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If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.
tutorial All about soil - A great resource I thought I would share
- Thread starter LGHT
- Start date
Because I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night, I'm no expert with it comes to "making" my container soil. With that said, here's what I've been doing and am very happy with it:
4 parts - Fafard 52 soil-less mix
2 parts - Vermicasting (aka Worm Castings) - As fresh as one can find.
2 parts - Corse Perlite
This will be my second season with this mixture and I'm extremely happy with it. No crazy pH swings and I liquid fert (Kelp4Less is my source) on schedule.
Not fancy but time is money over here!
4 parts - Fafard 52 soil-less mix
2 parts - Vermicasting (aka Worm Castings) - As fresh as one can find.
2 parts - Corse Perlite
This will be my second season with this mixture and I'm extremely happy with it. No crazy pH swings and I liquid fert (Kelp4Less is my source) on schedule.
Not fancy but time is money over here!
Can you get high quality compost instead?ColdSmoke said:
I would like to use this much worm castings but it would be insanely expensive for how many containers I have. How are you procuring cheap castings?
The castings I use, I buy by the pound. So I get a tote weighing about 650lbs. That runs me about $350 bucks. That lasts me the whole season, to include my raised beds. I do about 60-70 containers a year.
Oh yeah, it's a quick drive for me to Charlotte in the dually. A forklift loads the tote and I'm on my way back home. 5 hour total trip for fresh castings.
Yes it's like a crumbly styrofoam or like Rice KrispiesColdSmoke said:
Few questions (all my pepper plants will be indoor only):
-If I'm starting my seeds in a plastic baggie, would I just transplant them into the same soil mix I'd be using for 'adult' plants?
-I was browsing around different forums and came across this mix, would it work?
Mix #16:
1 part peat
1 part perlite
1 part compost (or leaf mold)
1 part bonemeal
1 part worm castings (optional)
-Is there an 'all-in-one' fertilizer I can use instead of having multiple different types? If so how often should it be used?
I apologize if these questions have already been somewhat answered, but I'm new to raising plants in general so I'm a bit confused.
-If I'm starting my seeds in a plastic baggie, would I just transplant them into the same soil mix I'd be using for 'adult' plants?
-I was browsing around different forums and came across this mix, would it work?
-Would mix 16 work for container plants as well?:
Mix #16:
1 part peat
1 part perlite
1 part compost (or leaf mold)
1 part bonemeal
1 part worm castings (optional)
-Is there an 'all-in-one' fertilizer I can use instead of having multiple different types? If so how often should it be used?
I apologize if these questions have already been somewhat answered, but I'm new to raising plants in general so I'm a bit confused.
hardcore
Extreme Member
got my old pepper bed turned over for next year and doing another a new rasied 4x8 for up coming season.
...i start with a yard of poo yie and mix in bags of old sheep and donkey poo(i got rid of my sheep and donkey about 2 years ago, so there crap out the barns are cold). and have rabbits and a compost bin...the rabbit poop and worm castings go in fresh. i throw in coffee grounds as i collect them.
i make compost teas regularly and fert with that, pretty much thats it . no commerical types of ferts
what say yall?
...i start with a yard of poo yie and mix in bags of old sheep and donkey poo(i got rid of my sheep and donkey about 2 years ago, so there crap out the barns are cold). and have rabbits and a compost bin...the rabbit poop and worm castings go in fresh. i throw in coffee grounds as i collect them.
i make compost teas regularly and fert with that, pretty much thats it . no commerical types of ferts
what say yall?
hardcore said:
If I were a plant, I'd want to live there. Looks good!
What do you guys think of this for growing in 5 gallon and 25 gallon buckets outside?
54% Coco Coir
27% Perlite
14% Manure
5% Worm Castings
54% Coco Coir
27% Perlite
14% Manure
5% Worm Castings
Going to save this recipe for my next uppot, thanks! Hydro nutes or soil nutes?MiLK_MaN said:
Regards,
-Tristan
i´ve just started growing my first chili´s and was lucky enough to be given 2 juvenile plants from my girlfriend´s family´s farm in wait for me going back to europe and being able to buy some more fun seeds(Living in Thailand so it´s thai chili).
I didnt do much research when i first recieved these plants, so i simply went to a local garden center and bought some soil and replanted them(They were in 0.5L containers and plants were 25-35cm tall).
Because lack of Thai language skills i couldnt really ask too much questions so they simply gave me 2 bags of soil and i grabbed a bottle of fish emulsion and that was it.
A 1-2 weeks pass and the plants starting to look unhealthy and i started researching more and also reading about other foreigners that live here that grow stuff. Turns out the common soil in regular garden centers is useless, barely any nutrition in it at all and it doesnt drain good. So i ended with drowning plants in soil without any kind of nutrition.
It took me some time to learn what kind soil/mix i need for the plants and more time to actually be able to find the stuff i need, stuff like perlite e.tc could only be found online so before i could replant them in better soil i had to wait another week for the stuff to be delivered.
Today i was finally prepared to change the soil, hopefully they will become better the next 1-2 weeks. So now i would like some opinions about the mix i did.
Right now i only have two plants in 5 liter containers so it felt best to simply add and measure it with a handful.
4 handful of potting soil
3 handful of prewashed(4 times to remove little bit of potential salt) coco coir
2 handfull of wormcast
2 handfull of a 1/6 mix of vermiculite and perlite
I then repeated this until i had enough to fill the pots
Also added
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon of guano in the topsoil
4-5 small marbles of slow releasing fertlizer a few inches from the bottom of the pot(the reason i added there pellets is because i will visit my homecountry for 3-4 weeks in june and i dont want my girlfriend to have to think too much about feeding them while i am away)
Please let me know if this looks ok to calm my worry and also let me know what i should change and make better for when i need to transplant them to a bigger pot again.
And how long does it usually takes for slow releasing fertilizer pellets to start feeding the soil/plant? Will i need to feed them some fish emulsion, wormtea or epsom spray after 1-2 weeks in the soil?
I didnt do much research when i first recieved these plants, so i simply went to a local garden center and bought some soil and replanted them(They were in 0.5L containers and plants were 25-35cm tall).
Because lack of Thai language skills i couldnt really ask too much questions so they simply gave me 2 bags of soil and i grabbed a bottle of fish emulsion and that was it.
A 1-2 weeks pass and the plants starting to look unhealthy and i started researching more and also reading about other foreigners that live here that grow stuff. Turns out the common soil in regular garden centers is useless, barely any nutrition in it at all and it doesnt drain good. So i ended with drowning plants in soil without any kind of nutrition.
It took me some time to learn what kind soil/mix i need for the plants and more time to actually be able to find the stuff i need, stuff like perlite e.tc could only be found online so before i could replant them in better soil i had to wait another week for the stuff to be delivered.
Today i was finally prepared to change the soil, hopefully they will become better the next 1-2 weeks. So now i would like some opinions about the mix i did.
Right now i only have two plants in 5 liter containers so it felt best to simply add and measure it with a handful.
4 handful of potting soil
3 handful of prewashed(4 times to remove little bit of potential salt) coco coir
2 handfull of wormcast
2 handfull of a 1/6 mix of vermiculite and perlite
I then repeated this until i had enough to fill the pots
Also added
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon of guano in the topsoil
4-5 small marbles of slow releasing fertlizer a few inches from the bottom of the pot(the reason i added there pellets is because i will visit my homecountry for 3-4 weeks in june and i dont want my girlfriend to have to think too much about feeding them while i am away)
Please let me know if this looks ok to calm my worry and also let me know what i should change and make better for when i need to transplant them to a bigger pot again.
And how long does it usually takes for slow releasing fertilizer pellets to start feeding the soil/plant? Will i need to feed them some fish emulsion, wormtea or epsom spray after 1-2 weeks in the soil?
I figured this would be the best place to post this, but was wondering if anyone has experimented with adding something to Coco coir pith in addition to fiber/chunks to retain more moisture to create a more consistent nutritive container media. I use a combo of coir pith 50%/fiber+chunk coir 25%/and the rest castings and perlite.
Was thinking of adding Course vermiculite, or some promix (peat)? Also because during this heat, eliminates dry spells when I can't water 3 to 4 times a day in smaller containers(I use fabric pots right now) to create an environment where hydroponic nutrients are available most of the time instead of inconsistent as goes with hand watering and the great outdoors..
For growing indoors I would see no benefit to vermiculite or peat added to the coir as much; as it takes long enough as it is to dry out before being able to feed again. Now that things are outside I really want to max out the benefits this media can provide.
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Was thinking of adding Course vermiculite, or some promix (peat)? Also because during this heat, eliminates dry spells when I can't water 3 to 4 times a day in smaller containers(I use fabric pots right now) to create an environment where hydroponic nutrients are available most of the time instead of inconsistent as goes with hand watering and the great outdoors..
For growing indoors I would see no benefit to vermiculite or peat added to the coir as much; as it takes long enough as it is to dry out before being able to feed again. Now that things are outside I really want to max out the benefits this media can provide.
Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk
That is some nice looking soil!hardcore said:got my old pepper bed turned over for next year and doing another a new rasied 4x8 for up coming season.
...i start with a yard of poo yie and mix in bags of old sheep and donkey poo(i got rid of my sheep and donkey about 2 years ago, so there crap out the barns are cold). and have rabbits and a compost bin...the rabbit poop and worm castings go in fresh. i throw in coffee grounds as i collect them.
i make compost teas regularly and fert with that, pretty much thats it . no commerical types of ferts
what say yall?
does it drain well?
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I hate to necro this thread but I'm relatively new to customizing soil mixes. In the past i would have settled for only promix general purpose for example and would encounter drainage issues throughout the summer. I'm looking to create something that is light, yet has some capacity to hold onto nutrients that I'll be supplementing myself. Would this mix offer adequate drainage?
1 part peat moss
1 part perlite
1 part topsoil/loam
Thanks in advance!
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1 part peat moss
1 part perlite
1 part topsoil/loam
Thanks in advance!
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
