Yes, I still use about the same mix for seed sowing. However, both the sand and the pumice include fines, which is not the case when one buys them "washed." I don't think unwashed pumice is available except right in the area where it's extracted (here). I would not use coir in a compost, but perhaps that's all that is available in some parts of the USA. I do use a soluble fertilizer at low strength once the seedlings are well developed. I used to use forest humus as an ingredient in bulb potting soil, but I moved and no longer have my own forest, so it's hard to know what to use. I don't have the equipment to make my own leaf compost. I buy something with "municipal compost" (composted yard debris) and screen out the bark. I don't like to use any bark product when growing bulbs that have a dormant period, because the microorganisms that attack the bark also can attack the dead (but important) tissue of bulb tunics. For our English correspondents, no, we don't have "John Innes mix" in this country. Jane McGary On 11/11/2019 5:59 PM, M Gastil-Buhl wrote: > After much googling for the ideal seed starting mix for bulb seeds, of > course I arrived at the PBS list, where I should have begun. In November > 2008 Jane McGary wrote > "my normal seed mix, which is equal parts sharp sand, screened peat, and > ground pumice" > > Jane do you still use that same mix as 11 years ago? I notice it contains > no compost and so will have nearly zero nutrients. That seems appropriate > for long germination times where N-P-K will just grow algae, accumulate > salts and do no good for the seeds. I assume once seeds are growing that > you apply fertilizer. > > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…