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soil Making my potting soil mix...

U

UltraZelda64

I posted a while back a topic about making your own potting soil mix. Well, it's now time to do the actual mixing. I'm only using store-bought topsoil and perlite; the thing is, I want to make sure I get a good amount of perlite in the mix to allow plenty of airflow and lighten it up to prevent compacting.

The topsoil comes in 1.5 cu. ft. bags, and so far I've mixed in about 3 cups of perlite. That stuff really seems to mix in well (it gets hard to see)... either that, or I didn't quite put enough in. But I don't want to over-do it either.

Does 3 cups per 1.5 cu. ft. of soil sound good? Or is it too little?

I have some vermiculite which I was going to put in the mix, but it seems like water got in the bag and now it's kinda sticking together, and I figured simplifying the mix (not adding vermiculite) shouldn't hurt. I mostly wanted the vermiculite for water retention, but the topsoil says it has wetting agents, so I figure it's not needed quite so bad.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions...
 
I don't mean to be negative but I am concerned about the topsoil being too heavy and water retentive.
 
Josh said:
I don't mean to be negative but I am concerned about the topsoil being too heavy and water retentive.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's actually part of the reason I decided against putting in the vermiculite. Is there something cheap and easy to find that I could add to lighten it up further? A bit of sand or something? It does seem slightly "heavy"... lots of little chunks/balls of dirt.
 
Josh said:
Home Depot sells bales of peat.
Click to expand...
I thought peat would increase water retention? I can get some bales at Lowes if I need to, can't remember the price though. I don't have much money though.

And I don't know how much to add to the mix either. But the biggest problem is it messing with the acidity/pH level of the mix... that could be a nightmare to fix.
 
UltraZelda64 said:
I posted a while back a topic about making your own potting soil mix. Well, it's now time to do the actual mixing. I'm only using store-bought topsoil and perlite; the thing is, I want to make sure I get a good amount of perlite in the mix to allow plenty of airflow and lighten it up to prevent compacting.

The topsoil comes in 1.5 cu. ft. bags, and so far I've mixed in about 3 cups of perlite. That stuff really seems to mix in well (it gets hard to see)... either that, or I didn't quite put enough in. But I don't want to over-do it either.

Does 3 cups per 1.5 cu. ft. of soil sound good? Or is it too little?

I have some vermiculite which I was going to put in the mix, but it seems like water got in the bag and now it's kinda sticking together, and I figured simplifying the mix (not adding vermiculite) shouldn't hurt. I mostly wanted the vermiculite for water retention, but the topsoil says it has wetting agents, so I figure it's not needed quite so bad.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions...
Click to expand...
3:1 ratio if just using soil and perlite. 2:1:1 if using soil, perlite and vermiculite.
 
Okay... I think I'll just go get a bale Sphagnum peat moss, it's not too expensive. Hopefully it doesn't set the pH of the mix off too much. Any suggestions on how much peat to use, per 1.5 cu. ft.?
 
UltraZelda64 said:
Okay... I think I'll just go get a bale Sphagnum peat moss, it's not too expensive. Hopefully it doesn't set the pH of the mix off too much. Any suggestions on how much peat to use, per 1.5 cu. ft.?
Click to expand...

maybe try this from the mix sticky post

Mix #15:
2 parts vermiculite
2 parts perlite
3 parts topsoil
3 parts peat
2 parts cow manure
1/2 part bonemeal
 
i think you would want to use potting soil or container soil, even with perolite added to topsoil you may just end up with a packed caked product after watering a few times. i found this with my regular garden soil, i added vermiculite one year and it just packed together. another year, i tried the next new rage, zeolite and got the same results.

i have finally just moved to promix, then add in things like coffee grounds, teabag grounds, ground kelp, ground alfalfa, ground eggshells, ground dried banana peels and some fine sand but i only need enough for about 50-60 plants.

good luck, hope it works out for you.
 
My mix this years is

2 parts Preimer Spaghrum peat
2 parts Compost
1 part Perlite
1/4 composted chicken manure
1/4 worm castings
bone meal
micorizhae

So far so good plants seem to be happy. I got info from a couple of members here and the pinned thread from LGHT and went from there.
 
If you find your mix is holding too much water, what about adding clean sand? I've never used it myself and don't know much about it, but I am guessing that it would have to be a cheaper alternative to perlite, etc - especially if you find yourself having to use a large amount?

As for how it would affect your pH (or even if it would at all), I wouldn't have a clue! Perhaps somebody can enlighten us? :D
 
Thanks for the tips. I just got back, bought a bale of Sphagnum peat moss, hopefully it'll work good.

Only problem is... I have no idea how much to add to 1.5 cu.ft. of dirt. Any guidelines... A little? A lot? A few handfuls?
 
logchief said:
My mix this years is

2 parts Preimer Spaghrum peat
2 parts Compost
1 part Perlite
1/4 composted chicken manure
1/4 worm castings
bone meal
micorizhae

So far so good plants seem to be happy. I got info from a couple of members here and the pinned thread from LGHT and went from there.
Click to expand...


LGHT thread was on my mind.
 
UltraZelda64 said:
Thanks for the tips. I just got back, bought a bale of Sphagnum peat moss, hopefully it'll work good.

Only problem is... I have no idea how much to add to 1.5 cu.ft. of dirt. Any guidelines... A little? A lot? A few handfuls?
Click to expand...

Take a look here, Great info from LGHT

http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/10245-all-about-soil-a-great-resource-i-thought-i-would-share/
 
Ezzer said:
Take a look here, Great info from LGHT

http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/10245-all-about-soil-a-great-resource-i-thought-i-would-share/
Click to expand...
I read that topic a while ago and got as much as I can get from it. I just glanced over the "materials" section one more time though, and it says peat moss has an pH level of 3 to 4. I knew peat was acidic, but... that's pretty damn acidic. The topsoil I have, I just tested it, is around 7. This sucks... now I really hope the peat doesn't mess up the balance too much, I'll probably try to go as light as possible with it, just enough to fluff it up, hopefully it doesn't take much...

Now I remember why I didn't even consider peat in my original ingredients plan...

Edit: By the way... I'm new to handling plain peat moss... I'm used to the pre-mixed mostly-peat potting mixes that are already moistened. The stuff's bone dry; should it be moistened before (or while) adding to the mix [the mix is already moist]? I poked my pH meter into the bale to get a reading (didn't actually open it yet), thinking it probably wouldn't work if dry, and it didn't. I can't imagine how heavy that bale would be if the stuff was moistened. :shocked:
 
The peat will not screw you up too much. My potting mix is;

1 bale peat moss
2 bags Miracle grow perlite
2 40lb bags Black Kow composted cow manure
1 30lb bag Black Kow composted chicken manure

Last years plants were crazy productive and huge, I did not have to feed them.
 
millworkman said:
The peat will not screw you up too much. My potting mix is;

1 bale peat moss
2 bags Miracle grow perlite
2 40lb bags Black Kow composted cow manure
1 30lb bag Black Kow composted chicken manure

Last years plants were crazy productive and huge, I did not have to feed them.
Click to expand...
Wow, pretty crazy, not even having to feed them. Must've been some damn good stuff, heh. They had to have been a dream to take care of, not having to prepare fertilizer regularly.

That's a relief though, knowing that the peat shouldn't mess with the overall acidity too badly. I was really starting to worry. I barely had enough money for the peat, let alone the possibly required limestone to offset the additional acidity caused by it... and I certainly don't have any experience tweaking the pH of soil. According to my notes, anything from neutral (7.0) down to an acidity of about 5.5 should be alright for peppers, so there's a little bit of room for change. I'll have to figure out how much peat to add though as I go along... because I really don't know (I haven't planned for it, considering I wasn't originally going to use it).
 
millworkman said:
The peat will not screw you up too much. My potting mix is;

1 bale peat moss
2 bags Miracle grow perlite
2 40lb bags Black Kow composted cow manure
1 30lb bag Black Kow composted chicken manure

Last years plants were crazy productive and huge, I did not have to feed them.
Click to expand...


Just out of curiosity millworkman, what is the volume/weight of the miracle grow perlite bag? I can get the stuff in bulk here at my local gardening store, and your mix sounds cheaper than promix, and not too fussy.
 
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