Hi,
Can anyone advise if possible to use alternate substrates / nutrient mixes or, if they have had experience with this, what was used?
Thanks
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I’ve used Miracle Grow indoor Organic potting soil, leftover Aerogarden liquid fertilizer( by Miracle Grow), tried seed starter mix (not very good results) and even sustainable harvested wood fiber that is 100% fully compostable (great for microgreens). Another growers have used very successfully rockwool cubes which I’ve ordered and going to experiment with. In the summer, we have a compost barrel and I collect the very stinky compost tea and dilute it to use as nutrient as long as it last. Hope some of this helps.
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Thanks Pat, defo helps. The Cost of the pods is still too much in my view - seems to be the main limitation.
Which mix has given you best results?
Looks like a matter of experimentation…?
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Dude I use bat guano worm castings and every bit of waste my 30 gallon fish tank can give. Then like prune time where I grow cooking herb to dehydrate I give them a week of just plain water daily.then snip snip hang to dry. 
just as my grams would do
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Thanks Phelia will give that one a go - no fish but gets me thinking about guinea pig ■■■■ (free range / grass fed)…
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Well don’t see why that won’t help. Used to use rabbit manure when we were raising meat rabbits. Would let it gather shovel into big pile and till it onto the garden every spring. Goat manure worked good as well. But then again we don’t raise meat animals any more. Age does that to ya LOL.
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Sometimes I’m lazy and use Miracle Grow Indoor potting mix or the new organic one. But you can make your own mix. Copied this from one of my folders for you to try if you want: Recipe for Seed Starting Mix
This is a basic recipe for an indoor seed-starting mix that can be further customized and built upon. Lightly moisten ingredients with a fine water mist, then blend thoroughly in a large container such as a wheelbarrow.
- Four parts screened compost
- One part perlite
- One part vermiculite
- Two parts sphagnum peat moss
Designing a Seed Starting Mix
If making your own mix, aim for something that has a balance of being able to stay moist yet can drain well. If seedlings are too wet, they may suffer from damping-off, a fungal disease that causes them to wither where the stem meets the soil. With that, the seedlings eventually fall over and die.
If you need a mix that drains more easily use less compost and more peat moss or perlite. If you are looking for a mix that holds more water, add proportionally more compost or vermiculite.
If you don’t use compost in your mix at all, add a quarter teaspoon of lime for every gallon of mix.
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My wife uses a natural mix she makes herself. She uses a tidy kitty litter bucket with the lid still attached. Only because it’s easier to open then a 5 gallon bucket. She adds water halfway. Then whatever fruit and veggies the peel the ends everything gets put in to ferment. We start using it basically after there is enough vegie parts to give the water that potencie you will be able to see. Then I add 2 cups to my watering bucket which also happens to be a tiddy kitty bucket. Works well for us on most everything we grow. Here is a pic of my habrenero grown on that and Fox farms big bloom which is worm castings guano mix.
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Your version of compost tea. I drain the liquid out of the composter and dilute with water to make mine. You are already diluting.