Ben's Favorite Homemade Organic Seed-Starting/Soil Blocking Mix 04/08/2024

Mixing up a small batch of my favorite homemade organic seed-starting and soil-blocking mix. I adapted this formula from Elliot Colemans Soil-Blocker Recipe and another one called "Patches of Green" found open-source on the WWW.
I really like this combination for seed-starting and also for making homemade soil blocks and plugs with a soil-blocker mold or hand press. I have started using reconstituted Coconut Coir instead of Organic Peat Moss since it is a more sustainable product and less expensive than Peat. The cost of biodegradable pre-made Peat Pots has tripled over the past few years.

Here is the Small Batch Formula I'm currently using to start most of my seeds:

2 Cups Reconstituted Coconut Coir
2 Cups Earthworm Castings
2 Cups Composted Chicken Manure
1/3 Cup Perlite
1/3 Cup Alfalfa Meal
1/3 Cup Soft Rock Phosphate
1/3 Cup Texas Green Sand (from Glauconite)

Sift the ingredients through a coarse screen or wire mesh to remove any large chunks or debris then mix it all together to evenly distribute.

This mix is loaded with natural sources of the Plant Fertilizer Nutrients (N-P-K) Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, and several other micronutrients and minerals that plants need to grow and thrive. It also provides for moisture retention, aeration, and drainage to promote healthy root development.

Before starting my own Chicken Manure Compost Pile, I used store-bought Composted Cow Manure and Organic Mushroom Compost. Those worked just fine, but now my chickens provide more than enough compost for my raised beds and Containers. I let the Chicken Manure, Straw, and Pine Shavings from the Chicken Coop break down in the Compost Pile for at least a year before using it in the garden; otherwise it will burn the plants with too much Nitrogen and heat generated by the decomposition process.