It would be fine to use very very dried plantation soil for my bearded dragon right? I figure there wouldnt be a problem. I dont use a water dish for him cause he's usually well hydrated and he never would drink from it or go in it. he's well hydrated cause I give him a bath once a week and there's lettuce in his diet (not just lettuce so i dont want those people who are all like quot; oh just lettuce isent good enough blahh blahh blahhquot; I already know..) but ya since theres no water in a dish to spill in the soil to cause high humidity, I figure the very dried out exo terra coconut husk plantation soil wouldnt be a bad idea? any one doing this ? comments please ( just kinda sick of the sand look )
I have been making my own soil less mix for my seedlings for 15 years. I use Eliot Coleman's recipe in his book the New Organic Grower which is compost, peat, perlite and some trace fertilizers (green sand, colloidal phosphate, kelp or blood meal and lime or ash to bring up the pH). If you are a market grower you should get a copy of this book as it has tons and tons of invaluable information such as how to make your own soiless mix for seed starting No, you do not need to sterilize the peat(or compost) Yes you do need to run everything through a 1/4 hardware cloth screen (peat and compost) before making the soiless mix. Do this is a very well ventilated area (like outside) or at the very least have a mask on as this stuff is very dusty and you don't want it in your lungs or sinuses. You can also use coconut coir instead of peat moss.
Yes you can mix parakeet mix yourself, the mix you are suggesting is not a good mix, you need other varieties of millet Red ,Japanese and White millet, do not mix Oats, this is too fattening and should only be used in winter months.l Millet that is used for human consumption is an excellent idea this is much fresher than buying from a pet store. Your mix would be better at 20% -30 % all round,but it all depends on what you can buy.you should always feed your bird some green vegetables even carrot. As has been suggested sprouting seed is very good,it also gives you some idea of the quality and freshness, if it sprouts quickly.
You can get bales of peat moss or coir (coconut husk fiber) and mix them with vermiculite and perlite, but you'd have to sterilize the peat or coir yourself first, if in fact you must have a sterile mix. This adds another LARGE step to the process, and heating peat or coir in the oven is both expensive, and potentially very smelly. I think you can use peat or coir straight out of the bale and not have problems. If you're not adding any potentially dubious compost (compost that hasn't gotten hot enough), you shouldn't have any problems. I prefer coir to peat, because peat is hydrophobic when it dries out--it actually repels water, and you have to rub the moisture back into it to rehydrate it. Coir is always hydrophilic--it always absorbs moisture--and it soaks up more moisture than peat. It sounds like you're way out in the country. It may be worth driving to a city nearby, and going to a large soil yard in the suburbs. They often mix a nursery mix or potting mix you can get by the truckload, usually for $50-70 a yard. I pay $70 for a mixture of equal parts coir, coarse builders sand, sterilized compost, and 5/16 horticultural lava rock. It's a great seed starting and potting mix that I use for everything. A truckload would probably last you 2-3 years, and it stores fine as long as it's on a tarp and covered.
1:1 peat and vermiculite (or perlite, but I prefer vermiculite) is just fine a seed started mix. Sterilizing is good, but not entirely necessary...it ceases to be sterile the moment you expose it open air.
Homemade Seed Starting Mix
