Your best growing medium...

prko0

prko0

I dont know if there is some sort of secrecy when it comes to soil mixes, I have tried many different types and to be honest as long as the soil is loose and drainable, I think my pepper plants love it. I haven't really been able to compare with no one else until I joined this forum. For my starting mix i used 1 part compost, 1 part sunshine #4 , 1 part of worm compost, 1 cup of humic acid and 2 tbsp of rock dust, so far I been really happy. When it comes to the adulthood of my plants I use.. 5 gallon compost , 5 gallon top soil, 2 gallon vermiculite 2 gallon perlite , 1 cup rock dust, a small sprinkle of bone meal and the secret of all secrets and I dont think its much of one is MESQUITE a small chunk of it on top of my plants ... an old farmer told me once that every time u water your plant the mesquite will soak and slow release their minerals that will make the peppers grow big and spicy ... dont know how truth this is , but its been working for me... so what yours?? if your willing to share the knowledge acquire :) .. thanks
 
Pots - Happy Frog Ocean Forest.  I cut it with 5-10% sand for peppers and 25% for succulents.  My small pots get a layer of sand on the top.  The sand layer dries out and seems to deter critters and other problems, like damping off.  
 
Garden - In the spring I till in food scraps and leaves that have been collecting throughout the year.  Sometimes I add a few bags of compost (aged manure / mushroom / worm) if I find a decent deal.  I will also dump my disease free Ocean Forest pots in the garden after the first frost.  I'm thinking about adding more sand this year to improve drainage.
 
I've never heard of the mesquite trick... but now I want to try it!
 
NeedsWork said:
Pots - Happy Frog Ocean Forest.  I cut it with 5-10% sand for peppers and 25% for succulents.  My small pots get a layer of sand on the top.  The sand layer dries out and seems to deter critters and other problems, like damping off.  
 
Garden - In the spring I till in food scraps and leaves that have been collecting throughout the year.  Sometimes I add a few bags of compost (aged manure / mushroom / worm) if I find a decent deal.  I will also dump my disease free Ocean Forest pots in the garden after the first frost.  I'm thinking about adding more sand this year to improve drainage.
 
I've never heard of the mesquite trick... but now I want to try it!
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why do u use sand, I did it a couple year ago and it hardened so bad that I had to get a screwdriver and had to crack it and pull it from my plants. Is this because of the fungus gnats ?? i just sprinkle cinammon for it, for some reason they hate that ...... about the mesquite, he said the slow release helps them for some reason, even better if you have a fire a used the remains of the wood (alder here in BC , Canada) 
 
There is no secret formula for potting mix.  It has to hold enough moisture, but not too much.  It has to hold oxygen in the root zone without drying out.  And it has to retain nutrients, but not to the point of compaction. (i.e., clay)
 
The real secret is in food and environmental conditions.  Temp, humidity, lights, fertilizer, etc.
 
By the way, your soil mix - is it in containers or raised beds?  I could never get away with that mix here.  It would be compacted like a block of cement in a week.  I don't buy bagged mixes anymore.  I have good mix, cheap mix, and cheapest mix.
 
Good mix:
 
3 parts coco coir
1 part perlite 
1 part composted rabbit manure
 
Cheap mix:
 
3 parts pine bark fines
2 parts peat moss
1 part perlite
 
Cheapest
 
purchased nursery mix. (80% composted pine bark, 10% peat moss, 10% sand)
 
 
As for the block of mesquite - if you tell me that you pulled it out of the firepit, and it's now a burnt coal, I'll say your friend is right.  Burnt wood = activated carbon = bio-char.  That is proven to hold nutrients.  Rotting pieces of hardwood buried in containers or raised beds go one step further.  They promote the growth of mychorrizal fungi, which form a symbiotic relationship with, and helps feed the plants from the roots.
 
I guess it will be both..... rotten wood aka mulch and charcoal. Another one is pine needles fir some reason they love that...... dont know why though
 
I take last year's soil, and recharge it over and over again. I add fox farm ocean forest, a little cocoa coir, worm castings, crushed pumice, a touch of azamite dust, and humic acid. This is only for mature plants.
 
For seedlings, I buy a bag of seed-starting mix and mix that half and half with my recycled soil, and then add extra perlite.
 
 
For strong soil, I go heavier on the FFOF, and for lighter soil, I hold back on it.
 
.
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
Same here...

Funny I don't see much here on 5-1-1 as it's big at another forum.> 5K discussions on 5-1-1
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That mix is the cult of tapla. (Al)
 
It's a good mix, but it's not the end-all that some of his followers would have it be.  Somebody posted an analysis of several mixes, and 7-5-2 performed just as well, but was less needy.  By "needy", I mean that it didn't need to be watered and fed as often.
 
I really don't mean to hijack this thread, but why not just good ol earth? Obviously if you live in an area where soil quality is terrible it's not the best option, but that's all I've ever used. Can you really see drastic improvements from using storebought products? Am I missing out, or just blessed with fertile soil?

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Mike5265 said:
I really don't mean to hijack this thread, but why not just good ol earth? Obviously if you live in an area where soil quality is terrible it's not the best option, but that's all I've ever used. Can you really see drastic improvements from using storebought products? Am I missing out, or just blessed with fertile soil?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
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Where I live, the difference between a good potting mix, and our native soil, is growing, or not growing.
 
Our soil has absolutely no tilth.  In fact, it's not soil at all, it's just pure sand.  I could spend all kinds of time and effort, year in, and year out, to build good soil in small patches.  But that's just not a worthwhile pursuit, and I'm not going to do it.
 
I know I am not a master.  I simply use Miracle Grow Potting Soil.  It works fine.  My plants are not mad at me for using it.  I can get it anywhere at a reasonable price.
 
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