?'s about creating our own soil / potting mix

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jannz2 Pilot Point, TX(Zone 7b) Apr 25, 2010

...was reading through a few of the eBucket / container gardening threads and picked up on the discussion about creating our own soil/potting mix. I've been buying so many bags of 'dirt' lately it sure would be nice to make my own. However, I only want to attempt this IF it's NOT a back breaker. [ Any money I'd save on making dirt would be paid to the chiropractor otherwise!]

Couple of questions....

RE: Ed -- you said...

Quoting:

All my veggie growing is entirely organic. My potting... er... mix is unusual. Many years ago it was 2 parts potting soil, 2 parts organic compost and 1 part sand or something similar. By now, it looks a lot like high quality topsoil... a very rich dark loam.

At the end of each growing season it gets "refreshed". I mix 4 parts of it with 1 part of grass clippings/chopped leaves/coffee grounds. Each layer also gets about a tablespoon of pelletized dolomitic limestone. I dump it into plastic dustbins (with air and drainage holes drilled in) or into a big pile. It composts from late November.

...............

-->> How big are these "plastic dustbins" ..??....

Also... "leaf mold" was mentioned in a thread about composting. Is this just the process that happens to "leaves" when they decompose..??.. I have a heavily wooded lot...so consequently LOTS of leaves come 'FALL' . Do you just bag-up the leaves and let them decompose ..??..

............

I've seen those composting barrels advertised in the gardening magazines that have a crank handle to turn them....they seem kinda' expensive for what you get..??...

Comments...


Jann

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HoneybeeNC Charlotte, NC(Zone 7b) Apr 25, 2010

I haven't heard the word "dustbin" since I left my birth-place - England. - A dustbin is a trash can, Jann.

As to a recipe to make your own soil - you have to work with what you can get locally. If I could get free horse manure, or any other kind of animal manure, that would be top of my list.

I mostly work with decomposed leaves because I live in a wooded neighborhood. I spread them out and let the earthworms turn them into worm castings. Other leaves are shredded together with grass and added to the compost bin. I compost kitchen scraps, I purchase coco coir and mix it with compost. As long as what you end up with is a dark color, smells good, breaks apart easily when damp, the individual ingredients don't matter.

I have two compost bins, but unfortunately, the company I purchased them from went out of business :(

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