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Seed Compost: John Innes Mix with Oven-Sterilised Loam
The John Innes seed compost, worked out in the 1930s: 2 parts sterilised loam, 1 part peat and 1 part coarse sand by volume, with a little superphosphate and ground chalk. The RHS shows how to sterilise garden soil at home: 10 minutes at 71–79 °C in the oven, which clears out most of the soil organisms that harm or compete with seedlings.
The picture: potting compost in a pot (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0).
Beginner
A few hours
Instructions
1
1
Sieve the soil moist
Sieve the soil moist
Take good garden soil, or loam from rotted, stacked turf. Sieve it while moist through a 5 mm sieve.
Materials for this step:
Garden Soil6 lTools needed:
Coarse Sieve2
2
Sterilise in the oven
Sterilise in the oven
Spread it in a baking tray no more than 8 cm deep. Heat it for 10 minutes at 71–79 °C, checked with a thermometer in the soil. Let it cool.
Tools needed:
Baking Sheet
Oven
Thermometer3
3
Measure by volume
Measure by volume
Measure loosely, by volume: 2 parts sterilised loam, 1 part peat, 1 part coarse sand. About 9 litres fills a bucket.
Materials for this step:
Peat Moss2.25 l
Coarse Sand (Construction/Pottery)2.25 lTools needed:
Measuring Jug
Bucket4
4
Add the fertiliser
Add the fertiliser
To each 9-litre bucketful add 10 g superphosphate and 5 g ground chalk. Mix thoroughly.
Materials for this step:
Superphosphate of Lime10 g
Calcium Carbonate - Whiting5 gTools needed:
Digital Kitchen ScaleBucketMaterials
5- 6 lPlaceholder
- 2.25 lPlaceholder
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Tools Required
7- Placeholder
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