NODAMPOFF MILLED -222 CU IN

• 100% Organic Seed Starter
• Excellent growing media
• Enhances root grown
• 222 Cu. In. (3.6L)

This is the answer to damping off problems!:
I've always wanted to grow my own plants from seed. It's such a good idea in theory: growing what one wants to grow and not being dependent on mail order or the garden store; being able to select one's own colors, not to mention how much cheaper it is to start from seed. My frugal self loved the concept because buying annuals every year seems like such a waste of money. So I doggedly pursued the goal. I browsed through seed catalogs for hours. I bought an embarrassingly-expensive lighted seed table from Gardener's Supply. I invested in soil blocks, which were appealing because no containers are required. I went to a pricey garden seminar and received personal instruction in the soil blocking technique from a professional flower farmer. I ordered the special soil for the seed blocks, went home, and started blocking and planting seeds with gusto. Almost every one of them germinated, then toppled over from damping off. One of the representatives from the pricey seminar came to my house and assured me I was doing the blocks correctly. Unfortunately, she didn't have any ideas about the damping off. I tried sprinkling the next batch with cinnamon, which is supposed to retard the damping-off fungus. Same result. Someone at my local nursery swore by Root-tone. She told me if I sprinkled that on the tops of the blocks, I wouldn't have a problem. So I tried again with the next batch. They lasted a little longer, but still toppled over in the end. In my extensive web research, someone mentioned something called NoDamp, which is a powder that is mixed in water. I found a source in Canada and ordered it from there. It worked a little better, but that stuff is just plain scary: it smelled vile; it looked nasty and it turned the mixing container green too. Shortly thereafter, I discovered this substance is banned in the United States and is only available in Canada. Who wants something like that on their plants, not to mention in their house? Not I. By this time, my seed table was being used as a cat hideaway. I found this product and thought I would try again. It appealed to me to use a non-chemical solution to the problem. It worked beautifully. Note: this technique doesn't work with soil blocking--soil blocking requires dense dirt with organic matter to hold the blocks together. This stuff is definitely not dense. I used the Gardener's Supply APS system and this medium for the seeds. My seedlings started to topple over, but only because they were outgrowing their containers! It bears mentioning that this soil medium does not contain any nutrients for the plants. When the seedlings get their first set of true leaves, it's time to use some kind of fertilizer. Conventional fertilizer is waaaaay too strong for seedlings. I use Gardner's supply Plant Health Care for seedlings, but you could probably use a good organic fertilizer (no number higher than 10) and dilute it to half-strength. I recommend this product. I wish I had known about it earlier. I could have saved myself a lot of time, frustration and expense.