steering clear of the devil’s workshop

It’s winter. Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop. Not this time Devil, because I’m getting busy.

Before we go any further with this, a disclaimer; I haven’t actually tested this seeding mix in these proportions. From experience with other proportions and mixes though, I believe it to be a sound recipe, and have high hopes. Although hopes and a buck fifty will get you a bad cup of coffee.

I love this process, which started more than a year ago with 1000 red wigglers, then continued three months later with a trailer-load of enticingly-scented horse plops. Now, with two buckets of black beautiful worm castings and compost in front of me, I can finally get my hands dirty.

It’s another sort of harvest, and I can’t stop myself from fluffing the stuff with a little garden fork and patting myself on the head. Good little gardener.

It’s a cathartic thing, mixing seed-starting media. Like baking, only with poop.

The mix is simple:
2 parts compost (for nutrients and moisture retention)
2 parts peat (to lighten the mix and add drainage)
1 part vermiculite (also for moisture retention)
1 smidge of worm castings (for flavor)

I would have added some perlite too, but didn’t have any on hand. No matter.

It makes a light, fluffy, enticingly dark mix. I started measuring what I had the least of (peat) and mixed that 2:1 with vermiculite. Then started dumping equal amounts of that mixture and compost into the wheelbarrow until I ran out. Finally came a couple of cups of precious vermicompost. It’s hard for me to actually use my composts. I want to KEEP them. But the garden moves on, and composting never ends.