was it a high bargain to get rid of last years stock?

ken

Nope. It had recently arrived and I wanted to do something related to gardening 2024. (I was actually expecting this Berger to be in the compressed bale format but the nursery received only the bags)

It is always good to be prepared...and to give us something to look forward to in the midst of winter.

Hey 'peren' it is definitely the latter reason :). (Although I do recall during COVID that plant material and the like were in short supply)

• Berger soil mixes are some of the best on the market these days, the results are usually uniform healthy plants. The name Berger is fun to say, my source told me it is a soft "g". Not everyone carries their products and the best alternative for me has been the Fafard general potting soil mix, it is a slightly richer and denser medium than Berger - sometimes I mix in a little extra dampened peat moss and some extra perlite to open it up a bit and make it go farther. For many many years I used the Promix brand, they have changed their soil formulas and they aren't what they used to be. As a teenager I helped unload a semi truck that was full of FROZEN 3.8 sq foot bales of Promix. It was me and two Amish boys - it took several days to unload the truck and stack the bales in a heated headhouse that was located next to the greenhouses. I did that for 3 - 4 yrs and my back has never been the same from all of the lifting.
• I have learned to be a pretty good soil bag stacker myself, my precision is still amazingly good, as a kid I could do it fairly quickly, now it is done at about half the speed, but not half fast.

Berger soil mixes are some of the best on the market these days

That and it is a Canadian company (last I checked).

Wow, already?

Hi everyone,

Likewise, I never heard of Berger, regardless of how it is pronounced. I had stocked up on several bales of ProMix BX a couple of years ago and am on my last bale at present.

At one time, I considered trying to grow in containers of pure Perlite and purchased a big bale of it (a BIG bag of well over a cubic yard) and discovered that it had a lot of fines and was NOT horticultural grade Perlite and it was intended for insulating attics or other parts of new construction or possibly incorporation in concrete, so the local supplier agreed to take it back and refund. I still wonder how well a horticultural grade of pure Perlite might perform as a growing medium. I may experiment with a single pot of it. I think I still have a bag of Perlite somewhere.

ZM

Wow, 2 bucks a bag!?!

I can't imagine 100% perlite being a practical option as a growing medium -- it would dry out before you even turn around, the plants would need constant attention to watering.

Hi mxk3,

You are probably right about the Perlite not being water-retentive enough to serve as a growing medium alone. Maybe a mix of Vermiculite and Perlite might do the trick. Unfortunately, I don't have a bag of Vermiculite handy, so I will scrap the idea.

ZM

"... Wow, 2 bucks a bag!?! ..."

LOL, my thoughts exactly!!

I am dreadfully behind this year already. Usually have my bale(s) of Pro Mix, have my seeds sown and outside already... This year, no Pro Mix and even worse, I haven't even ORDERED my seeds yet! Haven't even cracked open a catalog yet. Gosh I need more hours in the day....

:)

Dee

Yes, believe it: $2 a bag! I love a deal. They had them at that price for a few weeks too, before putting them away. I couldn't believe there wasn't a stampede, but I think at that time buying garden stuff was the furthest from people's minds. I went back twice. They had specialized turf soil, etc., as well; same price - I usually don't buy that but I figured why not at that price, for overseeding my small grass walkway. Plus of course grass seed, lawn fertilizer...all cheap. This is at one of the big nurseries close to me. There's another one which some time around Easter often has a sale on their triple mix bags - usually 4 for $10. I have to watch for that one like a hawk, because you usually only see that price there on one weekend of the year.

Thought of you just now! I bought mine, and have just stacked it out back. Ready to go!

We always get potted soil from Costco when it is on sale in spring (March usually).