ORIGINAL POST

Well I just registered to the forum after reading and reading... And reading. It seems not a lot of growers occupy my area (little rock, Arkansas). I've learned of so many types of soil mixtures for containerized JMs. My question though being- is there any professional advice on a soil recipe for containers in my area... My very humid and hot and crazy weather region.
I have many maples right now in a mix I have made including:
6 parts sifted pine bark mulch
4 parts expanded shale
3 parts earthworm castings
2 parts sphagnum peat moss
Used coffee as top dressing a couple times a month
Oh and a lil perlite to taste...

Nothing terribly wrong other than the fact that the worm castings are unnecessary and counterproductive because they limit the soil's potential aeration - nothing in them you can't get from a soluble fertilizer, w/o the negative impact on drainage/aeration. Also, coffee grounds aren't such a good choice as a fraction of container soils OR as a top dressing/mulch .... and I'm thinking it would have been wise to have included dolomitic (garden) lime in your soil, too. 1/3 - 1/2 cup per cu ft is about right.

Al

Awesome!!! Good to know for this next repotting. I had no idea the worm castings would have that effect on aeration. As far as fertilizer is concerned I've been using happy frog (fox farm) JM fErtilizer 4-8-5. I've been fertilizing about 2 tablespoons a month for my younger trees and about twice that for my trees in 5 gallon pots and larger. I've been told not to over fertilize so I think I'm right on that? Can you or anyone suggest a better fertilizer/fert. Regimen. Thanks for the advice Al! I'll add some lime on my next repot and nix the castings.