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soil Container soil mix

habman

habman

I initially planed on planting 16 pepper plants in containers but... I now have 61 pepper plants + 40 tomato plants and cuke + melon + herbs.... total plants come to 140.

I was planning on buying cheap nursery containers that's until I saw the price. 12$ each.
So 12$ x140 = 1680$ for pots!!!! I don't think so.

So I will buy 5 gallons grow bags. 0.50$ X 140 = 70$. Not too bad. I will need to build a frame to hold the grow bags.

Back to the question on soil mix:

140 x 5 gallon = 700 gallons.

I was thinking of this :
Perlite - 10% - 70 gallons -> 265.3 L
Top Soil - 50% - 350 gallons -> 1326.5 L
Pro-Mix Peat - 30% - 210 gallons -> 795.9 L
Manure - 10% - 70 gallons -> 265.3 L

Is this a good mixture for peppers and tomatoes?
Since the bags are only 5 gallons I need good water retention.
Peat and perlite is not cheap so I may have to cut down the ratio on these.
 
habman said:
I initially planed on planting 16 pepper plants in containers but... I now have 61 pepper plants + 40 tomato plants and cuke + melon + herbs.... total plants come to 140.
Click to expand...

Bahahahahahahaha!

Sorry, couldn't help it.


I was thinking of this :
Perlite - 10% - 70 gallons -> 265.3 L
Top Soil - 50% - 350 gallons -> 1326.5 L
Pro-Mix Peat - 30% - 210 gallons -> 795.9 L
Manure - 10% - 70 gallons -> 265.3 L

Is this a good mixture for peppers and tomatoes?
Click to expand...

Looks good to me.


Since the bags are only 5 gallons I need good water retention.
Peat and perlite is not cheap so I may have to cut down the ratio on these.
Click to expand...


Pity you can't find a good source of coir. Where did you get your grow bags? I still think that's a neat idea.
 
Pam said:
Pity you can't find a good source of coir. Where did you get your grow bags? I still think that's a neat idea.
Click to expand...

Not funny :lol:

I got the grow bags from a local hydro shop. It's those ugly black ones that look like garbage bags.
I could get the 10 gallon bags but then it would cost 2X more for the dirt.
http://www.gtghydroponics.com/store/10-48-0.htm

Coco coir is 18$ per 50L bag way too expensive.
Unless there's another type of coir?
 
Habman...I got my 5 gallon containers from my local nursery and they were about 1 USD each.
 
habman said:
Not funny :lol:
Click to expand...

Hey, misery loves company.

Coco coir is 18$ per 50L bag way too expensive.
Unless there's another type of coir?
Click to expand...


Um...coconut coir? It comes in bricks around here, about $2 a brick, and that makes 6 to 8 liters. I can't remember what the bales cost,and sometimes I can't get them, but there is an economy of scale. (And I know there's one made from cocoa, too, but that can be dangerous to your pets because it contains theobromine, but it's not too common, anyway.)
 
i think you can get the bales online and it would still be cheaper even with shipping... but i'm sure you can find it somewhere in or near montreal
 
Uh, tomatoes only need dirt. Those things even grow in clay.

Wouldn't it be easier to till up the spot where the frame is going to go and simply plant the stuff there? The only reason I'm using containers is because I have about 500 square feet of soil that won't even grow weeds. The peppers will go there - everything else goes into the soil.

Mike
 
I got some of my 5 gal containers for around a buck each as long as you buy a sleeve of 40-50. You can also try freecycle in your area, sometimes you can find goodies for free.
 
1$ for 5 gallon containers .Damn I need to shop around more!

I need to grow in containers because I'm moving in the house at the end of April.The previous owner did not have a garden and since I plan a major rework of the yard, I don't want to build anything permanent this year.
 
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