Half Whiskey Barrel. What do you use for soil mix?

keithaxis · May 24, 2007

This weekend is my planting out weekend. The majority of my tomato plants are in ground (40 of them) and the remainder will go into 14 half whiskey barrels. These barrels take 4 cubic feet to fill. I keep adding a few more each year but now I see if I continue to buy the MG 2 cubic foot bags at $14 each, withe each whiskey barrel needed two bags in each one thatq would be aroudn $30 for each whiskey barrel. What other choices should I maybe think of?

I have 15 yards of two way soil recently delivered, it is half compost (cedar grove) and half sand. Is there a way I can use some of it in the container? I know by itself it woudl be way to heavy as I tried that two summers ago with terrible results (water would not drain after a month or so)

Looking forward to havign some fun planting these this weekend...any feedback on other alternatives for those whisky barrels is greatly appreciated...

Thanks,

keith in Buckley, WA

feldon30 · May 24, 2007

If you can find Pro-Mix, it's $12 for a 2.2 cu ft compressed bag that expands to 4 cu ft. Then for $3 you get a 40 lb bag of shredded pine bark. Mix together and you get 3 large wheelbarrow loads of potting mix that will last 2 years. Add 1 cup of TomatoTone and 1 cup of Pelletized Lime for every 5-10 gal. of potting mix and you're good to go.

wilderness1989 · May 24, 2007

7 or 8 years ago I could get all the free compost I wanted to haul from Illinois State University Farm if I loaded it myself. I filled my whiskey barrels with straight compost and have never had to add any fertilizes since. I've have grown and am growing tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and flowers with great result. Hope this helps.

organichris · June 9, 2007

wilderness1989,

Out of curiosity, what kind of results did you get from the pure compost? And what kind/kinds of compost have you used? I have thought about doing this, but would like to know what kind of results to expect. I'll bet those were some tasty tomatoes.

May 24, 2007	#1
keithaxis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Buckley, WA Posts: 54	Half Whiskey Barrel. What do you use for soil mix? This weekend is my planting out weekend. The majority of my tomato plants are in ground (40 of them) and the remainder will go into 14 half whiskey barrels. These barrels take 4 cubic feet to fill. I keep adding a few more each year but now I see if I continue to buy the MG 2 cubic foot bags at $14 each, withe each whiskey barrel needed two bags in each one thatq would be aroudn $30 for each whiskey barrel. What other choices should I maybe think of? I have 15 yards of two way soil recently delivered, it is half compost (cedar grove) and half sand. Is there a way I can use some of it in the container? I know by itself it woudl be way to heavy as I tried that two summers ago with terrible results (water would not drain after a month or so) Looking forward to havign some fun planting these this weekend...any feedback on other alternatives for those whisky barrels is greatly appreciated... Thanks, keith in Buckley, WA

May 24, 2007	#3
wilderness1989 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: 5b - Effingham, Illinois Posts: 59	7 or 8 years ago I could get all the free compost I wanted to haul from Illinois State University Farm if I loaded it myself. I filled my whiskey barrels with straight compost and have never had to add any fertilizes since. I've have grown and am growing tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and flowers with great result. Hope this helps. __________________ I'm from the government and I'm here to help you. ;-)

May 24, 2007	#2
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	If you can find Pro-Mix, it's $12 for a 2.2 cu ft compressed bag that expands to 4 cu ft. Then for $3 you get a 40 lb bag of shredded pine bark. Mix together and you get 3 large wheelbarrow loads of potting mix that will last 2 years. Add 1 cup of TomatoTone and 1 cup of Pelletized Lime for every 5-10 gal. of potting mix and you're good to go.

June 9, 2007	#4
organichris Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 630	wilderness1989, Out of curiosity, what kind of results did you get from the pure compost? And what kind/kinds of compost have you used? I have thought about doing this, but would like to know what kind of results to expect. I'll bet those were some tasty tomatoes.