Formula for best soil in containers?

[drew51]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I looked on the Earth Box web site and it said to use it for BER and to water regularly.

The idea would be to know what soil you used, what the PH was and what minerals it had to begin with.
Before any addition of anything but soil.



Worth

Correct! As I said I'm experimenting and in some mixes I'm using coir, so if I were to add lime, the PH could go above 7.0 or higher.
The article you pointed to said to add lime 4 months ahead of time, so don't forget to do that
Yeah reminds me a bone meal which takes a few years to become available.
If you really need calcium, as the article points out too, use calcium nitrate.

[HOTROD]

Anyone ever use black cow it comes in a yellow bag with black writing?????

[heirloomtomaguy]

I only grow organic and like you spare no expense for amazing tomatoes. That being said i use aurora roots organic potting soil. It has all the best nutrients and a ton of perlite for awesome root growth. I mix in some organics alive earth worm casting's for a little more soil biology. I also water and foliar spray once a week with extreme tea compost tea and fertilize once a month with neptunes harvest fish emulsion. This combo has been a Godsend for tomato flavor and production.

[drew51]

I myself like to recycle potting soil into raised beds, so using perlite is out as it turns to mush and is useless after 5 years. I use other products that actually work better and last forever.
Those being pumice and diatomaceous earth. Pumice is not as good as DE which is fantastic as long as you get the right particle size. I really don't care about being organic, I use what works. I try to stay organic, but growing peach trees, one cannot. I also like some of the soluble fertilizers. I like organic too, but at times soluble is a better option. Sometimes with plants you need immediate nitrogen, calcium, or sulfur, and the soluble deliver big-time. Not organic.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Originally Posted by drew51

You're right! It's not the calcium. If you really want to add calcium use calcium nitrate Man the plants go crazy, use a super light dose.
The main reason to use lime is PH control in pots. Well elsewhere too, when you lime a lawn it is for PH. I myself actually have never used lime. I do use ton's of peat too! I monitor PH and will adjust if needed.

Drew - what is your method for monitoring ph?

[HOTROD]

Originally Posted by HOTROD

Anyone ever use black cow it comes in a yellow bag with black writing?????

Trying Black COW for the first time in my contanier tomatoes never used it before ill let you know hotrod

[lexusnexus]

The 420 potting soil is considerably cheaper than Pro-Mix, $9 for 1.5cuft vs $37 for 3.5cuft. That works out to $6 per cuft for 420 and $10.57 per cuft for Pro-Mix. As long as the 420 will do the job it's a lot cheaper.

[drew51]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

Drew - what is your method for monitoring ph?

I use a mechanical meter (no batteries) and litmus paper.
It's a cheap meter, but IMHO dependable. One has to often clean the probe though, it oxidizes quickly. The one I use is no longer made. 1330 or something? Rapid test makes one, but never used it.

[drew51]

I will never understand the organic/soluble debate, as both deliver exactly the same thing to the plant, just organic does it much slower. To me using organic makes sense as you actually use almost all of the fertilizer. Plus some is always there when the plant needs it. Soluble runs out and is wasted to a degree. And soon is not there at all, so the plant has a small window to use. So I try to avoid using it, but at times the quick hit of food at exactly the right time makes a lot of sense. An example is with seedlings that just form the first true leaves. Giving them nitrate right away makes a lot of sense. Waiting for organics to break down, slow plant growth at this point, unless one predicts when the first leaves will form and adds organic fertilizer ahead of time, it could be done. All organic ferts turn to soluble at some point. Else the plant cannot use it.
I also like to decrease nitrogen and increase phosphorus once fruit is forming. Hard to do this with organics. So that is another time I like to use soluble.
So I use both as organics increase the biological life in the soil, and always supply some nutrients at all times. Then I use soluble for the important points when plants need more or less of a nutrient. Also to quickly cure deficiencies. I find the use of both leads to the best production and improves overall health of the plant.

Each plant is different though. So I vary approach depending on plant. With raspberries I find the use of soluble not really needed. You can use them, but organics work just as well. Also with trees. So I'm usually 100% organic with those plants.
Blueberries have a hard time processing nitrates. So knowing your plant helps a lot on the approach used.
With enough research one can be completely organic with good results. Despite what I just said. So if you feel this is best, hey do what you think is right. I myself don't really care about being organic or not. I use both as both work for me. I feel I have more control, and like to control as much as possible as that way I get consistent results.

[b54red]

Mick after you decide which potting soil to use you should order a jug of Texas Tomato Food. It has plenty of calcium and is balanced for tomatoes. I used it last year for the first time in my garden and also my container plants and they did better than ever before.

Hotrod, I wouldn't use Black Cow as the sole ingredient but it is okay as a supplement. It tends to pack and doesn't allow for good drainage and aeration. I have used it at the rate of about 10 to 20 per cent of a container mix with good results.

Bill