"Everybody has recommended to me that I use Miracle Gro Potting mix, as it's ideal for container gardening."

Everybody? ;o)

You might be able to make something like you're suggesting work, but it may not work well. Also, your skill set is going to be one of the deciding factors. The more successful you've been in the past, and the more experienced you are, the more likely will be your success because you will be better able to anticipate and correct developing problems based on what you've had to deal with before.

BTW - you can make a superior bark/peat/perlite soil from large bags of raw material for about half of what you'd pay for MG. Good luck.

Al

Well I am one that will try most anything that comes to mind when it is gardening. I have been useing rotted oak leaves in self watering 5 gal. buckets with great success after starting with a little 10 10 10 furt. and then useing the same in liquid fert. to keep the plants healthy and growing. I dont see the mixing of several things, some that are not even in the soil in the area where I live, to make a mix that is not already in the soil where I live. But then there are a lot of other things that don't make sense when you stop and look them over real good. lol.

I don't recommend Miracle Gro either.

Bark and Perlite - two ingredients I always have on hand.

Josh

Where can I find this bark? What's it called? What size bag would you recommend for a decent size potting mix?

Also when you say that for your mixture of bark, perlite,
and peat moss do you mix this into soil to ammend soil or do you use this mixture as a soil mixture?

Also how much of this would I need? I plan to fill two
10 gallon containers and two three gallon containers.

As far as using a soil mix that I've made myself it's not a matter of wanting to use an inferior alternative when a superior alternative is available. I'm trying to find
a substitute for Miracle Gro Mix because it's very pricey
and I'm on a tight budget. I will end up spending about
twice as much on miracle gro as the containers themselves.

I might not even be able to afford your mixture alternative
because finances are so tight.

I am curious .... Where do you live?

Second,try to find the bark,perlite and peat. It IS much cheaper than bagged soils and goes a long long way if you make it yourself.

If you can't even afford to get just these basic ingredients, then I would probably find a way to enjoy in ground gardening and save your money for a better time...

You are about to embark on a great journey if you invest your time and what little finances you set aside in finding the ingrediants that Al suggests, if you can afford too...It will be alot cheaper than MG and you will have a better quaility mix. Are you willing to do this?

If you don't find good quality product for a good price, then you are doomed to diaspointment in container gardening.
If not, please don't set your self up for that and your plants....:-)

Yes if I can afford to make his substitute mix I am more than willing to. Again it's not the fact that I'm unwilling
to buy the superior materials for a superior potting mix,
it's the fact that what it boils down to is I'm very low on funds.

If I can make this potting mix that was suggested as a substitute for miracle gro then yes I'll do so. Whether or not I can do so all depends on finances and whether my budget will allow me to do so.

As a guesstimate I have about $15 minimum $20 max
as my budget for potting mix, whether I use miracle
gro or this substitute potting mix that was suggested to me.

Making soil mix using Al's recipe has helped us save money over the premixed bags. We have used the other stuff, like MG and Al's mix gives better results as well as saving $$. We currently have ten self watering containers for vegetables and herbs plus several other regular containers of flowers, shrubs etc. We use the variations on Al's mix in all of our containers. Don't know where you live, but thought I would provide examples of pricing for some of the raw materials.

2 cu.ft. bags of pine bark fines (sold as Soil Conditioner at Lowes) less than $3.00 per bag.

Compressed sphagnum peat moss is around $12.00 per bag.

Vermiculite or perlite, $25.00 ea. for 4 cu.ft. bags. You may find it for less in your area. We have only one nursery chain that carries the 4 cu.ft. bags. Last year if sold for $17.00, this year $25.00.

FWIW - The peat can be had here in 1.5 cu ft bales for about $5 and the perlite is about $17/4 cu ft. The bark fines are $4/2 cu ft - $8/3 cu ft, depending on what you use.

Your original investment (if you buy the bulkier bags) may be more than your budget allows, but then the cost/volume would end up being considerably less (maybe a factor of .5) than MG. You'd also need to be willing to be separated from a few $ for a source of lime.

Al

Does this mix work well for swc?I have read alot of people use this mix and miracle grow ferts but isn't miracle grow ferts nitrogen urea based?How are the plants in a soiless mix getting nitrogen from urea based ferts?......

Well my question is what type of bark do I need to make this mix? There is red cypress mulch, pine bark, and some other
kind that I can't remember the name of.

Also what size bags would I need to make this mixture in large quantities? Please specify this info either in gallons or cubic feet.

I asked about bark yesterday and the price is $3.99 a bag; however they didn't specify how big each bag was that costs
$3.99. Also perlite is available, and it's sold in 8 qt.
bags.

I have peat moss but I don't know how much the quantity I have is in volume. I would have to measure it out.

I plan to use a 1 gallon container with a 6" depth for lettuce. For radishes I plan to grow the white variety which are larger than typical red radishes and I plan to grow these in 3 gallon containers.

So far this is about 4 gallons. I want to grow bush green beans too, and will probably end up investing in a 10 gallon container. The cost of all of these containers
will end up costing me $8-$9 as a guesstimate. This will leave me about $12-$15 (as an estimate) to spend on a soil mix.

Does this mix work well for swc?

Speaking from personal experience with variations on this mix, yes it does. The critical part of this mix is the size/degree of compostedness (is that a word) of the bark. If using fresh, larger bark pieces it may be necessary to increase the amount of peat to wick water to the surface well. If using a more composted bark it isn't. I have read alot of people use this mix and miracle grow ferts but isn't miracle grow ferts nitrogen urea based?

Yes. Mg isn't necessary, there is certainly more than one way to skin a cat (to use a really horrible colloquialism ;) How are the plants in a soiless mix getting nitrogen from urea based ferts?......

The bacteria responsible for the conversion are ubiquitous and don't require soil or even much in the way of consistent environmental parameters. They are the same bacteria at work in lakes, in fish tanks, darn near everywhere. They are subject to temperature limits, but this is really only a potential problem in cold soils/mixes. Otherwise provide them a food source and good luck keeping them away.

Justaguy
thanks for the response I will try the mix in my swc.I have been reading here for along time and you are truely a wealth of knowledge.Thank you

Wanted to jump in, I do not have the numbers available, but I have posted them before. Switching to the 511 (bark / perlite / peat ) saved allot of money, more then half if memory serves me correctly. Making your own is far more economical, and the 511 mix is fantastic. MG is good to, but it is expensive. For the the same price I can make double and get the same quality if not better. Problem is, getting the proper ingredients together which may not always be easy.

In my area all im finding are pine bark nuggets for mulch is this what you are using?

Pine bark nuggets are too large. You want pieces that are less than dime sized. Some may be longer than a dime, but on average, it should be fairly fine. If it's partly composted then a percentage of it may resemble the texture of peat moss, though not most of it.

Look for products labeled soil conditioner, as these are often pine bark in an appropriate size.

I'm new to gardening and using 5 parts cheap potting soil mixed with 1 part manure and seeing how it goes, so I can't really advise you on the soil since I won't know how it worked until the season is over. So far, so good though.

But regarding the containers. I'm not sure on your location, but there is a big lots near me and I buy 18 gallon steralite containers there for under $5. They work wonderfully for container gardening. Also, you can use an old kiddie pool if someone is selling one for cheap or giving one away. Check craigslist and be inventive with your containers. You may want to visit the frugal gardening forum for ideas.

Ania

Hunt4fish, those bags of pine nuggets are probably not what you want. As JaG mentioned above, the size of the bark is probably too large. That large pine bark is perfect for mulching your garden beds but not for containers.

You should use the small pine bark pieces, less than 1" in size. Depending on where you buy it the pine bark is called "pine bark fines", "pine bark mini nuggets", "soil conditioner", etc. In any case, look for the very small pine bark pieces for your containers. Many stores in this area are having end of season sales now so you might find quite a bargain. One local retailer is selling off their mulch inventory at 4 large bags for $9.00.

HTH

Dave

Hi everyone,
My tomatoes are in 5 and 7 gallon pots filled with good compost, sand and a peat moss mix that contains perlite and vermiculite. They just started putting on fruit and are growing very vigurously but im a bit worried that they might run out of nutrients. Is it too late to top dress it with a little composted manure? WHat about blood meal, can you dilute it in the water and then water them with the solution.
THanks,
BREndan

I have access to a huge bin of compost, loaded with earthworms, but having said that I've said all I know. How do you judge compost? Some must be better than others and some might be lethal. Anyone out there willing to pose as an expert?

Yvonne

Yvonne,
If you don't learn what you want from this post, consider checking out the composting forum here on gardenweb.com