Potting mix

Powelly said:
As mentioned perlite is likely a poor choice of drainage for you and you should seek some other form of drainage 
Natural mushroom compost has great drainage qualities
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You are misunderstanding something. I have perfect results with perlite. It works great. Omit the perlite, and it's a night and day difference.

Mushroom compost does not work well in our hot humid climate. It turns to bricks. Compost, as a rule, does NOT have drainage properties. Compost is not a planting medium - it's an amendment.
 
The only thing that I saw karoo mention for drainage was coco coir. However, this is not actually a drainage amendment. In fact, quite the opposite, coco coir, like peat, is actually useful for retaining moisture, while at the same time, provides air space - "loft" in the root zone.  However, air holding properties do not equal drainage...
 
 
 
Powelly said:
Coco coir has excellent drainage qualities
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When you use it by itself, you get no argument from me. But when you amend peat, coco, etc, with anything that closes up the small air holding spaces, you no longer have a free draining mix. Why exactly do you think that people add perlite to mixes?

So let me reiterate my point ONE more time, since we're stuck in an endless loop of one-liners... Successful growing with simply coco coir and compost is not the norm!
 
You know what? Fuck it. Instead having a regionally disconnected debate about this, I'll just do a side-by-side grow this year. We'll see how it works. Perhaps you'd endeavor to join me, in growing with my mix, in your area?
 
solid7 said:
When you use it by itself, you get no argument from me. But when you amend peat, coco, etc, with anything that closes up the small air holding spaces, you no longer have a free draining mix. Why exactly do you think that people add perlite to mixes?

So let me reiterate my point ONE more time, since we're stuck in an endless loop of one-liners... Successful growing with simply coco coir and compost is not the norm!
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Me personally,
not arguing , not picking a fight , not contradicting you on purpose , not trying to convince anybody!
Just stating what I do and how it works out. And it does work , but then again I,ve never been to attached to the "norm".
 
Im doing a 3 way test actually 4 if you include the ground plot
 
3 parts coco and 1 part perlite as suggested
Ecoscraps potting mix which is a blend of coco, perlite and compost
My usual high compost mix with pine bark and peat
 
Ground plot has high compost too but has way more actual soil.
 
BTW i had 2 buckets already wet for yesterdays drip irrigation test. One was the coco/perlite and another was a heavy compost mix....The coco/perlite was the first to have run off of any bucket so it drains extremely well.
 
karoo said:
Me personally,
not arguing , not picking a fight , not contradicting you on purpose , not trying to convince anybody!
Just stating what I do and how it works out. And it does work , but then again I,ve never been to attached to the "norm".
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No worries, mate. I never got that impression. I respect not holding the norm - I just want to figure out how this works for you, and not me.
 
Solid7 make sure the pot size is large
A lot of "drainage issues" are actually the pot size not being large enough so the water table is too high
 
5 gallon should be plenty
 
Powelly said:
Solid7 make sure the pot size is large
A lot of "drainage issues" are actually the pot size not being large enough so the water table is too high
 
5 gallon should be plenty
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Roger on the water table. I typically choose a taller container, just for that reason. (the volume is irrelevant, as the water table is a constant, for any size or shape)
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I plan on testing this is a 5 gallon grow bag.
 
My [latest] mix is pretty simple:
 
1 bag of Promix HP (3.8cf)
1 bag of Fox Farm Ocean Forest
four or five HEAPING scoops of crushed pumice (perlite works too)
a cup of azomite dust
a cup of humic acid
 
mix together and done. I've tried many soil variations, I find this to be the easiest for me with the best results. I also buy everything from one location - in my area, Orange County Farm Supply
 
 
the quantities listed above will just about fill four large storage totes with a very light, fluffy soil.
 
 
PS: I no longer recycle/recharge any soil for potted plants. What gets used once gets dumped into the garden beds around my house, or I donate it to less fortunate growers (the ones without jobs).
 
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We had over 3 days of steady rain which was well over 4" . All my new buckets drained fine. No standing water in any of them. I have one planter i use for cukes on the deck with standing water. I will need to take care of It. More than likely its just clogged since it was from last year and it was not amended yet this year.
 
In containers forget organic. 3 parts potting mix (promix bx) 2 parts composted bark fines preferably pine. 1 part perlite. Can add 1 part floor dry diatomaceous earth or turface. Dolomic lime to suite amount mixed. Feed hydro nutrients every watering.

In ground go organic, in pots its just not worth it
 
Swartmamba said:
In containers forget organic. 3 parts potting mix (promix bx) 2 parts composted bark fines preferably pine. 1 part perlite. Can add 1 part floor dry diatomaceous earth or turface. Dolomic lime to suite amount mixed. Feed hydro nutrients every watering.

In ground go organic, in pots its just not worth it
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I disagree with this, organic gardening in containers works fine.
Organic gardening in potting mix? I agree that this is not a good scenario at all and it will take a good few years "fixing" the potting mix. But if you don't use potting mix and create a premium container soil yourself then there is no reason why it wouldn't work incredibly well
 
Swartmamba said:
In containers forget organic. 3 parts potting mix (promix bx) 2 parts composted bark fines preferably pine. 1 part perlite. Can add 1 part floor dry diatomaceous earth or turface. Dolomic lime to suite amount mixed. Feed hydro nutrients every watering.

In ground go organic, in pots its just not worth it
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Organic works fine in containers.  I've done it for 4 seasons now.
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It really depends on what definition of "organic" you've been sold.  My container mixes are made with coco coir and rabbit manure as their organic constituents, with organic dry fertilizers, or homemade liquid ferts. (made from fish and rabbit poo)
 
Powelly said:
 
I disagree with this, organic gardening in containers works fine.
Organic gardening in potting mix? I agree that this is not a good scenario at all and it will take a good few years "fixing" the potting mix. But if you don't use potting mix and create a premium container soil yourself then there is no reason why it wouldn't work incredibly well
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I used to do the all organic containers but gave up as our growing season is far to short to reap the benefits. Hydro nutes in containers always lead to far bigger plants and more fruit. 3.5 month growing season changes the way i have grown over the years considerably.

I have tried many different feeding regimes and my favourite for my climate is maxibloom from start to finish. Heard great things about dyna-gro but it is too hard to get in Canada.
 
solid7 said:
 
Organic works fine in containers.  I've done it for 4 seasons now.
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It really depends on what definition of "organic" you've been sold.  My container mixes are made with coco coir and rabbit manure as their organic constituents, with organic dry fertilizers, or homemade liquid ferts. (made from fish and rabbit poo)
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Pretty much the exact mix i used to use. It works but in Alberta Canada i needed bigger plants quicker hence hydro systems and hydro fed container plants. Mg in ground organic beds do really well, but cant keep up with a aggressive feeding i give the containers.

What works in my harsh climate is probably not the best in long season climates.
 
Swartmamba said:
Pretty much the exact mix i used to use. It works but in Alberta Canada i needed bigger plants quicker hence hydro systems and hydro fed container plants. Mg in ground organic beds do really well, but cant keep up with a aggressive feeding i give the containers.

What works in my harsh climate is probably not the best in long season climates.
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You're definitely correct about that. It would still be a viable alternative for you, if not for the temperature of the mix in the container. These things tend to work best when the mix is consistently at or above 70 degrees.
 
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