Seeds not popping in soil mix

Hi everyone,

I made a homemade batch of soil consisting of:

10 gallons Premier Sphagnum Peat Moss
10 gallons Black Lava Rock
10 gallons Coast of Maine Lobster Compost

and for amendments I used the KIS organics super soil pack.

I let the mix cook for several weeks and tried growing in it. The seeds however, have been struggling to pop/thrive in this mix. Lots of seeds have been lost because they just didn’t break through the surface and rotted away. If they do pop, they don’t thrive as well as a store bought soil mix does.

I bought some malibu compost tea bags to inoculate along with Build A Soil’s Kashi Blend. It still hasn’t made much of a difference. I thought it might be an aeration issue since I noticed the soil medium stayed pretty drenched after watering, so I amended with rice hulls. Still no go...

I also bought some cover crops to test the fertility of the soil but noticed that they don’t really pop either. I believe it’s mostly a fertility issue since the soil doesn’t smell or seem as “alive” as store bought soil. I thought the compost tea/kashi blend would help remedy that, but it doesn’t really seem to help much. I’m not aerating the tea, but Malibu and Kashi Blend are high quality amendments so I figured they should be good without for now. I’ve also been using Agrowinn Earthworm casting as a top dress in the pot and in the tea (2 cups).

I currently have the mixes in two 15 gallon plastic pots and a big tarp to cover over it.

Has anyone had an issue like this before? I’m hesitant to pop anymore seeds out of fear that they won’t pop again. I don’t think it’s an environment issue either since I live in Hawaii and the weather here is pretty ideal for cannabis. Any help will be greatly appreciated but I’m not sure what else can be done other than to inoculate/cook it some more (although it’s been cooking/inoculating since oct-nov.) Thank you to any and all who reply.

I know that you can have HORRIBLE germination rates when your soil has too much sodium/salt. I use a different mix for my seeds and clones and it's usually diluted with ProMix or homemade Promix. I was using FoxFarm's LightWarrior, but established seedlings don't get enough food to veg. It's dumb that LightWarrior cannot make seedlings past a 6"x6" pot... I usually mix my own soil, but I've been mixing Malibu compost and HappyFrog 50/50 and mixing it with Promix. It's confusing, but I use about 20-25% HF&Malibu mix to 75% Promix. I've had soil tests on Malibu and HappyFrog and they both are excessive in sodium, but they complement eachother well. I run Malibu through a screen to get it broken up.