Potting Mix ingredients?

hazeldazel · February 6, 2019

I'm starting to think about this coming year's container garden and especially what I should fill the containers with. The problem is that most of the online resources call for compost. My local gardening stores don't sell compost. Okay well they do but it's either wood chips or bags of Miracle Grow. Not what I would call compost. The city doesn't offer compost to residents because they sell it all to farmers.

So, here's my plan but I need help:

*coco coir bricks
*perlite
*bone meal
*blood meal

Is that enough? or do I need to amend with some other stuff? The containers are grow bags with automatic drippers. I tried coir + perlite + bag of planting mix + once weekly masterblend last year and while I loved the coir and perlite, I could tell that I wasn't getting enough food to the plants.

Hit me with your potting mix recipes!

edweather · February 6, 2019

I would seriously consider something along these lines. Do your research. I've used this mix for about 10 years now, with very good results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixp_UI6AfwU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oFtE0O-fHA

February 6, 2019

I’m also switching to a 5-1-1 blend, tweaked a bit for my N. Florida conditions. I love Urban Farms TTF liquid fertilizer; that will be the primary nutrition source.

Tomzhawaii · February 7, 2019

Aloha,
I also love using coco coir. It has been quite a learning curve. My mistakes were not understanding how to prepare it , before use. All the experts say rinse before using. I didn't. I finally used a hydroponic flush to get rid of the extreme sodium inside the coco. With a huge rinse of plain water after that. The next problem is that coco coir has natural properties that can react with liquid nutrients and cause lockout. I have also doubled my Cal-Mag for tomatoes. Lettuce and others do better at normal doses. Coco with care can last for years. I will break down, but add in some clean chunky coir and your back in business. Good luck and Aloha

Tomzhawaii · February 7, 2019

https://www.maximumyield.com/benefit...co-coir/2/1507
This that might explain better than me

zipcode · February 7, 2019

If they don't seem to have enough food it's probably because they don't have enough. Once per week masterblend is low for what is essentially hydroponic style growing.
The best way to do it is daily feeding with overwatering (so called drain to waste). When dealing with chemical fertilizers, that drain is imo essential to have a headache-free growing (salt buildup and nutrient lockdown, big swings in pH, etc).

Also, I personally think coco coir is inferior to good peat.

February 6, 2019	#1
hazeldazel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Northern California Posts: 22	Potting Mix ingredients? I'm starting to think about this coming year's container garden and especially what I should fill the containers with. The problem is that most of the online resources call for compost. My local gardening stores don't sell compost. Okay well they do but it's either wood chips or bags of Miracle Grow. Not what I would call compost. The city doesn't offer compost to residents because they sell it all to farmers. So, here's my plan but I need help: coco coir bricks perlite bone meal blood meal Is that enough? or do I need to amend with some other stuff? The containers are grow bags with automatic drippers. I tried coir + perlite + bag of planting mix + once weekly masterblend last year and while I loved the coir and perlite, I could tell that I wasn't getting enough food to the plants. Hit me with your potting mix recipes!

February 6, 2019	#2
edweather Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Southeast GA, USDA 9a, HZ9, Sunset Z28 Posts: 396	I would seriously consider something along these lines. Do your research. I've used this mix for about 10 years now, with very good results. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixp_UI6AfwU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oFtE0O-fHA __________________ You'll be surprised what you'll never have to do, if you put it off long enough. Last edited by edweather; February 6, 2019 at 09:33 PM.

February 6, 2019	#3
PlainJane Guest Posts: n/a	I’m also switching to a 5-1-1 blend, tweaked a bit for my N. Florida conditions. I love Urban Farms TTF liquid fertilizer; that will be the primary nutrition source.

February 7, 2019	#4
Tomzhawaii Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Honolulu ,Hawaii Posts: 262	Aloha, I also love using coco coir. It has been quite a learning curve. My mistakes were not understanding how to prepare it , before use. All the experts say rinse before using. I didn't. I finally used a hydroponic flush to get rid of the extreme sodium inside the coco. With a huge rinse of plain water after that. The next problem is that coco coir has natural properties that can react with liquid nutrients and cause lockout. I have also doubled my Cal-Mag for tomatoes. Lettuce and others do better at normal doses. Coco with care can last for years. I will break down, but add in some clean chunky coir and your back in business. Good luck and Aloha

February 7, 2019	#6
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	If they don't seem to have enough food it's probably because they don't have enough. Once per week masterblend is low for what is essentially hydroponic style growing. The best way to do it is daily feeding with overwatering (so called drain to waste). When dealing with chemical fertilizers, that drain is imo essential to have a headache-free growing (salt buildup and nutrient lockdown, big swings in pH, etc). Also, I personally think coco coir is inferior to good peat.