Premier Potting Soil

[SuntannedSwede]

Hello all,

I recently purchased around 700 litres of potting soil for my smart pots (here's a link:http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/pr...4711p.html#srp) and upon opening a few of the bags I was surprised by how little perlite was in the bags. It pretty much turned to mud as soon as I added water, should I try and mix in some sand? Or just buy like forty 5l bags of perlite to add to it? Does anyone have experience with this brand? Maybe its okay on its own?

Thank you for your time

[ricman]

I don't have any experience with that brand, but I do container garden and make my own potting mix. I use about 50% peat in my mix and I just eyeball the perlite until it looks right. I think the peat is the most crucial part of the container mix, allowing it to wick and be fairly fast draining. My recipe is listed below, I achieve excellent results with the following mix. I think you could add in more peat and perlite to your's and make it work. You should be able to buy a LARGE bag of perlite at a nursery, much cheaper than buying many small bags.
.
I make my own container mix for my RGGS. I mix mine up in 30 gallon batches
50%-compost
50%-peat
2 cups dolomite lime
1 cup bone meal
1 cup gypsum
1 cup azomite
1 cup 10-10-10 fertilizer
3 to 4 coffee cans of perlite

Rick

[Starlight]

I agree with Rick. I would get a big bag of of the perlite. Even the brand I buy and love doesn't have much perlite in it and I add about as much perlite as Rick does to my mix for my containers so the roots don't suffocate.

[Ed of Somis]

Mixing in perlite to bad potting mixes only makes a bad mix more expensive. As we say..."how many BB's added to pudding will make it drain?" You get the point. I normally buy a quality (peat based) potting mix and mix in about 1/3 cactus mix. You want something that drains quickly and does not become mucky. Do NOT buy "Moisture Control" type mixes. They hold too much water. Experienced gardeners have their "custom mixes" that are good...but newbies can end up with a science experiment gone bad...if they are not careful.

[greenthumbomaha]

The product you purchased is manufactured by the company that makes pro mix. I see it has actual soil in the mix. I wish that were available here.
Smart pots state they can take a heavier mix than plastic containers. I would go ahead and use it as is in a few pots and see how it works. You only need to moisten, not drench it.
I bet the plants will love the nutrient rich soil.
- Lisa

[Labradors2]

I never tried that one.

I have heard that Perlite is a real pain because it floats so easily, and I wonder if manufacturers have stopped adding it for some reason. You could buy some Diatomaceous Earth to mix in. It is sold in Auto Supply shops to absorb spills and is completely natural. I think I bought a big bag for about $18 when people were talking about starting seeds in it and getting bigger roots.

When you run out of your Premier mix, I would recommend Pro Mix for Vegetables. It is organic and contains nutrients. I have had great success with it in my containers, and all the big box stores in Canada apparently sell it and it now comes in big bales. I have bought it at both Cdn Tire and Home Hardware.

Linda

[SuntannedSwede]

Thanks for all of the replies everybody, will have to figure out what to do now and possibly buy more soil for some more pots. Trying to grow watermelons in 30 gallon smart pots in addition to some tomatoes in others. Maybe this mix will be alright but it seems awfully dense