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Post by ginger on Jan 13, 2015 20:07:27 GMT 10
I have had such awful luck purchasing "bagged" potting soil that I now make my own! I have rabbits that I collect their poop/pee mixed with hay and kitchen and yard scraps...I made so much I filled up two raised beds! My okra grew over 10 feet tall this last year! Anybody else making their own container soil? What luck have you had?
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Post by mountains gardener on Jan 17, 2015 14:24:05 GMT 10
I do not follow a recipe, generally I get sand, soil and cocopeat. I so not have any compost to spare. Sometimes horse manure (without the straw), but you have to break the lumps somehow. I find it very exhausting to mix the soil. But the landscape supple here charges around 75 for the cubic meter (or was it a ton, which is less?).
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Post by mountains gardener on Feb 24, 2015 10:28:08 GMT 10
Actually I really struggle with potting mix. It runs always out. Cocopeat is expensive so is sand (cocopeat $3 a brick and sand $75 a ton, we are in Australia and everything is a bit more expensive, I seem to have never compost left over, horse manure creates a real weed problem in the pots...I am just thinking were I do get the next batch of potting mix (mixing is a pain).
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Post by gardenlarder on Feb 24, 2015 11:26:31 GMT 10
I buy mine in bulk from landscapers. A square metre can make a lot of plants happy and all you have to do is add some manure or artificial fertliser to suit the plants. Most landscape places deliver and all you need is a covered spot where you can lay down a tarp to store it on. It works out cheaper than buying by the bag and it is -sadly- better quality as well as often cheaper than making it yourself.
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coppice
New Member
Posts: 20
Your Nursery: Stacked Stones Retreat
Elevation: 600 ft + or -
Climate Zone: Zone 6-A, SE-OH USA
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Post by coppice on Feb 24, 2015 18:00:11 GMT 10
Trees in zone 6 need a pretty free draining soil in gallon pots. They need an even quicker draining soil in shallow trays (as bonsai).
My mix looks rather like this:
One part each, granite grit (a poultry scratch), and sifted bark mulch (aka soil conditioner).
With just a dash of the following: osmocoat pellets, crushed oyster shell, finished compost*.
Compost USAin is the finished decayed soil from a compost pile, unlike english "composts" that come closer to our soiless mixs.
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coppice
New Member
Posts: 20
Your Nursery: Stacked Stones Retreat
Elevation: 600 ft + or -
Climate Zone: Zone 6-A, SE-OH USA
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Post by coppice on Feb 24, 2015 18:01:16 GMT 10
Trees in zone 6 need a pretty free draining soil in gallon pots. They need an even quicker draining soil in shallow trays (as bonsai).
My mix looks rather like this:
One part each, granite grit (a poultry scratch), and sifted bark mulch (aka soil conditioner).
With just a dash of the following: osmocoat pellets, crushed oyster shell, finished compost*.
Compost USAin is the finished decayed soil from a compost pile, unlike english "composts" that come closer to our soiless mixs.
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Post by mountains gardener on Feb 24, 2015 20:04:28 GMT 10
Gardenlarder, what do you pay for the meter (a ton is about 0.8 meters)? Last I asked was 75 and I have to buy two meters or I pay delivery.
Bark mulch I must ask the price it could replace cocopeat?? To shredder the stuff what do you use? The horse maunure I shredder (sort of) it by hand (with gloves).
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Post by gardenlarder on Feb 25, 2015 5:18:44 GMT 10
My mix is $60 metre delivered and is pine bark based.
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Post by mountains gardener on Apr 3, 2015 13:32:06 GMT 10
It is raining. I am still pondering around to improve my potting mix (or think what I use for the next batch) I have hardwood sawdust, horse manure, woodchips, sand (with clay content).... is that suitable? I google around to find shreddered pine bark.
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coppice
New Member
Posts: 20
Your Nursery: Stacked Stones Retreat
Elevation: 600 ft + or -
Climate Zone: Zone 6-A, SE-OH USA
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Post by coppice on Apr 5, 2015 1:12:04 GMT 10
I can get bark mulch in two cubic-foot bags (roughly equal to 50 Lb bags) for under $2 USAin. Its omnipresent this time of year.
There is a little hands on stuff I would want to do if sand was a major soil component. The part of sand I want (especially for trees) is coarse. I want to keep sand that will pass through 1/4 inch hardware cloth screen, and will not pass through a 1/16th inch window screen.
He said thinking back to the time when soil components came from the sand-bank & lumber mill.
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desertperma
New Member
If it can grow, I will grow it. If not, I will make it grow.
Posts: 14 
Your Nursery: Desert Swale Nursery
Latitude: 15.77°
Elevation: 1089 m
Climate Zone: hot semi-arid
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Post by desertperma on Apr 9, 2015 22:54:16 GMT 10
I find that if you go straight to the wholesaler for coco bricks it works out cheaper. i used to but from the garden center for $3 per brick too, then i looked up the wholesaler and they sell for $1 per brick. though you have to buy by the box which is 24 bricks, overall i'm saving $48 so that's awesome for me. also i get a dump truck load of sand for about $50 about 2.5 CM, compost is a bit more costly at about $2.50 for a 30 liter bag. i mix 3 parts sand 1 part coco and 1 part Compost. so that works out to roughly $0.25 per liter of potting mix.
Oh and i find that if i have a lot to mix i can rent/Borrow a cement mixer to mix it well, then i store it in 200 liter totes. i always keep at least 3 totes full and mix more when i'm down to 1. you can mix up 1000 liters in an afternoon. then you are good for a while. I personally like the 2.5 liter bags so that 400 trees worth, or 1000 if you use the small 1 liter bags.
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desertperma
New Member
If it can grow, I will grow it. If not, I will make it grow.
Posts: 14
Your Nursery: Desert Swale Nursery
Latitude: 15.77°
Elevation: 1089 m
Climate Zone: hot semi-arid
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Post by desertperma on Apr 9, 2015 22:55:50 GMT 10
Also if you have the space and access to free wood chips, you should consider making your own compost, I just Pile up the chips and let time and the weather do all the work.
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