Potting mix recipes wanted

I am hoping someone can help me figure out an easy way to make my own potting mix. I did so much seedling rescue this Summer that it only made sense to stop buying expensive bags of potting soil. Instead, I got a bale of peat (would have been happier if coir had been available locally), a large bag of perlite, and a load of compost.
My question is, what proportions of these should I put together, and what else (and how much of it) should I add to make it work well (ie. lime, organic amendments, and/or osmocote, sand)? I want to mix up a wheelbarrow load at a time. I have used gallon size nursery pots to scoop and measure my ingredients, but I really have been guessing about how much to use.

Next question: For starting cuttings what should I put them in after dipping in root stimulant?

I saw some recipes in one of my magazines. I will try to find it.

Thanks Lynn. That would be a help.

MHF - there are recipes on the soil & compost forum. I will try to locate & get the links for you.

my $.02 on coir: I bought several bales & I will return to using peat.

It is expensive - I could not locate a local source, so I bought online.

It irritates my eyes like nothing ever has before - I discovered this not while working with it (like mixing it in with other amendments), but every time i watered my hanging baskets. As the water works its way through the medium, it pushes out the air which contains microscopic fibers of the coir. Because the hanging baskets are at eye level, it makes for some miserable eyeballs.
I have not found that it results in better plant growth, but I would have to trial it again at least twice before I pass judgement.
I also mixed it into my raised beds with native (but amended) soil. I think it's best suited for container culture. Again, no measurable results, but my soil is pretty nice to begin with. I would hesitate mixing it into the top layer of anything, as once it dries out, it's not so easy to rehydrate.

I will try to find those links for you.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/796311/

This one is a great read - Al (Tapla) explains things well & is fairly thorough. the mix that he creates has components that are not difficult to locate in western WA. I have to scrub my brain to remember where the other links are - probably Container Gardening & Vegetable Gardening. When I find, I'll post...

This message was edited Aug 24, 2009 9:41 PM

That is an interesting read with very scientific explanations. It will take me several times reading through to absorb, but it is good to know the reasons behind what you mix together to make an effective potting soil

Holly, Hosta Jim knows lots about, soils.

I realize I'm a long way from you and conditions here are radically different, but I've a keen interest in potting soil and amendments because we have what was once beach sand here. Here is my recipe. I use this for pots, planting in the ground, and side-dressing in flowerbeds. I'm done a lot of experimentation and absolutely love this mix.

I mix in a tote (which I push around on a converted lawnmower base):
twenty pounds of potting soil (a lovely dark mix with a lot of bark)
ten pounds of black cow
ten pounds of mushroom compost
four big handfuls of chopped up leaves (with leaf mold if I've collected it)
maybe a third of a shovelful of ash/charcoal (earthworms for some reason love charcoal
several shovelfuls (usually six to eight) of our sand
a third of a five gallon bucket of our homemade compost

I've never cared for the coir. I did try peat in different proportions for some months, but eventually gave it up because I think the mushroom compost fills the bill.