Which mix for regular containers?

[creister]

I have already searched this forum, and found a few different recipes, as well as a few other off the internet. Let me also say, I have tried a few with mixed results, but not as well as I would like.

My current plan for this spring is to use the garden kit from TJ enterprises with my containers. The containers will just be 18 gallon rubbermaid tubs with about 6 1 inch holes in the bottom for drainage. Each tub will be filled with 2 cu. ft. of potting mix. My dilema is in you alls experience, which mix sounds like it would work the best.

Mix #1: pine bark fines(3 cu. ft.), 5 gallons peat moss, 5 gallons perlite

Mix #2a: peat moss, cotton burr compost, vermiculite 1/3 of each ingredient

Mix #2b: 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 cotton burr compost, 1/6perlite, 1/6 vermiculite

Mix #3: 50% peat moss, 25% perlite, 25% vermiculite

I have tried only Mix 1 in SWC, and had decent success, just have to make sure I get it wet enough. I have also tried Pro-Mix, which is no longer carried by stores in our area. These containers will not be used as SWC set up, but just as large pots in con★★★★★★★★ with TJ enterprises garden kit. The kit is a complete fertilizer/myco program. I don't have a problem with watering, as I am not working in the summer months, and sprinklers will water the containers if I need them too anyway.

Leaning toward mix #1 as it seems to be cheapest. It is very hard to find plain potting mix here as well, everything seems to have fertilizer in it, which is not recommended for the TJ system I will be using.

Any advice is welcome.

[mdvpc]

I am using 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 metromix this winter in my greenhouse tomatoes and they are doing well. I am going to do the same in the spring with a mulch of homemade compost on the top.

[creister]

Is metromix something similar to promix? I don't know why, but it seems that none of the stores around here care to stock any potting mix without fertilizer. Home Depot quit selling promix. I will have to look around when I go to Houston in a few weeks.

[mdvpc]

Creister-Dont know if they are similar. I really hate the fact that hd and loews only stock potting soil with mg or something similar to it.

[rnewste]

Cresiter,

I have been running trials on about 30 combinations of Potting Mix, Perlite, Cactus Mix, Turface, Bark Fines, Redwood Compost, etc. So far, the best combo mix (for me) in containers is 3 parts Potting Mix, 2 parts Bark Fines (from Home Depot), and 1 part Perlite.

Here is a photo of a Cherokee Purple taken on Nov 1, and I am very happy with how healthy the plant is doing.



Don't at all be concerned by Potting Mix that contains trace elements of fertilizer. On the Miracle-Gro bag it states something like .02-.02-.02 NPK, which is almost non-existent. More Marketing "hype" than something of real substance.

Raybo

[Blueaussi]

Raybo, which version of Miracle Grow potting soil are you using? The organic version has the low NPK, correct? I've used it, and it's certainly better than the standard version of Miracle Grow, but I still saw the aphid attacks associated with excess nitrogen.

I bit the bullet and bought some Happy Frog potting soil this spring. The plants grown it did very, very well, but it doesn't hold water well, so I will probably go back to playing with some mix of my own.

[rnewste]

Originally Posted by Blueaussi

Raybo, which version of Miracle Grow potting soil are you using? The organic version has the low NPK, correct? I've used it, and it's certainly better than the standard version of Miracle Grow, but I still saw the aphid attacks associated with excess nitrogen.

I bit the bullet and bought some Happy Frog potting soil this spring. The plants grown it did very, very well, but it doesn't hold water well, so I will probably go back to playing with some mix of my own.

Blue,

I would definitely NOT use the Miracle-Gro Organic Mix. I've heard nothing but BAD reports from those who tried it in Containers. Again, be sure to get Potting MIX - - not Potting SOIL. I use either Miracle-Gro Potting Mix without Moisture Control, or Lowes Sta-Green. The latter is about 25% less expensive than the former.



Look for a high percentage of Sphagnum Peat Moss. Pro-Mix BX is about 82%, plus 13% Perlite, and 5% Vermiculite, and this combination seems to work well in Containers.



For a SWC application, I blend in composted Bark Fines to end up with a 3:2:1 ratio of Potting Mix, Bark Fines, and Perlite. I also add in the Dolomitic Lime (3 cups per 3 cubic ft.) of the combined mix.



These are what they look like (on the right):



Well, back into the Garden this afternoon to take some pics. Cherokee Purple and Carmello are ripe for picking.

Raybo

[Blueaussi]

Sta-Green is no better than Miracle Grow. Miracle Organic is better than both of them, but I don't recommend any of them. I'm not a total n00b at this, you know <g>.

I generally get a Fafard product that doesn't have fertilizer and amend that with some plain old top soil and earthworm castings or well composted manure. I really liked the Happy Frog, but it is so expensive, and, as I said, it didn't hold water well. The seedlings I started in it really took off, but they didn't have that excessively tender green growth that attracts armies of aphids.

[creister]

My biggest problem here is finding potting mix without any extra fertilizer added. Ray, did you screen your pine bark? If so you have what did you use to screen it with?

[amideutch]

Blue, what type of containers do you grow in (SWC or open) and what size are they. Ami

[Blueaussi]

Oh, I'll stick a plant in just about anything and give it a go. Everything from old boots and a knot hole in a crape myrtle on up to whiskey barrels and 50 gallon totes. Right now my favorite for vegetables is a 5 gallon pickle bucket I get from the deli across the street from where I work. They're sturdy, food grade, and easy to move.

I haven't used self watering containers much, I haven't been crazy about the results I got with some commercial ones I was given. I am going to give earthtainers a try this year. I'm going to make a couple for my sister, and 3 or 4 for myself.

[rnewste]

Originally Posted by creister

My biggest problem here is finding potting mix without any extra fertilizer added. Ray, did you screen your pine bark? If so you have what did you use to screen it with?

Creister,

I wouldn't worry about the fertilizer content in Miracle-Gro or in Sta-Green Potting Mixes. It is 100-times below what you will use with a typical tomato fertilizer. To me, it is more of a Marketing gimmick on the part of the Potting Mix Companies.

I don't screen the Bark Fines at all - but I do let them age, watered and in the sun for 6 months or so. This seems to break them down a bit before they go in to the EarthTainers.

[creister]

Interesting about the pine bark fines, will give that a try perhaps. Do you think it helps them absorb the water more readily in your container?

I was also thinking of just making my own potting mix, similar to what you posted earlier about pro mix, than using that with 3,2,1 ratio. I am using regular containers, and not swc, as I don't know if this garden kit will work as well with swc. At the TJ enterprises website, they just use a tub with drainage holes and handle watering myself, as I will only have 10 containers this year.

[rnewste]

Creister,

I think the Bark Fines keep the Potting Mix from becoming too "mucky", and this is highly important in a SWC type system. They actually are more resistant to moisture, than a comparable area of peat moss, so they tend to throttle moisture per area of Mix.

Raybo

[Blueaussi]

Originally Posted by rnewste

Creister,

I wouldn't worry about the fertilizer content in Miracle-Gro or in Sta-Green Potting Mixes. It is 100-times below what you will use with a typical tomato fertilizer. To me, it is more of a Marketing gimmick on the part of the Potting Mix Companies.

Well, no, more like 10 times less then the NPK ratio of most of tomato fertilizers. Plus, consider that when you put your fertilizer of choice in a container, it is then slowly diluted by the amount of soil in the container.


Yeah, yeah, I know, Pedant is my middle name.


What is in Miracle Grow and some of the others is time released, too, which means for months you have to consider that ratio when balancing what is added later. And, you know, everyone keeps skittering around the high nitrogen/aphid connection. Perhaps that's not something any of you worry about; but since I rarely spray insecticides of any sort, and actually, I try and not spray at all, it's important to me not to adopt husbandry practices that will attract insect pests.

Ok, I think that puts me over my run on sentence quota for tonight.