Post by sphagnofibrist on Feb 18, 2020 14:35:35 GMT -5
Hey folks! I'm back again with another seedling question.
Let's start with good news: I have some seeds that germinated today!! Woohoo!!
Bad news: I recently learned (better late than never) that not all bags of peat moss are wonderful. After reading through many cultivation posts on the board in preparation for this upcoming season and waiting for my seeds to germinate, I have learned of the woes of poor quality peat. Unfortunately, I purchased a bale last year before knowing anything and it is definitely low quality. Thankfully I learned this before I planted new, beautiful plants from folks on this board, so it won't lead to their demise. I spent yesterday afternoon and evening flushing enough peat moss for five pots of mix to get them to a low TDS.
After reading just a few threads a couple weeks ago, I checked my peat--it registered at a fairly low TDS of 56ppm. I had no qualms so I sowed my seeds. Now that my seeds were sown on a clean mix, I continued to read posts and learned that I made a big mistake. I made a slurry of peat and RODI water, but I read it instantly instead of letting it soak to reveal the true level of TDS. I decided I should test it again. After letting the peat soak for 24 hours, it read at 188ppm. I realized that I sowed my seeds onto a rather "salty" mix.
Once I got my new and already established plants potted, I planned to wash more peat so I could just transfer the not-yet-germinated seeds onto the new "clean" mix. But, as I checked my pots today, many seeds have germinated. So, what's the best course of action? Leave them undisturbed for awhile and maybe they can tolerate the higher salts? Or, should I wash some peat ASAP and move over the emerging seedlings and the remaining seeds?
I was afraid to disturb my pots too much, but I did remove one from the tray and flushed some RODI water to collect some leachate. It read about 160ppm. The water sitting in the tray is reading about 95ppm. I bottom water with 0-2ppm water.
Let me know your thoughts on how I should proceed. Thanks!