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container ATTN: Best Container Planting Mix?

Here is last years Pro-Mix in the garage. They are very compressed, you must loosen before you can use it. I say 20 is a good guess, a bale goes a long way. I use it from starting seeds to filling large containers.
DSCN0089.jpg
 
Pepper Ridge Farm said:
I just dumped my last years Pro-mix and it still looks better than any new stuff. Going to mix in some new Pro-mix. Stuff just works.


That is good to hear. I plan on using pro-mix for my containers this year.
 
I don't think I could afford to buy enough for my contaners...would probably be 20 bales and at 31 each that gets out there...

I used my local nurserys house "professional" potting soil last year and bought another 6 bags yesterday...they are 6.95 each (40 qt bags)

pic of bag and soil...

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can't really tell much from the photo but it is nice and light weight...like I said earlier in this thread, I mixed this potting mix with this"

Premium Soil Mix ($17.50/yard)
Silver Creek Materials offers one of the finest soil mixes available. This soil is carefully blended to produce optimum plant growth. Our #1 selling premium soil mix consists of a screened blend of compost (60%) and the purest cushion sand available (40%) to add stability to the blend. This blend is best used in establishing new gardens, flowerbeds and leveling lawns. It also works well in establishing new lawns, spreading a four-inch layer before installing sod. Premium Soil Mix is a good substitute for topsoil and unlike most topsoils, it is 100% free of weed seeds. Our mixes are consistent year in and year out - you always know what you're going to get when you order Silver Creek Soils. Although the soil is rich in organic matter and nutrients, it remains necessary to maintain proper soil fertility through a regular fertilizing program.

Haven't got a picture of this but the sand adds weight and drainage to the containers...both a must in my opinion...
 
great reading BigT...thanks for posting...

too bad the stuff is so expensive...I may try some in a few of my "best plants" containers...
 
AlabamaJack said:
great reading BigT...thanks for posting...

too bad the stuff is so expensive...I may try some in a few of my "best plants" containers...

I would use it if it were easier to get. Right now I would either have to pay shipping on it or drive to Charleston, about an hour and a half to two hours away.
 
I've had the best luck with homemade pine bark based mixes originally 'engineered' for bonsai.

Pine Bark : Peat : Perlite
5:1:1 for container peppers.
4:1:1 for container tomatoes.

For amazing results, look no further.

Here's a link to a thread that explains why these mixes work so well.

Container Soils - Water Movement & Retention

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/contain/msg010937265978.html?38

Best of all it's quite cheap. I pay around $5 for 3 cubic feet of pine bark fines.

:)
 
Very true Potawie. Whats the big difference in the nutes needed for the two? I know the coco needs coco specific nutes but could the pro-mix not use the same coco nutes?
 
The nutes for coco are specifically for coco (to compensate for built up mineral salts I believe), so I don't think it would be wise to use them with pro-mix or other mediums.
 
I found pro-mix BX again this year for $22 CND but I have to drive across the border to Quebec to get it that cheap, and they don't carry pro-mix PGX which I prefer for germinating in cells.
Recently I've been buying Lambert mix(very good stuff) in Ottawa for $21, and now I just need my compost and manure piles to thaw out.
 
Pepper Ridge Farm said:
Here is last years Pro-Mix in the garage. They are very compressed, you must loosen before you can use it. I say 20 is a good guess, a bale goes a long way. I use it from starting seeds to filling large containers.
DSCN0089.jpg

Is that the stuff with Mycorise in it? If not does anybody use that stuff?
 
Not sure what Mycorise is, but I don't think it's the same as Mycorrhizal fungi that I have used. A friend how is a master Gardner gave me a cup full to put on my sprouts when transplanting them up. She said it will help create soil bacteria and help them grow. I put 1 tsp in every cup. I think the box said sub culture something on it. She had a good sized container of it and said it's similar to compost tea.
 
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