Transition Farm Seed Raising Mix

Made with our own biodynamic compost, our seed raising mix supports strong germination and resilient growth. It’s free from synthetic fertilisers, made in small batches to ensure consistency, structure, and beneficial microbial life — perfect for vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

Here is our recipe and a step by step guide to making your own seed raising mix.

This mix took us a month to refine. We tried many recipes and different ratios before this one BUT it has been unchanged for 17 years! We found the variable that changes the ratios the most is your compost. As we are on a sand dune, ours actually contains a bit of sand. Like us, you may need to experiment until you find the mix that holds together and works for you.

MAKING A SEED RAISING MIX

Here at Transition Farm, we use this mix for all vegetable, herb and flower seed starting and potting up seedlings (we use a different mix for cuttings and native seed germination).

1 person can make a mix in 20 minutes (including sifting the compost!).

INGREDIENTS:
2 * 20L bucket Coconut Coir;
1.5 * 20L bucket Perlite;
3 * 20L bucket Compost;
1 cup Rock Dust;
1 cup Bone Meal;
1 cup Kelp Meal;
1/2 cup Garden Lime.

TOOLS:
Broom
Wheelbarrow
Sifter
Short handled Fork
Clean 20L bucket
Long handle square mouth shovel
Container for Base Fertiliser 
Hose with sprayer attached

METHOD:

• Sweep concrete pad
  -to remove contaminants and weed seed before making mix
• Sift compost
  -You need approx ¾ of a wheel barrow of sifted compost to fill 3 20L buckets.
  - Put one fork full of compost in the 2cm*2cm grate at a time
  - Shake grate over the wheelbarrow and put the larger, undigested pieces back into the compost pile
• Put 2* 20L bucket of Coco Peat or Coir on the concrete pad
•  Add 3½ Cups Mineral Mix to Coco Peat 
  • Mineral Mix
    • 1 part Rock Dust 
    • 1 part Bone Meal
    • 1 part Kelp Meal
    • ½part Lime
• Mix these thoroughly together using shovel and working around the pile and throwing shovelfuls on top
• Add 1.5 buckets of Perlite to Mix
  • We suggest using a Dust Mask as Perlite is volcanic rock and abrasive to lungs.
  • Fill 2 * 20 L buckets with 2cm water 
  • Add perlite to water in bucket filling 3/4 
  • Wet Perlite in buckets down using the SHOWER setting on the hose
  • Add Perlite to to Coco Peat 
• Mix Thoroughly
• Add 3 buckets sifted compost to Coco Peat/Perlite
• Mix Thoroughly
• If mix is not being used today, put all mix in wheelbarrow.
• If some of the mix is being used, divide mix needed from that not. Wet down the amount of mix needed.  Store remainder DRY.
• Wet mix being used just until you can squeeze it and it holds together. You can use this for soil blocks, cell trays or pots.
• Sow Seeds!

This mix is scalable! You simple adjust the amount of base fertiliser used. The ratio of coir, perlite and compost remains:

• 2 parts coco peat or coir
• 1.5 parts perlite
• 3 parts compost

PLEASE NOTE
- As we are located on a sand dune, our compost naturally contains a high percentage of sand. Air is very important to seedlings - a heavy colloidal compost or worm casings should only comprise 5-10% of a seedling mix. Alter your mix by including sand, pine bark, hoop pine fines or wood chip - non of which we have tried so we highly suggest experimenting with the mix early and with old seed until you find YOUR right recipe. 

-You, like us, may find that you need to experiment with different proportions to find a mix that works.

Good Luck! We truly believe that the value of each seed is only realised through planting it. Hope this helps you plant your seeds!