas and articles. You can find it here:
https://garden.org/forums/view...

I hope you'll all copy and paste your ideas into new posts and add them to the new forum! See you there!

Wow, as I previously posted on this, a great thread. I had hoped people would copy and past their individual ideas in the new forum so that each would have its own heading and then each idea would be easy to see / find. @dave? As it stands, this thread has multiple ideas. All good, but difficult to pinpoint. Just my 2 cents....

Yes, it's prefereable that each person start a new thread with each new idea.

dave said:Yes, it's prefereable that each person start a new thread with each new idea.

So should this one be moved back to where it was originally posted? Or @Yardenman, is it still there in which case @dave, should this one be removed?

I moved it back.