Planning Stages: Pro-Mix BX?

Steve973

Steve973

Hey All,

I loved this forum last season, and I plan to be back here in full force again. This is my second year and I am going to do things just a little bit differently. Last year, I had 5 gallon cheap nursery pots and had a mix of 30% sand, 30% organic "booster" mix that is high in calcium, and 30% potting soil. It drained too fast, and I wasn't super happy with the results, but my crop was decent.

This year, I want a medium that holds water a little better, and one that I don't have to hand mix. From reading some threads, I am considering Pro-Mix BX, but I have a couple of questions for those who have already used it...

Will this require using fertilizers, or does it have enough for the season? What do any of you (who use it) use for fertilizers? How about calcium?

I want to do 14 five to seven gallon pots. How many of those bales will I need?

Anything else you'd recommend?

Thanks,
Steve
 
Pro-Mix definitely holds water well, and doesn't get too compacted. I've used it for the 1st time this year for seed germination and for seedling transplants into cups and now 5 gallon pots. So far, I've been super happy with the results.
 
Pro-mix is a soil-less mixture with very little nutrients. I like to mix in compost and/or cow manure, or you can just use it straight and feed with nutrient water for simple hydroponics.
Also with peppers, calcium is less important than magnesium. Tomatoes are what really need the calcium
 
I absolutely love Pro Mix BX. Great stuff, IMO This year I will be using it in all of my outside containers, but will be mixing in compost as Potawie mentioned.
 
I love the BX too, no bugs, mold, etc.

Just add some compost if ya have it, epsom salt, and yer Perlite, and yer set to go. I also add in a organic granular fert called TerraCycle that's got worm poop and stuff in it..very weak stuff, like 5-3-4.

Note: there IS a variety of Pro-Mix that does have time-release fert in it..so check what you are buying as there are several kinds. :)

My nursery store takes the huge bales adn mixes thier own smaller bags up..fantastic stuff and cheap too.
 
All right guys, awesome. Thanks for the advice. So I just ordered some from my local Ace hardware store, and I should have it in about a week or something.

So I hear mention of mixing in manure, watering with fertilizer, mixing in epsom salts, and compost. So I am now a little confused. What would be the most convenient and what would yield the best results? I have used organic fish based fertilizer in the past, and I am not opposed to using it again this year. Or I could use a heavily nitrogen based fertilizer for the growth portion, then use something like bloom booster when I'm ready to have them flower.

I have used epsom salts as a foliar spray, but do you recommend mixing it into the Pro-Mix? If so, how much, and does that require adding it again later? Or would it be better to dissolve it in the watering can?
 
I'm going to use pro-mix for my container peppers also. My hyrdo guy said to mix-in a bag of Fox Farm Marine Cusinie fertilizer and I would be good to go. I'm sure that you could substitute another fert for the Marine Cuisine...

Good luck!
 
Steve973 said:
A bag per bale? Or a bag per pot? If so, how big are your pots?
Click to expand...

That is a great question. It was my understanding that it was one bag per bale, but I will ask the guy this weekend. If so, this would mean a good deal of hand mixing. Would also need to make sure that it was evenly distributed. Actually, now the more that I think about it maybe he did mean one bag per pot.

I'll be using 5 gallon nursery pots for the most part...
 
I'm going with the promix but I've given my plants a jump with the fox farm ocean forrest,has bat guano and worm castings.Never had healthier plants.
HTTR!
 
PeteyPepper said:
That is a great question. It was my understanding that it was one bag per bale, but I will ask the guy this weekend. If so, this would mean a good deal of hand mixing. Would also need to make sure that it was evenly distributed. Actually, now the more that I think about it maybe he did mean one bag per pot.

I'll be using 5 gallon nursery pots for the most part...
Click to expand...

Don't over fertilize IMO - sometimes less is more. According to the Fox Farm site: "Use Marine Cuisine® as a general, all-purpose fertilizer throughout the growing season. For new plantings and container plants, add just 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil." Even that seems like a lot to me. I'm going w Osmocote early and bloom booster late. I used maybe 1-2 tablespoons of Osmocote for the whole 5 gallon container. We'll see.
 
I found a hydroponics place nearby me in Maryland, so I will check them out on Saturday to see what they can help me with. Last year, I had them in 3 gallon cheap black plastic nursery pots, and they often wilted, even though I watered them every day. I am looking for a growing medium that is more stable, and I think going with more volume (7 gallons) might help a lot. What do you people think about covering black plastic pots with aluminum foil to help keep them (at least slightly) cooler?
 
Steve973 said:
I found a hydroponics place nearby me in Maryland, so I will check them out on Saturday to see what they can help me with. Last year, I had them in 3 gallon cheap black plastic nursery pots, and they often wilted, even though I watered them every day. I am looking for a growing medium that is more stable, and I think going with more volume (7 gallons) might help a lot. What do you people think about covering black plastic pots with aluminum foil to help keep them (at least slightly) cooler?
Click to expand...

Never tried it but it sounds like it would work to me. Mulch will also help.
 
I had a few in 3 gallons last year and had no problem. I bottom watered in some large aluminum turkey baster type pans. The pots got real heavy and only had to be watered every 3-4 days depending on the amount of sunshine they got. Plus, a little stress/wilting is supposed to make for a hotter pepper.
 
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