Pro Mix HP or Bx vrs Fafarb

[schill93]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Were you able to find a local distributor for less $.

At least the compressed bale will fill 3 EB - so if you were spending $20 per EB it comes out even.

And .... you will get to use it for multiple seasons so that will offset much of the cost.

Marsha (Ginger2778) is a very successful EB (>40 EB) tomato grower and I'm pretty sure she doesn't use PRO-MIX. Ginny (Fiishergurl) does all SWC and I don't think she uses Promix either. They post on the Florida thread in GD.

I live in East Central Florida - it rarely gets over 90 - not at all this year, but the humidity is killer - always around 90. Nothing like Alaska.

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Yes, I found one thanks to a link that someone sent me. It is a hydroponics store that carries the ProMix HP for $41. They could order the BX for me for $51 if I wanted it. So not so bad.

I lived in southern Florida on the East coast before moving to Vegas. I traded one kind of heat for another. You can literally fry an egg on the sidewalk (well done) in a minute in the summer here. Or you can have green fried tomatoes, without removing them from the vine.

But despite the insanely high temperatures here, I think I prefer it to the Florida humidity. Neither one is a walk in the park, but having to chose, I think I prefer the hot torrid heat. But I really miss the rain. I used to love the rain.

[kurt]

Originally Posted by schill93

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Yes, I found one thanks to a link that someone sent me. It is a hydroponics store that carries the ProMix HP for $41. They could order the BX for me for $51 if I wanted it. So not so bad.

I lived in southern Florida on the East coast before moving to Vegas. I traded one kind of heat for another. You can literally fry an egg on the sidewalk (well done) in a minute in the summer here. Or you can have green fried tomatoes, without removing them from the vine.

But despite the insanely high temperatures here, I think I prefer it to the Florida humidity. Neither one is a walk in the park, but having to chose, I think I prefer the hot torrid heat. But I really miss the rain. I used to love the rain.

I have been trialing a product called Wonder Soil.I have been using it for cloning,seed starts, wifes ornamentals,and my smaller clay potted plants(herbs etc.)No insect larvae,no deceases as of yet .Great water retention and after season end nice rootball evidence in spent containers.Reason for posting is the wrapping has Las Vegas Nevada(manufacturer ?) on it with beleive it or not a Adventura Fl address as corporate.Site says you can call/contact for bulk quantities.I might give them a ring after this years trial results with my mater season.

http://wondersoil.com/soil.php?see=contact

[SharonRossy]

I have used both HP and BX. I find either is fine, although the BX is preferable. I paid $29 per 3.8 cubic ft. bale. To that I added slow release ferts, additional lime and epsom salts. I have had very good results using Smart Pots growing bags, 15 & 20 gallons. I tried the 5-1-1 mix with peat, perlite and hemlock mulch because bark fines were very hard to find here. But for me, it drained too quickly and it was just too much work. Frankly, I found it more expensive than buying the pro-mix. So after a few years of experimenting, I'm sticking to pro mix. Pro Mix also has the vegetable mix which someone mentioned and I tried that this year as well. Excellent but couldn't find it in the 3.8 cu ft. bale.

[schill93]

Kurt. Is this the one you purchased? http://www.wondersoil.net/store/wond...and-plant.html

Pretty spendy at $20 a brick (yields 2.5 cf) according to package. I know someone with a lot a Earthboxes who makes his mix with a 50/50 peat coir mix and seems to like it. I was always afraid of the salt build up with the coir, but may try it. I guess you have not tried it with any larger vegetables like tomatoes according to your post.
How has the growth factor been for you?

SharonRosy. I am green with envy over your $29 purchase for the BX. That would equal only $10 per Earthbox to fill. Nice. Did you find your plants grew better in the BX as compared to the HP, or was it a water-drainage factor?
I like the idea of smart pots, but was told they do much better in colder climates and do not fare well here in desert as they can dry up soil too easily from intense sun, and dry windy air.

[kurt]

schill93:Yes that is the one.I got 4 bricks,have been trialing and experimenting with it for possible future use.I noticed they have expanded their products(tabs/mixes etc.)since I got mine over a year ago.Growth is better from rooting to final stages,rootballs are impressive with even non girdling in containers.I usually grow 100-125 mater plants/season,7-10 gallon plastic containers(black),80% cherrys,rest regular maters,3crops in total over six months here in Florida.I think if you went right to the source there in Lost Wages you might be able to beat the $20.00/pop cost.Just a suggestion.Here is what got me started from past reading.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...highlight=soil

[Barb_FL]

I bought 3 Wonder Soil from Greenhousemegastore.com last spring. It was $12 each ($13 now). Even with shipping it ended up costing less than HD.

HD started selling it at $15 but now it is $19.

It feels great to work with; I used some for seed starting....I had a hard time telling if it was wet though

Between the seed starting and filling 2 containers, I went through more than 2 bricks.

I found it excels in cloning. I would stick tomato parts that broke off in WS and they rooted quickly.

I am going to use the rest of the 3rd brick for just cloning.

I will buy more only if I end up ordering from GHM.

BTW - I started with 4 in my cart at GHM and shipping was $9.99
I ended up putting 7 and shipping remained at $9.99

Shipping finally changed to $12.99 when 8 units were added.
(8 also pushed the base total to over $100)

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Kurt - do you reuse your potting mix? How did it hold up the 2nd/3rd time around? Mine got mixed in the peat based stuff getting solarized.

[SharonRossy]

Schill93: drainage was good in both but the BX is better suited for growing tomatoes outdoors. Either way, you have to amend and because containers need continual watering, supplement weekly with a water soluble fert once the plants start taking off and you are watering more frequently. You're right about the bags, because even in my zone 5b if it's hot and windy the bags dry quickly.

[kurt]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

I bought 3 Wonder Soil from Greenhousemegastore.com last spring. It was $12 each ($13 now). Even with shipping it ended up costing less than HD.

HD started selling it at $15 but now it is $19.

It feels great to work with; I used some for seed starting....I had a hard time telling if it was wet though

Between the seed starting and filling 2 containers, I went through more than 2 bricks.

I found it excels in cloning. I would stick tomato parts that broke off in WS and they rooted quickly.

I am going to use the rest of the 3rd brick for just cloning.

I will buy more only if I end up ordering from GHM.

BTW - I started with 4 in my cart at GHM and shipping was $9.99
I ended up putting 7 and shipping remained at $9.99

Shipping finally changed to $12.99 when 8 units were added.
(8 also pushed the base total to over $100)

---
Kurt - do you reuse your potting mix? How did it hold up the 2nd/3rd time around? Mine got mixed in the peat based stuff getting solarized.

Never reused medium.All rootballs from containers end up almost solid with growth.They all get shook out into bases of trees, lawn thatch replenishment,and in some cases a amendment to some large container plants(papaya,orange,lime, patio plants).I worry about possible disease carryover.Fresh seeds,fresh medium seems to work best for my regimen.

[schill93]

BarbFl. What kind of containers did you fill with it? Were they Earthboxes or just regular containers. Did you mix peat and coir (wonder soil) together? Donald 1800 over at the Earthbox forum mixes together a 50/50 mix of peat/coir. Then makes a mix consisting of 7 parts peat/coir mix, 1 part Vermiculite, 1 part Coconut shell 1/4" carbon particles and 1 Part 1/4" Pine Bark fines. Probably a great mix, but more work than I'm willing to do. (even if I could find coconut shell carbon particles and 1/4" pine bark fines)

What vegetable did you plant in it and how are they doing? How would you compare it to ProMix?

Also, when you referred to your Wonder soil mixed in with peat getting solarized, were you referring to the cap on the Earthbox or did you actually spread out your mix and cover it for a season with plastic.

[Barb_FL]

Schill - they were root pouches. I planted cucumber in one and tomato in another. Both are long done for the season. Beside fertilizer (tomato tone) I only added chunky perlite to the wonder soil.

I initially bought Husky 41 gallon 3 ply black bags (HD-good price) but then went with the Clear bags so sun could filter in (Amazon twice as much for clear). (There is a thread on TV about it). Someone at TV showed pics of her in ground garden that was solarized vs not and the difference was drastic.

Ginger (Marsha2778) solarizes right in the EB. For my 14 EB, most are on casters so I am able to wheel the EB into the bag and then close it off. In the afternoons, temps near the top of the EB will be 150.

For all my containers, I just dumped the mix (this is where the WonderSoil got mixed with the peat based products) into clear bags - they are all over the place - especially on the pool deck and wooden pallets in the back yard. Here the temp gets to 150 throughout because the mix is spread out.


KURT - most people with EB reuse their mix for 5 years by just taking off the top down to the fertilizer strip and adding new mix to the top. I only started with 2 EB in winter of 2014, so last fall/this spring most of my EB had new mix.

Besides the WS, what do you use for mix? How many containers do you use? Thinking $$$$.

Not all my tomato plants produced even in EB - some had tons and others zero. I found the plants that did lousy all had a lot of pot worms in the mix. (crappy roots too). I also have a Worm Inn and know that people with worm bins get pot worms when the PH is wrong. I never get them in the Worm Inn but always add grinded egg shells when I feed them. I just got a PH meter to check what is going on with my container/EB mix.

[kurt]

Besides the WS, what do you use for mix? How many containers do you use? Thinking $$$$.

Barb,I get the Pro Mix Hp for $26/bale here at a Atlantic Diamond Fertilizer(they are around your neighborhood,they have statewide outlets).After this years season I am going to contact WS about a bulk type order.This year will be 120 containers at 7-10 gallons/per.I mix from Aggrand lime,potash,bonemeal and kelp into the Promix before planting for a as needed fertilizer.Tomato Tone scratched in at various times during growth cycle,i.e.foilage, heavy phosphorus during flowering(Dyna Mega Bloom),calcium towards the end mainly for large regular maters(only 15-20% of regimen,rest cherrys).
Diamond delivers for free here after $150.00.(as of last year,did not check yet for 2015)
http://www.diamond-r.com/locations.htm

[Ricky Shaw]

I'm new here and an in-ground and raised bed person until now. I've got the serious bug to try this and have ordered three standard Earthboxes to start.

The EB's say 2.0 cf material is needed and the bags of HP/BX are 3.8cf.

1) Is the PRO-Mix compacted or do you get enough material to do more EB's ?

2) Can you stretch these premium products with 10-20% additional peat?

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by Ricky Shaw

I'm new here and an in-ground and raised bed person until now. I've got the serious bug to try this and have ordered three standard Earthboxes to start.

The EB's say 2.0 cf material is needed and the bags of HP/BX are 3.8cf.

1) Is the PRO-Mix compacted or do you get enough material to do more EB's ?

2) Can you stretch these premium products with 10-20% additional peat?

Until I break down and buy a bag of Pro-Mix HP/BX from my local hydro store for $55, I've just been buying the consumer line of Pro-Mix products.

My Home Depot sells Pro-mix Ultimate 4cu ft for $14. Its peat with their MycroActive formula. I mix that 50/50 with Pro-Mix Ultimate Organic (1 cu ft for $7), again available at my big box store. The only reason I'm mixing is to get rid of the ultimate organic. It's a good product but not great for containers as it contains sticks and other composted material. Also, it has some % of compost, so not ideal for self-watering containers.

#1. I would say my compacted 2 cu ft pro-mix ultimate once expanded could easily fill 2 EB's.

#2. I've mixed 2 pro-mix products in EB's and it's fine. I see no issues with adding additional peat. Just make sure you're only adding soil-less medium and not compost or soil as it will mess with the wicking.

[Ricky Shaw]

Thank you for the reply Pecker,

I've found the BX here for $54 incl tax and the HP for $45. This will be my first year for Earthboxes and this type growing in general, I'm going to bite the bullet and go with the BX for the small amount of containers I plan to use (6) and see how it goes.

note: I'd missed above that a 3.8 cf bag of Pro Mix will do 3 EB's Nice only needing 2 instead of 3 bags for my project.

[schill93]

Though I have not purchased them yet and broken down a bale, I am told the mix expands and and will fill 3 Earthboxes. So your looking at between $15-$18+ per box depending on which one you go with.