Viewing post #1227403 by amberjewel

First, I am getting some more DL orders in the mail this week but I haven't had the chance to get a new bed ready for these DLs yet Plus, it is pretty hot, humid and dry here right now. So I am planning on putting these new acquisitions in 1 gallon pots for a couple weeks. I currently have some bags of garden soil and compost that I have been adding to my beds when I amend them, can I use a mixture of these two items in the pots or do I need something different to keep these new DLs happy until they are permanently planted?

Closely related, when I prepare this new bed I want to make sure I am adding all the right things to it. Previously, I have just been amending my soil with the above mentioned items as I put in each DF. My soil is very heavy clay (could open a pottery shop if I wanted to ). On a whim, I purchased a soil test kit at the local hardware store when I was there today. The pH of my soil read at 6.5 (ish). The N, P, K tests were a little different in that the comparison colors were just rated as high, medium, low, or very low. I prepared a batch of soil as directed and used the same water/soil for all of the N, P, K tests. The K test read as high, the P test read as very low, and the N test tube ended up clear. Is it possible that I have virtually no nitrogen in my soil? With those results in mind, what types of things should I be adding to my soil when I prepare the new bed? I picked up some bags of Milorganite fertilizer the other day, would that be enough to sufficiently raise the N in my soil?

When I prepare the new bed for the DLs I've ordered, I also intend to prepare a bed for seedlings which will be planted next spring. Would I use the same products to amend the soil in the seedling bed as I would in the bed for the larger DLs? Also, is it okay to add Milorganite when preparing a bed in the fall or will it lose it effectiveness by the time things are planted in the spring?

Finally, I am going to try a few different methods for seedling growing indoors this winter. I read on here that coconut coir is a good medium to grow seedlings, either mixed with a soil less seed starting mix or all by itself. I am wondering if the bricks of "compressed coconut fiber substrate" you can get at pet stores is the same thing? I have a couple bricks of this....https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Compressed-Coconut-Substrate/dp/B0010OSIHW from when we kept hermit crabs as pets. Could it be used as a medium seedling growth?

Edited because I forgot the question about coconut coir and I was recommended to see if @RickCorey had suggestions and I'm adding @sooby since she seems so knowledgeable in these matters...