Grow Magic: Our Favourite Seed-Raising Mix

More than twenty years ago, a wonderfully eccentric bamboo grower in Bellingen, Northern New South Wales, passed on a seed-raising mix recipe that we've been using ever since. Over the years (and with a heavy nod to the good folk at Milkwood) we've refined it a little, nudging the ingredients toward the lowest-footprint, most locally available options we can find. This is what we've landed on.

You will need:

• 2 parts finely sieved compost

• 1 part worm castings

• 2 parts coir fibre (hydrated)

• 1 part coarse sand

• A container for measuring (a cup, a bucket — whatever suits the quantity you're making)

• A bucket or barrel with a lid

• A trowel or stick for stirring

How to make it:

1. Measure all ingredients into your bucket or barrel.

2. Stir well until the mix looks uniform throughout.

3. Optional: Run it through a sieve to remove any larger chunks, you don't want anything too chunky in a seed-raising mix.

4. Optional: If you can, leave the mix to sit for a day or so before using it, covered and out of the weather so it doesn't dry out. Not essential, but it gives the nutrients and ingredients time to meld evenly.

A few notes on ingredients

Worm castings are that rich, dark sludge you find at the bottom of your worm farm. Nitrogen-dense and absolutely beloved by young plants. If you can't get your hands on any, simply use 3 parts compost in place of the original 2.

Coir fibre is the pulverised husk of coconuts. It holds moisture beautifully, acting as a wetting agent throughout the mix. It's also a waste product of coconut processing — inexpensive, widely available, and a far better choice than peat or sphagnum moss. As wonderful as moss is often made out to be for seed-raising, it's harvested from ancient bog ecosystems that serve as significant carbon sinks. Worth leaving well alone.

How to use your mix

Once your seed-raising mix is ready, here's how to get things growing:

1. Fill your seedling trays, pots, empty toilet rolls, or whatever containers you're using. Level the mix off gently.

2. Using two fingers, lightly tamp the surface — just enough to eliminate air pockets without compacting the soil.

3. Top the containers up and level off again.

4. Use a pen as a dibber to make a hole at the depth your seeds need. (Check the back of the seed packet — each variety is different.)

5. Drop two or three seeds into the hole and gently cover with a little more of your mix.

6. Label everything immediately. A chalk pen is brilliant for black pots and trays; paddle pop sticks work well too, or cut up an old plastic container and write directly on it.

Over the coming days, mist your seedlings gently each day until the first leaves appear. Misting is kinder than direct watering at this stage — a heavy stream can dislodge the delicate roots of newly germinating seeds before they've had a chance to establish.

Your seedlings will first produce cotyledons — the very first leaves, which often look quite different from the plant's true leaves. Keep misting and waiting. Once the true leaves emerge and your seedling looks sturdy and happy, you can either pot it on into a larger container, or begin hardening off: placing it outside during the day so it gradually acclimatises to full weather conditions before going into the ground.

Happy growing. :)