I thought I could get away with buying packaged soil, however from all that I'm reading, I need to mix my own! (Just don't like dirt in my fingernails, lol!)
Here's what I have:
Promix
Perlite
Vermiculite
Charcoal
What kind of ratios should I use to mix up a batch? Should I add water if I'm going to keep it in storage for future use?
Thanks, all... all my plants would be dead without you!
Ellen
Soil Mix Ratio
i use about half and have perlite and promix,with charcoal,i leave out the vermiculite,but i used to add it and when i did it was
like this
3 parts pro
2 part perlite
1 part vermiculite
couple of cups of charcoal ( i still add it when i can find it
JIM
Here is the mix I'm going to use to pot up my plants when it's time:
1 gal Canadian Peat
1 gal Vermiculite
1 gal Perlite
1 Tbls Bone Meal
1/4 cup Cow Manure
4 Tbls Domolite
Some Marathon
Jim- why leave out the virmiculite???
Shanika- almost looks like you're making a cake, so many things, lol- looks like a healthy soil:)
LOL, yeah , it does.
just missing cocoa and vanilla, lol
I saw some of those fancy things at Watsons (local nursery) but I was afraid- don't know, I heard worm castings bread mites, so I don't know about bone and manure stuff...
Let us know how your plants turn out (but don't serve them for desert, lol)!
I use:
1/3 cup MG african violet potting mix
1/3 cup perlite
1/3 cup vermiculite
and if I remember I throw in 1/2 cup charcoal
I water the mix when I'm ready to re-pot or when potting leaves.
So far, so good. My violets are going well. So are the few chirita I have.
I still can't grow streps though. I've added more perlite, but still no luck.
All my gessies are on mats in trays. Fertilized with no urea fert. every third time I water. 1/4th strength.
What does charcoal do anyway?
keeps the mix from souring, I think. Quite a few people swear by it, so I try to follow.
the vermiculite hold mosture in,i dont want that with streps
Jim, do you put vermiculite in your AV mix?
sure dont use the same mix for all my gessies and plants for that matter
I'm about to repot several things, and have 2 more questions- thanks!
1- Do you put a layer of perlite at the bottom of the pot?
2- is it better to remove a plant from its current pot when the soil is moist or dry?
Yes you can add perlight to the bottem,will help them drain better, i dont think it matters if its wet or dry,ive done both
JIM