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Tomato potting mix - Peat, Perlite and Mushroom compost

Posted by Jay_NY NY (My Page) on
Sat, Jun 18, 11 at 18:02

Hey guys/gals. I grow 100+ tomato plants with great success in my garden however I have never given much thought to my tomatoes grown in pots on my deck. I have about 8 plastic pots ranging from 5 gallons to 20 gallons. I have always used a commercial brand of potting mix/soil for my container grown tomatoes but I am ready to try a different and cheaper approach and make my own. I have equal parts of the below

Peat Moss
Coarse Perlite
Mushroom Compost

I also have a 5lb bag of garden lime and as I use in my garden "Tomatos Alive" fertilizer 6-2-2(found at gardensalive.com)

I always use a ton of Neptune's Harvest fish emulsion fertilizer throughout the season in my pots.

I am open to suggestions on how much of everything should be mixed

Thanks!


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Tomato potting mix - Peat, Perlite and Mushroom compost

THe ingredients you have will not make a good mix .
Most agree this is best ,its called 511 mix;
5 Parts Pine Bark Fines
1 part perlite
1 part peat moss
small amout of garden lime
You can do a search on the forum for more discussions


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RE: Tomato potting mix - Peat, Perlite and Mushroom compost

Thank you, I will look into some of the other discussions. Is there something specific for tomatoes, or does the 511 approach apply to anything grown in containers? - pine has a nuetral ph? - thanks again for your advice


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RE: Tomato potting mix - Peat, Perlite and Mushroom compost

The dolomite lime helps adjust the ph of the bark


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RE: Tomato potting mix - Peat, Perlite and Mushroom compost

Tomatoes will thrive in the 5-1-1 mix.
This mix is excellent for vegetable and seasonal crops.

Conifer bark is somewhat acidic in the mix, and the Dolomitic Lime (which Dickie mentioned)
will raise the pH and will also provide a source of Calcium and Magnesium.


Josh


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