HELP! Am I on the right track to make my potting mix?

[tomgirletc]

Will do, thanks again SB!

[GreenEyed Lady]

"Tomato Brain" - a perfect description of mine!
I'll be following this with interest!!

[GreenEyed Lady]

Originally Posted by shatbox

I haven't used my mix yet so I'm not sure how it will perform. It looks close to Promix but doesn't feel like Promix. Promix feels like it has courser materials or more pearlite. I based it off of the PRO-MIX BX Mycorrhizae Information (PDF) and Pro Mix BX Mycorrhizae Tech Info (PDF). It lists the peat content at 75-85% and I ball-parked the pearlite based on the air porosity. I also added 1/2 part vermiculite because I saw it in Promix.....

Hello, sorry I'm butting in but am prepping to do potting mix also.
Why perlite, rather than heavier on vermiculite? If the root bags help with aeration, I've been afraid of great aeration and that I'll need a load of vermiculite and only a little perlite to hang onto any water at all. Or am I out to lunch?

[shatbox]

Hi GreenEyed Lady,
You are not out to lunch nor butting in. Vermiculite would retain more moisture in the root pots. Smart Pot on their site says,"Because the Smart Pot aerates, heavier mixes can be used".

I went with pearlite because I was making the mix for my earthboxes and using what was left for the root bags. I am also hoping that ollas for the root pots will supply enough water.

Thanks for calling it out, good point

sBox

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by shatbox

Hi GreenEyed Lady,
I am also hoping that ollas for the root pots will supply enough water.


sBox

I totally missed the ollas part if you mentioned it before. I'm intrigued; have you used them before? What size Ollas and pot will you be putting them in?
Did you make them yourself; they are expensive to buy.

[shatbox]

I've used ollas in ground and it worked well. There is a thread I started about ollas.

[luigiwu]

there's a bit of talk about water bills and such especially with root pouches in this thread...

In general, I favor SUB-irrigated containers because I find them more efficient with water usage (you aren't over watering and letting the excess water seep back into the ground. The plants will only take up as much as it needs. Earthboxes are a big favorite here and my own personal favorite is Larry Hall's rain gutter grow system. I grow everything in 5 gallon buckets and root pouches and the water bill is barely more than when I wasn't gardening. I also use Larry Hall's DIY potting mix which is peat, lime, compost and perlite. You can add other additives like gypsum, rock mineral etc as you like.

[shatbox]

I'm trying ollas because my thinking was: why not water from the inside out rather than the other way around? Less work, fewer materials. I'm hoping they work.

As for the merit of growing in root pots, aeration also means evaporatoration. I think the moisture problem can be solved.

[GreenEyed Lady]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

....RE: the crab shells, I also put a thin layer of them on the bottom of all my root pouches; then add the mix and never disturb the bottom. I have not seen a pot worm when dumping the mix since doing this.....

Where do you get the crab shells, and are they crushed (I would think?)
Also, pot worms? Slugs?? What fun, new critters have I not considered before potting things up?

And thanks ahead of time!

[Gerardo]

Another vote for RGGS. Two of my tubes with 24 plants or so consumed about 8 gallons during a hot and sunny 48 hr period. Lots of ways to fertigate and with initial amendments the plants do really well.

I tried the 25 and 30 gal rootpots from aurora last year thinking larger volume = better moisture retention and that's not really the case. They lose moisture through their walls and grown side-by-side with standard black plastic growbags (same mix, same level of mulch, same plants) required more water. During the midday sun it was a difficult task to keep the rootpot ones from wilting, whereas the ones in plastic growbags (7 and 10 gal) were perky throughout the day.


For our heat, my unscientific ballpark ratio is about 25% coir and 75% peat moss.

From the looks of it your mix will be a luxury home for the tomatoes. They will dig it.

And one more thing, rootpots love being inside a kiddie pool or some other means of bottom watering.

[Ricky Shaw]

I tried the 25 and 30 gal rootpots from aurora last year thinking larger volume = better moisture retention and that's not really the case. - Gerardo

Music to my ears maestro, our dry climates are similar in Summer.

A mix of 80% Sunshine Sphagnum, 20% Perlite, and mycos can be done for half the cost of ProMix HP. Is something else essential?

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by Ricky Shaw

I tried the 25 and 30 gal rootpots from aurora last year thinking larger volume = better moisture retention and that's not really the case. - Gerardo

Music to my ears maestro, our dry climates are similar in Summer.

A mix of 80% Sunshine Sphagnum, 20% Perlite, and mycos can be done for half the cost of ProMix HP. Is something else essential?

A good dose of high quality compost, alfalfa meal (nitrogen and overall boost), crab meal (more nitrogen and chitin), lime, epsom. Everything else can come in via fertigation. Worm castings help too, but get pricey quickly on the US side. I put in 2 kilos per wheelbarrow, about 30-35 gallons.

Maybe a 50:50 ProMix HP (since you've had great success with it) and your own concoction could be the best route. And then next year all your own.

I've been using formula 707 for seed starting and seedling maturation and it's great stuff. If I could afford it I'd use it for everything. With a little effort, my own concoction looks and feels quite similar.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by GreenEyed Lady

Where do you get the crab shells, and are they crushed (I would think?)
Also, pot worms? Slugs?? What fun, new critters have I not considered before potting things up?

And thanks ahead of time!

I buy the Neptune's Harvest Crab Shells. They are crushed shells; I started with the 4 lb bags, and now buy the 12 lb containers.

I found pot worms in my SWCs; I think they are bad because when they exist the plant has always done terrible.

[Barb_FL]

For all of you going to make your own mix (vs PRO-MIX), is there a good quality Peat Moss or does it even matter? Are the brands sold at HD/Lowes/Walmart good enough? Is there a particular brand I should stay away from?

Last summer I solarized all my potting mix, and re-used it in some earthboxes and all the Root Pouches. It still cost $50 to solarize (for the 3 ply clear bags).

But I think I want to start totally over with mix on my earthboxes; I'd really prefer not to spend a fortune on Pro-Mix. I go through it a lot b/c I redo my plants for fall and spring.

Even though there is the water issue, I do find the root pouches VERY forgiving.

[Ricky Shaw]

I picked up the black 3cf bag of Sunshine Spagnum at Home Depot $12, it was a new product for our store. Sunshine has pretty good reviews on most of their products. Maybe someone first hand will chime in.

I think I'd first like to try, Mycos and a 3-1-1, Peat-Bark Fines-Perlite