Seed Starting Mix
Seedlings need something finer and lighter than regular potting soil — a mix built to let delicate new roots push through easily while draining fast enough to avoid the fungal problems that kill off young seedlings.
What Makes It Different
Seed starting mix is typically a sterile blend of fine peat or coconut coir, perlite, and vermiculite, with no real nutrients and no compost, which can carry fungal spores harmful to tender seedlings. Its light texture drains quickly and lets seedling roots spread with minimal resistance.
Regular potting soil or garden soil is generally too heavy and nutrient-rich for starting seeds, and can encourage the fungal issue known as damping-off.
Because seed starting mix has no real nutrients, begin a very light feeding once seedlings develop their first true leaves (beyond the initial seed leaves).
Keeping It Moist, Not Wet
Seed starting mix should stay consistently damp but never waterlogged — a spray bottle offers more control than a watering can for the delicate top layer where seeds are germinating. Bottom-watering, by setting trays in a shallow tray of water, is another gentle way to moisten the mix without disturbing tiny seeds.
