Seedling media

[EA-1306]

I have recently been germinating seeds, and ran out of vermiculite, so I ended up using two formulations of media.
The first was equal parts of vermiculite and perlite, sifted to exclude large particles. The second was also sifted but was composed of equal parts perlite and ground coir.

Thus far both mixes have proved effective. Due to some fruit remnants I ended up using some essential oils  (3 drops each of tea tree and frankincense oil in a gallon) in water to prevent mold and bacteria, this mixture proved effective and does not inhibit germination. No sterilization was used at any time (I have never found a need for it with cacti seeds).

Germination was excellent for many types of seed including T pachanoi X SS01 and the 'Los Genteles' peruvianus.  Once again T pallarensis proved to have a low germination rate, but I ordered a double batch in anticipation of this, half of which was/is on  the coir/perlite medium, the other half was on the verm/perlite medium.

The medium with coir has proved to hold considerably more moisture than the verm/perlite mixture. I do not like this myself as that I like moist but not saturated mediums for germination. However it has still proven quite effective, and perhaps a reformulation of the medium into a 1:2 coir:perlite mixture may prove more conducive to the desired conditions.

Germination has been great on both mediums for the most part, the more saturated coir mix seems to be a little more prone to mold, though it has not proved to be a problem, thus far the only mold has been on parts of seeds that are non-viable as it is, and there has been no sign of bacteria.

The germination is being done in small round plastic pots in tupperwear type containers with the lids slightly open at one corner. This facilitates air exchange and prevents overly saturated environments while still retaining enough moisture to promote germination.

While I prefer the verm:perlite medium (screening makes a big difference by the way) and have used many different types and forms of media for germination and seedling growth, the coir:perlite medium seems very conducive to root set and once reformulated to prevent excessive moisture retention may be preferable to inert inorganic media.