I'm excited for you! I can feel it coming right off the page! :-)

Keep in mind what time of year it is... personally, if it's not an emergency, I might wait until spring... maybe practice with a plant or two...

A few tips, if I may... when potting, there's no need to tamp down the medium with your hands... I just kind of tap the pot's sides to help it settle in around roots.

You'll want to ensure the bark is fairly saturated before you begin. And once potted and watered in, you'll want to allow them time to adjust by keeping them out of direct sunlight or any windy conditions, away from AC or heat units or vents... and slowly acclimate them back into the positions you want them.

If anyone else has suggestions or tips, or corrections... please feel free to jump in!

I grow everything in pots using either the Gritty or the 511... and I make slight adjustments in ratio or ingredients depending on plant type, pot size, where it will be placed to grow, etc... you'll get the hang of it. Keep your own growing conditions in mind... climate, weather, season, etc.

Always keep in mind... it's the CONCEPT that's important.

I have orchids in Gritty Mix, bulbs in Gritty Mix, my Ledebouria is in Gritty Mix... pretty much everything I grow indoors, or in smaller pots is grown in a rendition of the Gritty Mix... night blooming Cereus, Chalice Vine, Sprekelia, Zephyranthes, Sansevieria, Gloriosa corms, Sinningia corms, a pregnant onion, a ponytail palm, two pots of Epiphyllum, a Hoya, an Avocado start...

I do have a couple of large pots containing trees that I have in the 511... those are grown outdoors, and since they're deciduous, they get placed inside an unheated garage for winter.

My Plumeria is in a rendition of the Gritty Mix... and it's doing great! I still need to do surgery to shorten the trunk, but the plant, itself, is healthy.

Most of my pots are unglazed clay, just a personal preference... though a few are plastic.

We'll be awaiting any questions... and pictures... we love to see pictures!

Best of luck on your new adventure... and remember, there are plenty of people pulling for you... plenty willing to help in any way we can.

Happy Growing!

Orchids need lots of air around their roots. I would not recommend either mix for any orchids. Maybe Phals (511 but cut back on the peat), but never Catts. They grow bare root on trees and rocks.

African Violets could go in the 511 with the peat.

Tomatoes, probably something which holds some moisture so 511? You don't want them drying out to quickly.

Citrus would do well in gritty if you can water frequently. They grow in pure sand in Florida with no mulching. I never water mine.

Hoyas like moisture. I guess 511 but I grow them in a moist potting mix and hang them in trees. They bloom like crazy. Good growth.

I'm guessing you are growing indoors? Do you have a greenhouse?

How are you growing Kale, mustard and tomatoes, indoors outdoors?

It would be good to add your zone to your screen name.

Jane

Plantcrazed, you may want to do a quick reread of your original thread... just to see where it all headed, and ended up... as a small reminder.

then how am I supposed to post? :( I'm trying to ask questions and it just ends up in arguments

No one is discouraging questions. I think Jodik is just advising using caution and common sense.

Especially when considering advice containing specific recommendations about using a particular media for a particular plant, given by people who actively recommend against using said media, and who don't use it themselves...

I grow my Cattleya orchids in a mix closest to the 5-1-1. Same with my Hoyas. My Citrus grow in both mixes, although I prefer the 5-1-1 for my own convenience.

All that said, now is not the time to do major re-potting.

Josh

I guess Jodik is referring to me. Sorry, just trying to give information. No arguments.

Jane

Rooftopbklyn is exactly right... I am definitely saying use caution and common sense... and take what you read with that huge grain of salt, keeping in mind where certain discussions have gone in the past.

It's always wise to ask questions if you need answers... it's weeding through those answers to get at the truth that we're cautioning... that's all.

Josh is also right... this really isn't the time of year for re-potting. The only re-pots I'd do right now would be emergencies, where I have nothing to lose... or I don't mind a loss as an experiment.

As I mentioned at an earlier point, now might be the time to gather and sift ingredients, do more reading, and get everything ready for spring... because it'll be here before you know it. I always complain about winter, because I dislike the cold... but before I know it, I'm back to moving pots outside and preparing for spring again.

I would probably spend a little time reading older threads on Gritty Mix or 511, and get a little better acquainted with what people are doing, and what they're using as substitutes if an ingredient isn't available locally... read about the trials and errors of different growers and how they managed to find success, etc. There's really a ton of great information, good questions and answers buried in a lot of the older threads.

Happy Gardening!

I've been growing orchids and potted plants for a very long time.

Jodik makes me sound like some sort of dangerous person. That's a bit scary.

I'm actually a very nice woman who enjoys growing. Just getting tired of being accused of 'having an agenda.' Why? I'm sharing how I grow. That's it in total.

I would also suggest to anyone interested to check the growing background on all the experts posting constantly, over and over. Truth is how well they grow their plants.

Ask Jodik to share her growing experience, some photos of recent successes, all the plants growing in gritty mix. I have not seen a anything she has grown for years. I would even suspect she is not growing much of anything, yet she seems to have so much knowledge about growing.

The 'proof is in the pudding.'

I don't have any type of agenda nor mission. I just want to offer advice which works for me. Nothing insidious nor pernicious.

Thanks,

Jane

You can bait all you want, Jane... I'm not taking it.

A decade... you've been at this nearly a decade, now, with most of it directed at Al... one might think you'd tire of it... but if you decide to turn all that attention toward me, you'll find yourself having a one-sided conversation... alone.

I'm sorry, but after pretty close to ten years, I've simply had enough of the nonsense... the very typical, expected message board antics one can find anywhere on the web, present on almost every message board there is.

I don't come to this forum to engage in that sort of discourse, so you're on your own, Jane. Let us know if you ever get around to explaining your methodology and how and why it works.

Happy Growing to everyone else...

Hey there bragu very cool!

So you use the gritty mix with a wick? You know I should probably set aside a few more plants just to add the wick to the mix. It would be neat to see all the results. I will check to make sure I have enough of the Mac's Just Jeff AV variety so the genetics are the same :) that will help with the variables.

I'm still planning on doing this experiment, but there has been a set back. I thought I had 6 platelets of Mac's JJ ready to go, but I actually only had 2! So I'm deciding on whether or not I will be putting leaves down to get enough guinea-pig-plants ready for the experiment, or looking for another variety I have lots of extras of.

It has been getting darker with the winter arriving here, so I'll probably be waiting until spring like most everyone suggested when it comes to all the other plants I'm thinking about repotting besides the violets, since they get the same light and temps mostly every day.

Anywho, not sure if anyone is reading this thread but just in case I wanted to post a little update. Once the platelets are up and ready I will probably open a separate thread since I'll be adding wicking to the mix :)

I am comfortable offering the way I grow. I have confidence in the advice I give despite getting 'hammered' each time I write.

Jane