Cali Concrete

[Gerardo]

Call him "Toño"
It'll elicit a smile

[Jimbotomateo]

Home Depot has 3.8 cu foot bags of Black Magic peat for 43 dollars. Does that sound right? My beds are 3 feet x 50 feet . How many tomato plants can I squeeze in there. Lol. Jimbo.

[heirloomtomaguy]

Originally Posted by Jimbotomateo

Home Depot has 3.8 cu foot bags of Black Magic peat for 43 dollars. Does that sound right? My beds are 3 feet x 50 feet . How many tomato plants can I squeeze in there. Lol. Jimbo.

Jimbo Home Depot has Organic peat moss for 12 bucks a 3 cubic foot bales from Promixand Sunshine. Your buying a fancy name and packaging with the Black Magic brand. The black magic is also a blend. If you want high quality soil go to your local hydroponic store. I buy 3 cubic foot bags of Roots Organic 707 blend for 23 bucks. Its some of the best soil money can buy.

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by heirloomtomaguy

Jimbo Home Depot has Organic peat moss for 12 bucks a 3 cubic foot bales from Promixand Sunshine. Your buying a fancy name and packaging with the Black Magic brand. The black magic is also a blend. If you want high quality soil go to your local hydroponic store. I buy 3 cubic foot bags of Roots Organic 707 blend for 23 bucks. Its some of the best soil money can buy.

Thanks Heirloom, I thought that sounded high! . I asked the kid and he took me inside to that one. 12 sounds reasonable. I have approximately 550 gallons of the Roots Organic left over from last year. I had mixed a lot of amendments into it and let it set for a couple of months before use. I'll mix that in with everything too. My plants seemed healthy last year and I was happy with containers but thought I'd try the raised beds for fun.and maters.. I didn't plant last year until May 20. Trying to get earlier start this year. I like your setup. Jimbo.

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by heirloomtomaguy

Jimbo Home Depot has Organic peat moss for 12 bucks a 3 cubic foot bales from Promixand Sunshine. Your buying a fancy name and packaging with the Black Magic brand. The black magic is also a blend. If you want high quality soil go to your local hydroponic store. I buy 3 cubic foot bags of Roots Organic 707 blend for 23 bucks. Its some of the best soil money can buy.

Picked up two bales of sunshine peat moss . My raised beds are one third full of soil. Going to mix in equal amounts of peat with roots organic potting soil by hand then more soil and rinse , repeat till beds are full. No truck so getting peat as I go. Last year I had maters in 20 fifteen gallon containers. I drilled two 2 in holes in bottom of containers and buried the bottom four inches in potting soil. There's a large population of earthworms where the containers were.. Was going to start germination of seeds yesterday but all I got done was marking the solo cups! I accidentally took two doses of Eliquis in the morning and was totally useless for the rest of the day.. Rain tomorrow.

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by Jimbotomateo

Picked up two bales of sunshine peat moss . My raised beds are one third full of soil. Going to mix in equal amounts of peat with roots organic potting soil by hand then more soil and rinse , repeat till beds are full. No truck so getting peat as I go. Last year I had maters in 20 fifteen gallon containers. I drilled two 2 in holes in bottom of containers and buried the bottom four inches in potting soil. There's a large population of earthworms where the containers were.. Was going to start germination of seeds yesterday but all I got done was marking the solo cups! I accidentally took two doses of Eliquis in the morning and was totally useless for the rest of the day.. Rain tomorrow.

Just went old school ! . On my knees all morning on first bed and got grass out. Plenty of worms! . Plenty of time to rest after I'm dead! . Tired but going to get mix on top to help shelter the worms. Feels great to work in the soil!. Now I know what Steve McQueen meant when he said, " we need to get back to the dirt." . Jimbo

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by Worth1

The perlite wont help retain moisture but it will help keep it loose.
Vermiculite will help retain moisture.
Don't hurt the worms feed the worms and they will do the tilling for you.
Yes 3 feet wide is perfect.
Have you thought about just turning it over by hand to mix the stuff.
Worth

" Can we film the operation, is the thread dead yet?". With grass out and overnight rain , I ended up with with approximately three inches of soil !. One bale of peat should cover one inch. Equal amount of potting mix and mixing by hand. Maybe three times for full containers? Does that sound right. Also mixing in tomato tone. The good news is warm weather is here.. Starting seeds today in solos outside and no plans to bring em inside. Gonna direct sow several other veggies into fifteen gallon containers. . Jimbo

[Jimbotomateo]

Directions for tomato tone are 3 lbs or 9 cups per 50 sq. Feet. To be mixed into top four inches of soil. I was gonna mix some in the bottom five inches. Should I skip that and follow directions? Planted 33 different mater seeds in their solo cups, including the strange one I found in the Pink Berkeley Tie Dye pack of seeds from Johnnys.

[MissS]

I would apply it as the directions say. My reasoning is that the roots will stay mostly on the surface to feed and nitrogen moves rapidly down deeper with rain and watering. If the nitrogen is below the roots and then gets washed in further, the plants will never grow in time to benefit from the nitrogen which is deeper in the mix. I will also mention that I put 1-2 tablespoons of TT into the planting hole and mix it with the soil at the time of planting.

[Worth1]

Follow directions and get plant tone next time.
Worth

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by MissS

I would apply it as the directions say. My reasoning is that the roots will stay mostly on the surface to feed and nitrogen moves rapidly down deeper with rain and watering. If the nitrogen is below the roots and then gets washed in further, the plants will never grow in time to benefit from the nitrogen which is deeper in the mix. I will also mention that I put 1-2 tablespoons of TT into the planting hole and mix it with the soil at the time of planting.

Thanks MissS. I had no idea.
This morning I hand mixed the combination of soil , peat and fifty gallons of roots organic and the level is now halfway up the raised beds. Good news plenty of worms. Bad news it's a lot of work!. I sprinkled some rainwater on the whole mess and added a temporary paper cover for the worms.. Two months ago I filled a mixing box full of the leftover Roots organic. Box is 3 x5 and fourteen inches high. I was shocked to find it had large plump earthworms in it!. Thanks again, ill follow your directions.. I was starting to feel like Grover Cleveland when announced he was a party of one. . Jimbo

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Follow directions and get plant tone next time.
Worth

One bed is now level full. I can use up my old Roots organic by blending it with the soil. Roughly 100 gallons per bed. That should give me rounded mound."Worth". Then I could pick up six bales of new Roots Organic for fifteen gallon containers to plant all my other veggies. "HTG". Then mix plant tone into top four inches and plant tomatoes per MissS method. Then cardboard cover."BVV". A furniture and appliance place in Arroyo Grande will give me all the cardboard I want. Suggestions? . Jimbo

[BigVanVader]

I'd use straw or mulch for the top after planting. Cardboard tends to move around to much without anything on top of it. Rest sounds fine to me. That said if you plan on more beds or need to make paths etc it's nice to have a good supply of cardboard.

[Worth1]

I have a big pile of leaves i gathered up at the end of my driveway.
The other day and I looked under it and it is crawling wit nice fat earthworms.
since I dont till I just put the plant tone on the soil and rake it in with a rake or cover it with leaves.
Seems to work.

Worth

[Jimbotomateo]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I have a big pile of leaves i gathered up at the end of my driveway.
The other day and I looked under it and it is crawling wit nice fat earthworms.
since I dont till I just put the plant tone on the soil and rake it in with a rake or cover it with leaves.
Seems to work.

Worth

The trees in our front yard are 37 years old. They're being cut down right now because they're pushing up the house foundation!. Sad because they are really huge and beautiful. Here's the weird thing. Nobody knows what they are yet. The leaves are in bunches like a bush would grow. The leaves are only a quarter inch wide by one and a half inches long. I'd love to use them n the beds but don't know if they would be problematic.. Jimbo