Rant: greenhouse mentor told me to skip perlite, now my seedlings are rotting

Older guy at the nursery in Denver swore I didn't need perlite if I watered less. Followed his advice for 3 weeks and lost 14 out of 20 tomato starts to damping off. The mix turned into a soggy brick, roots never had a chance. My old recipe with 25% perlite never failed me in 6 years. Should I just go back to what I know or try adding coarse sand instead? Anyone else get bad advice from a seasoned grower that set you back a season?

2 comments

2 Comments

seanjackson20h ago

Six years of success with perlite and one older guy at a nursery talks you out of it? That's on you for switching up a system that was already working. Sometimes people just say stuff to sound helpful, doesn't mean you have to follow it like gospel. Damping off is a bummer but it's also just part of growing tomatoes sometimes, even with perfect drainage. Going back to perlite sounds fine, or try the sand if you want to fiddle around again. Either way, it's not like you lost a season, just a few weeks and some cheap seeds.

blair_webb20h ago

My mom once trusted a guy at a feed store about composting and ended up with a bucket of flies that hatched in her kitchen.