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soil Indoor soil mix advice?

VirgilCane

VirgilCane

Hey all,
 
There is so much information out there on good soil mixes I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do. I'm sure there are multiple different things that would work fine but I guess I'm in need of some guidance, especialy since this will be the first time I ever do this. I'm growing some peppers indoors and so far, I have Perlite, Sphagnum and lime sitting, just waiting to be added to something. I have read pine bark or orchid bark are good to have in the mix, but should I mix in any potting soil with it as well? Should I mix earthworm castings to the mix, too? I was also thinking some sand but this could be overkill. Any advice for a n00b would be appreciated!
 
Sand isn't really needed for an indoor grow where you have complete control of water level.  Yes bark is good to have but it will sink away nitrogen as it decomposes so add either something nitrogen rich or fertilizer to offset that.  Same for the sphagnum moss.  Yes worm castings are a good idea and potting soil should be the primary ingredient, a higher % of that than any other single ingredient, but frankly if you have the castings, bark, moss, and some fertilizer, you could even use plain old dirt out of your yard, tho' not a lot of it if it is a dense clay composition.   If you are willing to use fertilizer then the main thing is to just have enough fibrous brown matter that the soil stays fluffy and drains well.
 
At this time of year, fallen leaves are another cheap (free), readily available soil amendment.  The ideal soil is one where you take a lot of organic matter and let it age, keeping it damp so bacteria can do their work breaking it down.  In other words your described mix will be better in 6 months than it starts out.
 
Cool, thank you so much, Dave! I don't mind using fertilizer. I'll do the following with your advice in mind:
 
3 parts potting soil
1 part bark
1 part worm castings
1 part perlite
1 part sphagnum moss
1 tablespoon lime per gallon
 
I bought Alaska fish fertilizer (5-1-1) and Vigoro all purpose plant food as well. 
 
I personally would go 1/3 humus, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 perlite or red lava rock as my base mix.
The ultimate would be all of that 1/3 humus being high quality EWC.
Kelp meal, alfalfa meal and neem cake would round it off nicely but that all depends on your budget, etc.
 
Thanks! I'll have to look at the meals and stuff. Budget is small, but I don't mind getting supplies over an extended amount of time. I have a little while before things need to be transplanted.
 
Micro Maxx organics XP (compost perlite and lots of good stuff)40L bag
Coco peat (coconut husk)40L bag
Vermiculite (half the volume of the coco)
some sulfur powder(little spinkle)
Some Epsom salt(little sprinkle)

This is the mix that im using in my winter grow. Then once you have 4 true leaves I mix up fertilizer 1 part urea, 1 part potash, 2 parts bone meal. And add 1 teaspoon per gallon of water and use that water every time I water my peppers. It's all organic and your building you soil up so the plants an take what they need.
 
VirgilCane said:
Thanks! I'll have to look at the meals and stuff. Budget is small, but I don't mind getting supplies over an extended amount of time. I have a little while before things need to be transplanted.
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Go with what you can afford as what I suggest is trying to make the best soil you can but it's not necessary for peppers.
Are you trying to grow organic? If so I would recommend kelp meal hands down though if you can only afford one amendment outside of the most important thing which is EWC (earth worm castings).
 
Well I'm not broke lol, I guess small budget is subjective...I'm trying to be minimal on spending but 15-30 bucks on additives isn't going to bother me. I do want to make sure the soil is going to promote healthy and resilient plants. If it isn't necessary then perhaps I won't do it but if you think I will get better quality pods out of it I'll certainly explore the amendments. I guess with starting my seeds in miraclegro seed starting mix I'm not organic with this? But moving forward it would be nice to keep everything organic and chemical free.
 
Don't
put
rocks
in
the
pots.
 
That's an old line of thought - rocks supposedly helped with drainage. If you don't have enough or large enough drain holes, drill some. All that putting rocks in the pots accomplishes is taking up room in the soil where the roots should be. 
 
Are you using grow lights?  The best soil in the world won't get you much gain without enough light, so beyond what you've already planned that is the first place to make sure you're spending enough money.
 
The main detraction from indoor grows (besides attracting a colony of white flies or aphids) is you have to provide light that was otherwise free most of the season.  It's easy to spend more in electricity than soil for anything larger than a couple of plants towards the end of a winter grow, never mind the cost of fixture and bulbs, then and of course large enough pots so you have a good (low) moisture level without frequent watering.
 
I sure am, Dave! One 3 ft T5 6400k right now which will soon turn into 3. Not to mention, I'm really thinking of a DIY LED setup in conjunction with the lights I have.
 
Geeme, I will avoid the rocks!
 
geeme said:
Don't
put
rocks
in
the
pots.
 
That's an old line of thought - rocks supposedly helped with drainage. If you don't have enough or large enough drain holes, drill some. All that putting rocks in the pots accomplishes is taking up room in the soil where the roots should be. 
Click to expand...
But what about if you get a plant that likes to eat rocks.....
 
 
Rocks (or other fillers as such) are really only of benefit if the pot is too big in volume and you dont want to use your precious mix up.
 
^  Or if it's a clay or stoneware pot you can't easily put larger holes in than it has so they line the bottom for better drainage, or in a windy area to weigh down the bottom of the pot.  However PMD mentioned lava rock which can help aerate and manage moisture, but IMO that is more important outside or if you don't have the fibrous organic material in it.
 
I'm not too worried about the plants blowing away, the fans aren't that strong :D and they're plastic pots so I don't care if I have to do some drilling! There are some pretty large drainage holes in the bottom. They're only 3 gallon pots (4 of em) and I've accrued enough medium to fill them all. I'll probably have a bit leftover, which is perfect.
 
Dave2000 said:
^  Or if it's a clay or stoneware pot you can't easily put larger holes in than it has so they line the bottom for better drainage, or in a windy area to weigh down the bottom of the pot.  However PMD mentioned lava rock which can help aerate and manage moisture, but IMO that is more important outside or if you don't have the fibrous organic material in it.
Click to expand...
 
A stoneware pot doesn't really need many/larger drain holes unless it's fully glazed. A plain stoneware pot will absorb the water and help dissipate it into the air - that's part of why plants in plain stoneware pots typically have to be watered more often than plants in plastic pots. If you're using a glazed pot, IMO, you should use a plastic pot inside it as a liner. I know glazed pots can be attractive, but from a growing perspective they should only hold artificial plants.  
 
^  That idea about stoneware works out fine... until it rains a fair amount, a few days in a row.  I've had no trouble using stoneware pots alone for other things with a handful of gravel in the bottom for better drainage, but I don't have any large enough for peppers.
 
Dave2000 said:
^  Or if it's a clay or stoneware pot you can't easily put larger holes in than it has so they line the bottom for better drainage, or in a windy area to weigh down the bottom of the pot.  However PMD mentioned lava rock which can help aerate and manage moisture, but IMO that is more important outside or if you don't have the fibrous organic material in it.
Click to expand...
Lava rock also contains basalt which is a great mineral for the plants Dave. ;)
 
In regards to rocks in the bottom of the pot, I read an article that said the rocks actually slow the speed of drainage and scientifically backed it up.
I wish I would have saved the link but it does make sense because the water now has to pass through the soil, then over the rocks and then make it out the drain holes.
 
Dave2000 said:
^  That idea about stoneware works out fine... until it rains a fair amount, a few days in a row.  I've had no trouble using stoneware pots alone for other things with a handful of gravel in the bottom for better drainage, but I don't have any large enough for peppers.
Click to expand...
Heh - if it rains "a fair amount a few days in a row." You're in Cincy, I'm in Cleveland. You wanna know about a fair amount of rain a few days in a row? Move up here. No kind of pot is going to make a diff at some point. But then, that's why I grow in pots - I just move them into the garage when it's going to be too wet for too long. 
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
Lava rock also contains basalt which is a great mineral for the plants Dave. ;)
 
In regards to rocks in the bottom of the pot, I read an article that said the rocks actually slow the speed of drainage and scientifically backed it up.
I wish I would have saved the link but it does make sense because the water now has to pass through the soil, then over the rocks and then make it out the drain holes.
Click to expand...
 
Linda Chalker Scott, Container Drainage. She's a bit of a drumbeater, and I don't agree with a number of things she tries to "debunk", but there is some good reading on her "Horticultural Myths" section. "Tapla" from Gardenweb, has a multi-thread page on Water Movement that is a much better browse.
 
The jist of it all is that root health and water movement against gravity are much better served by a homogenous media.
 
The faster the drainage the less the compost can absorb surely? Especially when it's become hydrophyllic I would think slower drainage would be better than fast.
 
I mix all compost plants with 15% fytocell (EU thing) and I would not use anything else. At a push states side maybe a little perlite for aeration but normally I would mix nothing (If I can't get the fytocell). I prefer to drip feed though which eliminates all issues of hydrophyllic compost and gives a good time for wick action to evenly wet the compost and bring new air into the root zone.
 
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