Let's just say: I take my hobbies seriously! :D

That stuff in the back is 100 litres of perlite, a cheap, lightweight volcanic material that provides aeration in potting mixes! 🌱

The other main component is going to be coir (aka coconut fibre), which has the opposite property: it holds water really well! I found it in this brick shape.

Okay, does everyone have their masks ready? This will be dusty!

Perlite looks and feels like small pebbles of styrofoam. It wasn't as dusty as I thought, but let's still give it a good rinse!

...and this should, in theory, be an excellent substrate for starting seeds! This is a "soil-less" mix, and it's pretty much void of nutrients; the seeds already pack everything they need to get started. Or so I've heard. I barely know what I'm doing! :D

@blinry
anyway, it is a myth that young plants have everything to start inside, that depends! many small seeds (basil, thyme etc) need sunlight and constant moisture on the surface to sprout at all.
Once sprouted, they do need nutrients quickly!
The trick, why in the baby soil with minimal nutrients is needed is to "force" the little plants to seek for nutrients, therefore developing stronger roots!

@nastja @blinry I don’t think seeds that particular. Here’s some basil sprouting on metal mesh. To be fair they were being rinsed twice a day and covered in between. Sprouts will grow to the two-leaf stage with no nutrients, but for mature leaves to form they’ll need something.

@holly
would you plant that Basil after sprouting on the mesh or just eat sprouts?
I saw those and remember the roots getting stuck in the mesh so you can only harvest what's above
@blinry

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@nastja @blinry Yeah for sprouting, I grow them until about this stage or a little later, then I shave them off the mesh with a knife. Nice in salads. You can also pull them and then snip the roots that were sitting in the water, but shaving is easier (you have to have a sharp knife, though). Since they have gel seeds they're also nice in salad dressing, and if you've ever had chia seed drinks and you like the texture, basil seeds in lemonade is really nice!

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