Soil to use when potting up? - Page 3

kevinrs · March 1, 2011

How are you making newspaper pots that size?
I've seen 2 methods, an origami type that gets a pot maybe 2" square by up to 4" deep, and a round type, rolled around a round form. The round type, I've figured out how to do big, but the bigger, the less stable.

dice · March 1, 2011

I roll them around a can of fruit or vegetables. I think the ones
I have now I made with a can of 14 oz Ocean Spray Cranberries,
and that is how big they turned out to be.

They look just like this picture:
http://gardenplotter.com/rospo/blog/...aper-pots.html

I remove the whole newspaper pot when I transplant. I dig and
prepare the transplanting hole, then just tear around the tape,
unfold the bottom, and roll the seedling out. Normally I water
in with fish emulsion, liquid kelp, and humic acid: 2 tablespoons
per gallon of the fish emulsion, and 1 tablespoon per gallon
each of the kelp and humic acid.

Those are just tweaks, though. You can water in with water,
and if your soil is good they will do fine. If you have compost,
you can water in with compost tea. Or earthworm casting tea
if you have a worm bin. Or manure tea if you have manure
around. Etc.

A document on growing fresh market tomatoes for Iowa
farmers suggested watering in with a high-phosphate fertilizer
that would be equivalent to MG (or Schultz) Blossom Booster.
That is for a different paradigm of growing, though, where
virtually all of the plant's nutrition is furnished by synthetic
fertilizers, and the soil is only a medium for the roots to
anchor in and a water reservoir. I put a high value on
earthworms, beneficial bacteria, and mycorrhizae, so I try
to avoid harsh synthetic fertilizers that reduce their populations.

acorn · March 1, 2011

I use my own mix. Compost, Vermiculite, Peat moss, a little sand and earthworm castings. No specific ratios I just grab handfuls and mix until it just looks right.

Seems to work well and I have had no fungal issues or otherwise.

- Aaron

kevinrs · March 2, 2011

I am figuring to leave the top of the newspaper pot on, for a cutworm collar, as last year, I saw huge numbers of cutworms. I had never seen the worms before, though seen the moths that the adults are for a long time. Seriously, the worms seem to be light attracted, lots of them on the patio, they kept the burmuda grass down enough that it never had to be mowed, and my father put out some melon seedlings that disappeared. I was late on the tomatoes, but used collars and only lost one.

dice · March 2, 2011

I usually find cutworms in the dirt when I dig, but I only lost a
couple of seedlings to them the last couple of years, and
I always have spares. One of the better recommendations that
I have seen for cutworm protection is to take a plastic drinking
straw and slit it down the side, then cut off 1-2 inch pieces and
put them around the stems right at dirt level.

Ruth_10 · March 2, 2011

I use a homemade starting mix of fine peat moss and vermiculite (ratios that "look right"). I need only a small amount of this as I start plants in 3 oz. cups and seed densely (4-6 seeds for tomatoes--not as dense as Craig, but dense enough). When I pot up there's not much of that starter mix left on the roots, so no problem with wicking between different potting mixes.

For my potting up mix, I again use homemade--peat moss, vermiculite, Perlite, a sprinkling of powdered dolomite, a sprinkling of wood ash, a touch of kelp powder, and a good handful of compost. The recipe for the bulk ingredients is approximately 3 parts peat, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part Perlite, 0.5 part compost.

I pot up into 6 oz. yogurt containers (recycled). I used to use 16 oz. cups (recycled) for tomatoes, but found that I didn't really need that much volume and the smaller cups saved a lot of mix. I water using a dilute (maybe 1/8 recommended strength) solution of Miracle Grow when the seedlings are in the basement under lights, and then switch to fish emulsion when the seedlings are out on the front porch and I don't have to worry about odor.

I would use a good quality commercial potting mix (there is an outfit about an hour away that caters to nurseries called Hummert's), but I am too cheap, lol.

erlyberd · March 2, 2011

I think the compost route is the best thing going for a number of reasons...Its local, sustainable, saves space in the land fill, its free, contains tons of nutrients, micobial life forms, its organic, its always available, no shortage, environmentally safe and my plants seem love it.

I was told by a local nursey that the environmental impact of mining and processing vermiculite means it won't be around for much longer as he claimed. Not sure if this is true but I use it for growing my African violets along with peat and peralite. All of which are non-sustainable. O'well, nothing lasts for ever.

I do like to use a peat/vermiculite mix as a top coat on my compost for seed starting though. Do I really need it? Some year I may just pasturize some compost for this top layer.

March 1, 2011	#32
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	I roll them around a can of fruit or vegetables. I think the ones I have now I made with a can of 14 oz Ocean Spray Cranberries, and that is how big they turned out to be. They look just like this picture: http://gardenplotter.com/rospo/blog/...aper-pots.html I remove the whole newspaper pot when I transplant. I dig and prepare the transplanting hole, then just tear around the tape, unfold the bottom, and roll the seedling out. Normally I water in with fish emulsion, liquid kelp, and humic acid: 2 tablespoons per gallon of the fish emulsion, and 1 tablespoon per gallon each of the kelp and humic acid. Those are just tweaks, though. You can water in with water, and if your soil is good they will do fine. If you have compost, you can water in with compost tea. Or earthworm casting tea if you have a worm bin. Or manure tea if you have manure around. Etc. A document on growing fresh market tomatoes for Iowa farmers suggested watering in with a high-phosphate fertilizer that would be equivalent to MG (or Schultz) Blossom Booster. That is for a different paradigm of growing, though, where virtually all of the plant's nutrition is furnished by synthetic fertilizers, and the soil is only a medium for the roots to anchor in and a water reservoir. I put a high value on earthworms, beneficial bacteria, and mycorrhizae, so I try to avoid harsh synthetic fertilizers that reduce their populations. __________________ -- alias Last edited by dice; March 1, 2011 at 11:56 AM. Reason: trivial

March 2, 2011	#35
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	I usually find cutworms in the dirt when I dig, but I only lost a couple of seedlings to them the last couple of years, and I always have spares. One of the better recommendations that I have seen for cutworm protection is to take a plastic drinking straw and slit it down the side, then cut off 1-2 inch pieces and put them around the stems right at dirt level. __________________ -- alias

March 2, 2011	#36
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	I use a homemade starting mix of fine peat moss and vermiculite (ratios that "look right"). I need only a small amount of this as I start plants in 3 oz. cups and seed densely (4-6 seeds for tomatoes--not as dense as Craig, but dense enough). When I pot up there's not much of that starter mix left on the roots, so no problem with wicking between different potting mixes. For my potting up mix, I again use homemade--peat moss, vermiculite, Perlite, a sprinkling of powdered dolomite, a sprinkling of wood ash, a touch of kelp powder, and a good handful of compost. The recipe for the bulk ingredients is approximately 3 parts peat, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part Perlite, 0.5 part compost. I pot up into 6 oz. yogurt containers (recycled). I used to use 16 oz. cups (recycled) for tomatoes, but found that I didn't really need that much volume and the smaller cups saved a lot of mix. I water using a dilute (maybe 1/8 recommended strength) solution of Miracle Grow when the seedlings are in the basement under lights, and then switch to fish emulsion when the seedlings are out on the front porch and I don't have to worry about odor. I would use a good quality commercial potting mix (there is an outfit about an hour away that caters to nurseries called Hummert's), but I am too cheap, lol. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

March 1, 2011	#31
kevinrs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Littlerock, CA Posts: 218	How are you making newspaper pots that size? I've seen 2 methods, an origami type that gets a pot maybe 2" square by up to 4" deep, and a round type, rolled around a round form. The round type, I've figured out how to do big, but the bigger, the less stable.

March 1, 2011	#33
acorn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 25	I use my own mix. Compost, Vermiculite, Peat moss, a little sand and earthworm castings. No specific ratios I just grab handfuls and mix until it just looks right. Seems to work well and I have had no fungal issues or otherwise. - Aaron

March 2, 2011	#37
erlyberd Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: CT Zone 5 Posts: 186	I think the compost route is the best thing going for a number of reasons...Its local, sustainable, saves space in the land fill, its free, contains tons of nutrients, micobial life forms, its organic, its always available, no shortage, environmentally safe and my plants seem love it. I was told by a local nursey that the environmental impact of mining and processing vermiculite means it won't be around for much longer as he claimed. Not sure if this is true but I use it for growing my African violets along with peat and peralite. All of which are non-sustainable. O'well, nothing lasts for ever. I do like to use a peat/vermiculite mix as a top coat on my compost for seed starting though. Do I really need it? Some year I may just pasturize some compost for this top layer.