soil Supersoil - Should I get rid of it?

[wbyrd01]

I bought a bag of Supersoil potting soil the other day and just read on this site that it's not a good soil to use. Actually I bought a bag of the potting soil and a bag of their "Enriched Potting Compost" and I mixed the two bags together. Should I just spread this out on the low spots in my yard and buy a better soil to use for my peppers? Or is there something else I could mix in with it to make it better?

Thanks.

 

[Siliman]

Peppers like soil that drains well. You can get some big improvements by adding perlite. ProMix BX is my basic mix for containers with about 20% compost. For the ground, I mix in as much organic material as possible. So you could use a bit of your Supersoil here and there. Lots of variables!

 

[Proud Marine Dad]

Who said it's not good soil to use?
I grew some plants in it last year and they did very well although I think the Patio Plus is better that I am trying this year.

 

[wbyrd01]

I read it here:

I found 5# nursery pots for 50 cents each on craigslist...if you search hard enough you can find them for free from some nurserys...less work than the buckets, but either will work fine. Being in AZ white buckets should not be an issue, they may actually be better than black IMO.

[sub]I also did some soil testing, and if you want to go with ready made...I like Kellogg, Cheap and made with quality ingredients. All organic if you're into that. I am still trying to make and test some of my own...but I gotta wait for my worms to finish thier work in the compost before I can begin...[/sub]

The light blue are in Kellogg...the others in some other cheap mixes. I have their names and can provide. Bottom line is that some soils are just plain toxic to peppers. They have all been repotted in the Kellogg soil now, but the ones circled in yellow are very slow to recover. Point is...you can find a bargain, but be careful because more often than not you get what you pay for.

yellow=supersoil TERRIBLE!!!
red=earthgro Not so great...but performed almost as well as MG
Blue=Kellogg REALLY GOOD! At $4.97 per 1.5 CF bag...its a bargain! Drains very well...the only issue I had was it is a bit "twiggy" Contains worm castings, bat guano, kelp...the list goes on premium ingredients for a bargain price.

And here in post #8
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/1830-2007-pepper-grow-log/

I also read in another post that it was toxic. I'm not sure what makes it toxic though.

 

[Cayennemist]

SuperSoil, Enriched Potting Compost, was the first soil amendment I got. I don't think it was "bad" per say, but since then I have gone a different way. Then word "enriched" means fertilizers where added. Honestly, I don't think I would pitch it to the birds, but I wouldn't buy it next time.

If you don't want to mix your own soil (the best option) then try ProMix or Fox Farms Ocean Forest, as they are often considered some of the best potting mixes available, but you will pay a premium for them.

If you have a Armstrong Garden, or a major Garden retailer, look for EDNA's best

Edna's is basically a Clone of Fox Farms Ocean Forest, but at a reasonable 10$ a bag!

 

[bigbodybussey]

Hell, depending on how much soil mix you need, I would buy some of the quality stuff or the ingredients to good soil (peat, compost, native soil, perlite, lime, myco. etc.) and just mix it up until you get an end result that is to your liking. Then just feed the soil and plants to make it into about the best soil it can be (see pepper guru's GLOG - ever seen a Fatali tree ?). Yeah it is more work than just going and buying a new bag of mix, but to me, it's more fun to be delved into you're hobby.

best of luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Cayennemist]

Hell, depending on how much soil mix you need, I would buy some of the quality stuff or the ingredients to good soil (peat, compost, native soil, perlite, lime, myco. etc.) and just mix it up until you get an end result that is to your liking. Then just feed the soil and plants to make it into about the best soil it can be (see pepper guru's GLOG - ever seen a Fatali tree ?). Yeah it is more work than just going and buying a new bag of mix, but to me, it's more fun to be delved into you're hobby.

best of luck and let us know how it turns out.

http://thehotpepper....r old mothers
Post #19

That thread is a Bible! I hope Guru doesn't mind all the attention we are giving him.
I recommend bookmarking it

 

[bigbodybussey]

Yeah, I hope he doesn't mind. Man knows what he's doing and has more information than I can wrap my head around.

glad to see im not the only one up around 5:00 am....>>>>my pepper addiction has officially turned into a crack fueled rage

 

[Proud Marine Dad]

I read it here:


And here in post #8
http://thehotpepper....epper-grow-log/

I also read in another post that it was toxic. I'm not sure what makes it toxic though.

Not a very scientific analysis there. One persons results with God knows what pepper strains does nothing to convince me that SuperSoil was the culprit.
I would show you some of my plants from last season but I don't think this forum condones pictures of canna.

 

[Cayennemist]

Not a very scientific analysis there. One persons results with God knows what pepper strains does nothing to convince me that SuperSoil was the culprit.
I would show you some of my plants from last season but I don't think this forum condones pictures of canna.

Its not in the rules... Yet! lol

 

[wbyrd01]

Well I went to the local nursery and picked up some vermiculite, perlite, and worm castings to doctor up my Supersoil. After reading Guru's mixture for his dirt I don't think I got nearly enough perlite though. So I think I'll swing by the Depot tomorrow and pick up a bigger bag and maybe some peat as well. Thanks for the advise guys, and thanks for linking that thread from Guru. I've been reading his glog from this year already so I know he definitely knows what he's talking about.

 

[bigbodybussey]

Glad to see you getting this done...let us know how it turn out. : )