How to Make Natural Garden Seed Starter Tonic

So you're planting a garden full of wonderful vegetables. But to ensure that your seeds take root, you want to use a seed starter tonic. Something about throwing a mixture that contains dish soap and ammonia on your garden just doesn't seem appetizing. Here's how to create a natural garden seed starter tonic from items you can get at your garden and grocery store.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Large bucket (5 gallons or bigger)
• Small shovel to mix
• Perlite
• Vermiculite
• Peat
• Fresh limes

1. Combine an equal amount of perlite, vermiculite and peat in your large bucket.

2. Mix the three items together until they are well blended using your small shovel.

3. Squeeze about 1/3 tsp. of lime juice for each gallon of natural garden seed starter tonic you are mixing into the bucket.

4. Re-mix the natural garden seed starter tonic until the lime juice has been thoroughly mixed through. This bit of acid will help neutralize the mixture.

5. Spread around your garden as a seed starting tonic and watch your plants grow.

Tips & Warnings

• When dealing with finicky plants such as lettuce, melons and cucumber, add one part of pure compost to the mix. Compost is a collection of old vegetable and fruit peels which are left in a bucket to rot together. It makes a great fertilizer once well blended.
• Place a layer of sphagnum moss over your garden. This is a natural fungicide that will protect against "damping-off;" a fungal disease which will cause your garden plants to rot.