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| I need to mix some container mix and would like to use what I have already. I have purchased some items to mix a soil blocking mix and will have some left over. Here's a list of potential ingredients.
Peat moss
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| I also have: Compost from a compost tumbler- made from grass clippings and shredded leaves. Dry shredded leaves- from last fall |
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- Posted by corgicorner Mass 6/7 (corgicorner6@msn.com) on Sat, Jun 25, 11 at 21:37
| I was just surfing thru GardenWeb and saw your posting. I have a similar problem as you do--I do a lot of container growing in LARGE--20 TO 30 gallon plastic containers. My mix at present is : 2 parts garden soil. Now this doesn't tell you anything per se. My garden, many years ago, every Spring was turned over by some men that would line up in a line, use what is ofter referred to a Portugese hoe, which is a heavy cast iron hoe part, attached to a long heavy handle, and to start with, they would put the previous year's leaves on the garden, swing the hoes over their heads and create a trench to speak of, cover the leaves, dig a new trench, etc. The results is I have very healthy ground with which I work. It can rain as much as it wants, and I can go out and there is absolutely no water standing on the surface. 1 part each of Vermiculite, Perlite, peat moss,and sand. (The sand I use is pool sand purchased locally. I use the dark, not the white, because it costs less, and the same otherwise. Depending on your "soil", you might want to use 4 parts, not 2 as noted above. I mix the above by putting it on a tarp, and roll it back and forth. You can also put the mixture in a 5 galloon plastic can and pour it back and forth. I have found that I must do it 7 times in order to get it to completely mix. At his point this is not scientific. It is not good for a long period--like 5 years. you might wish to consider what they are using on the West Coast which is basicly 5 parts pine bark fines 1/8 to 1/4 inch. 1 part each of Sphagnum moss, perlite, and some gypsum or lime. This is not the total answer. West Coasters don't want anything to do with my mixture. I know I have not incorporated many of your elements (products), but only what I know from my own experience. If you want to investigate the West Coast mix, I can give you some information if you ask, but you might be a bit frustrated because they don't even wish to talk about what you and I are using. They just ignore the question and reference. Al DeWolf aka "corgicorner" If you wish to respond, put only the word "gobblygook" in the subject area of your e-mail to me or else your e-mail to me will end up in the junk pile and unanswerable. Because of junk mail I have had to set my filters very high. |
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| "Top soil" is a meaningless term. The only definition that fits "topsoil" is it is the top 4 to 6 inches of soil and that can be anything. The same applies to "garden soil". How much clay, silt, sand, organic matter is in that "topsoil"? Most all potting soil mixes are peat moss, or something similar, with either some perlite or vermiculte added for drainage purposes, and sometimes a source of synthetic plant foods are added. There are numerous recipes for potting soils available on line and this link takes you to one source. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Potting soil recipes
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 26, 11 at 8:53
| bjorn, I think'll you discover you'll get pretty unsatisfactory results if you try using your current ingredients to mix up a batch of potting soil. Growing in containers presents a very different set of conditions and requirements than does growing something in the ground and the same principles do not apply. Using any sort of garden soil is not recommended.....in fact, highly discouraged. It is too dense, too small a particle size and does not allow for adequate drainage or proper aeration. Even with additions of drainage enhancing ingredients. Most commercial potting soils are soil-less mixes and contain NO soil. I'd also caution against using much in the way of standard or worm compost as well as these share much of the same deficiencies for a potting soil as soil does. And vermiculite is not very efficient as a drainage enhancer - as soon as it is fully saturated with water, the cells collapse and any drainage enhancing ability has been lost. It will actually serve to impede good drainage. I'd direct you to visit the Container Gardening forum for a whole host of discussions on how best to formulate a container potting mix and I've attached a link to one of the best discussions that explains in detail how container soils work and what best to use for optimum results. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Container soils - everything you need to know
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| Thank you for your responses. I mixed enough for one grow bag yesterday. I used a recipe out of the book "Worms eat my garbage". It consists of 1 part peat moss, one part perlite, one part worm compost, and one part sand or soil. My batch was actually two small batches mixed separately due to mixing container size. I used sand in one and some of my soil in the other. I planted sweet potatoes in it, I will update once I see how it does. By the way, the topsoil I have is in bags from Lowes, labelled just that. I'm guessing it is pretty compacting stuff, so I'll likely return it. |
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