Perlite size?

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by BajaMitch

Wow, Gerardo. Your mix sounds expensive. Have any idea on the cost per gallon pursuant to your recipe? I have gotten my mix to cost between $.84 to $1.35 per gallon of mix.

No idea, and that's on purpose. I can say its cheaper than some of the higher end mixes like Mix XYZ +Mikos +Unicorns

I made the upfront investment a while back so it doesn't hurt anymore since I recycle all of it. Some items are procured on the us side, some on the mx side which helps contain costs significantly. Worm castings, for example, are very expensive on the us side, not so on the mx side (1 kg costs about 1 USD). The sheep:tobacco mix is 80 pesos for a couple of cu ft, that's under 5 USD. Peat moss on the other hand, is 13 USD at HD on the us side, and close to 500 pesos on the mx side, that's more than double the cost on the us side.

I'm always on the prowl for open bags at a discount at the hydro store or anywhere for that matter, and whenever possible wait for sales events to make the larger purchases. I also score samples of different mixes and put them to work too.

SO yes I agree with you, it is a tad expensive, and with that in mind this year I'm gonna start selling my extras to offset costs.

Perhaps I can make this whole adventure pay for itself.

[BajaMitch]

I have a home in Baja myself; I go there about 6 times a year. NOw and then, I drive instead of fly. Those are some really great prices for worm castings and sheep:tobacco mix. Where, that is, what stores in Baja do you go to for those items?

My goal in life is to successfully grow tomatoes in 5 gallon SWCs for the lowest cost possible. To me, it doesn't make sense to grow your own at more than the cost per pound that you get at a store; but that's just me. I realize that there is an optimal balance between cost and yield.

It's a given that if you spend a ton of money for mix ingredients, you have a much greater probability of getting great yields. I mean, if you use Prom Mix, store bought: vermicompost, coco coir, some hydroponic liquid ferts, worm castings, added fungal and bacterial amendments, kelp mean, blood meal, etc., etc., etc., how can you miss? But to me, that's like saying I am going to buy a Ferrari to go the Seven-11 because it will get me there faster than a VW Bug.

I am all set to do some experiments next year to try different concentrations of nutrients, different cultivars, and holes in the side of my SWCs (for experiment on air-root pruning), together with some above soil pruning techniques to optimize yields and settle on a reliable defined cost effective optimal combination of all the aforementioned things.

Right now, I think I can get it done for around $1.00 per gallon of mix (all nutrients included for the season). We shall see.

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by BajaMitch

I have a home in Baja myself; I go there about 6 times a year. NOw and then, I drive instead of fly. Those are some really great prices for worm castings and sheep:tobacco mix. Where, that is, what stores in Baja do you go to for those items?

Those are all at the TJ-Rosarito-ENsenada Home Depots, Rancho Los mOlinos brand

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by BajaMitch

I have a home in Baja myself; I go there about 6 times a year. NOw and then, I drive instead of fly. Those are some really great prices for worm castings and sheep:tobacco mix. Where, that is, what stores in Baja do you go to for those items?

My goal in life is to successfully grow tomatoes in 5 gallon SWCs for the lowest cost possible. To me, it doesn't make sense to grow your own at more than the cost per pound that you get at a store; but that's just me. I realize that there is an optimal balance between cost and yield.

It's a given that if you spend a ton of money for mix ingredients, you have a much greater probability of getting great yields. I mean, if you use Prom Mix, store bought: vermicompost, coco coir, some hydroponic liquid ferts, worm castings, added fungal and bacterial amendments, kelp mean, blood meal, etc., etc., etc., how can you miss? But to me, that's like saying I am going to buy a Ferrari to go the Seven-11 because it will get me there faster than a VW Bug.

I am all set to do some experiments next year to try different concentrations of nutrients, different cultivars, and holes in the side of my SWCs (for experiment on air-root pruning), together with some above soil pruning techniques to optimize yields and settle on a reliable defined cost effective optimal combination of all the aforementioned things.

Right now, I think I can get it done for around $1.00 per gallon of mix (all nutrients included for the season). We shall see.

Sounds like a very reasonable viewpoint. I've been trying a bunch of things via samples mostly, a very economic way to use liquid ferts.

Bang for the buck would be fish fertilizer, dolomitic lime, epsom salts and this 50:50 sheep manure:tobacco mix. The bottom is a large 4 cu ft bag of perlite. I was wrong about the size, however, it is 5 kg worth of powder.

Sole amendment on a few plants and they did ok. Same company for the worm castings.

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Next time you drive down hit the Rosarito HD (right after the curves, by the power station, the beginning of town) and the Ensenada one too (next to the movie theaters-Costco, towards the government buildings) and for around 500 pesos you'll walk out with 18 kilos of worm castings and 15 kg of the mix. Toss in the "Fertilizante FOliar" 7-8-14 900 mL for about 86 pesos (application rate 20 mL/L, so enough to make 10-12 gallons of full strength foliar spray for 5 bucks more).... blah blah blah

You see where I'm going.

Hope it helps.