the rest of the gang waiting to head outside for the day
it brings a tear to the eye to see them so young.
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Completely Overwhelmed by Potting Mix Choices
- Thread starter SeamusMartin
- Start date
the rest of the gang waiting to head outside for the day
it brings a tear to the eye to see them so young.
Really nice looking plants. I don't know if I missed it, but what about putting then in the ground? You could spread a few inches of garden soil to beef up whats under the grass.
I like the design of those CFL (I assume) fixtures too.
I like the design of those CFL (I assume) fixtures too.
Your plants are looking good. 
I was using MG Moisture Control until I found this forum. Like you, I was nowhere near anybody that sold Promix BX. I did a ton of googling and found the brand Fafard (mentioned earlier in this thread). After even more googling I found a local nursery that would open up the huge bale of Fafard's and break it down into 20 quart bags for 7$ a bag. Now what I do is buy 60 quarts of Fafard's and 1 32 quart bag of MG Moisture Control and mix it together in a big ol rubbermaid container. I've been using that mix for about a month now and so far all of my peppers seem to enjoy it, so I plan on sticking with it. Also your plants do look very nice.
millworkman
eXtreme
Seamus, you are having wonderful results. No need to change what you are doing.
i am calling BS,
you went on and on about not understanding this and that
about potting mix and what to choose.
HORSE HOCKEY
you have wonderful results, you would be doing us a favor
if you would tell us what it is you are doing
not 100% on how to answer this, thanks?? believe me I'm more than satisfied with my results, but I promise you the whole soil decision is keeping me up nights, and prior to reading the suggestions on this thread I've just been inundated with the endless number of potential mixes. I was only trying to suggest that I was having an exceptionally hard time deciding which mixes to start out with, not that I was s kook.
A sincere thanks again to all for your help and kind words, I'll make sure to post some progress reports soon, and please don't hesitate with any questions or comments,
Hmmmm....shoot id be happyer than a puppy with two peckers to lick....with those plants dude.
yes, shame dude
your grow looks pretty cool
if you are going to plan on some overwintering
strategum i would think the put some in the ground and leave
some in pots may be a good plan,
the differences in environmentals of the ground versus
all those in pots is worth the consternations
putting some in one and some in another will show us the
production differences of the two (not to mention the dirt method cost is
considerably less than a 3.8 cu. ft. bag plus shipping)
good growing we will be looking for more pictures
your grow looks pretty cool
if you are going to plan on some overwintering
strategum i would think the put some in the ground and leave
some in pots may be a good plan,
the differences in environmentals of the ground versus
all those in pots is worth the consternations
putting some in one and some in another will show us the
production differences of the two (not to mention the dirt method cost is
considerably less than a 3.8 cu. ft. bag plus shipping)
good growing we will be looking for more pictures
Around here it is easy to find, but it isn't sold as pine bark fines. The name on the package is Soil Conditioner. Loses and Home Depot carry it as well as most nurseries. ACE hardware carryies bales of it made by happy frog I think which also includes worm castings. You can probably buy online and ship to store if it is not carried in store.
Yeah I looked for soil conditioner too. I checked Lowe's, Menard's, Rural King, Walmart, 2 large nurseries, and the Greenhouse Megastore in Illinois where I buy Pro Mix BX, bulk nursery pots, and a bunch of other stuff. None of them have it. I swear I saw soil conditioner at Lowe's about a month ago, but when I went back it was nowhere to be seen. I don't know if that one was pine bark fines or not, since I never checked the label. We don't have Home Depot or Ace Hardware. We used to have an Ace Hardware but it closed last year.
I hate to order stuff like that through the internet because shipping is outrageous for any decent sized bag. I think I'm just going to buy some more pine bark mulch and compost it myself for next year.
I think you need to take a step back and evaluate your needs before you do anything.
For example are you in a hot area where the temps get over 90 daily and your plants get 8+ hours of full sun a day or are you in a somewhat cold area where the temps never get higher than 80 and your plants only get 6-8 hours of full sun.
Everyone's grow area and needs are different so you have to you determine if you need a mix that has lots of drainage (cold and not a lot of sun) or one that needs to retain more water (hot climate that has 8+ hours of full sun) so your not watering your plants every other day.
Then you have to determine if you want to add ferts or compost to your mix or if you prefer to just fertilize your plants as they grow. If you look back at Alabama Jack's post he includes ferts by using compost and then peletized fertilizer. This works for him because he probably has hundreds of plants, but you may not want to take that route if you only have 10 plants and want to do more of a controlled feeding.
Then you have to take things into consideration like cost. You can use a mix that has coir (expensive), peat moss (not as expensive), or cut the cost down a bit by using processed Alfalfa or Kenaf (cheap if you can find it locally).
Once you have your base then you can decide on additions such as worm castings, humas, bat guano, mushroom compost, pine bark, etc etc. you have to be careful though because you don't want to do castings, bat guano, compost, and then manure which individually may be ok, but when all combined may be too much nitrogen and your plant will grow big and strong, but you end up with 10 peppers for the entire year.
You also have to consider your pH level and may need to add lime to to ensure your pH isn't too low depending on what you use for your base (moss, dirt, coir, alfalfa).
Once you have determined YOUR specific needs and determined what type of mix would be best for those needs then it's just a matter of putting them together in proper ratio's until you get a nice light, fluffy mix, that is airy and lomy.
Your plants look great so enjoy growing and don't stress too much if you fail you can try again next year.
Has anyone ever heard of Berger brand soil mix, specifically BM1? I found it locally for a pretty good price, was wondering if it's worth having a go with it. The
website lists the pH between 5.4-6.2, will I need to use lime with that or should it be okay?
Also, I can't seem to find the aged pine bark fines listed in JJS's recipe, is there a reasonable substitute I could use in it's place?
website lists the pH between 5.4-6.2, will I need to use lime with that or should it be okay?
Also, I can't seem to find the aged pine bark fines listed in JJS's recipe, is there a reasonable substitute I could use in it's place?
All these great answers and choices are still overwhelming. lol. just try some of the methods that have been mentioned, and find what works best for you. try two at the same time so you can compare results.
