Everyone I know who grows brugs has worked out their own recipe for their soil mixtures. I keep refining mine, and I especially like to hear about different "secret" ingredients.
Please tell us what you find works best.
I'll start it off with what I use:
I recycle soil, unless there has been a disease or fungus problem. So, I usually start with roughly a third recycled potting soil, a third store-bought ground bark (packaged as soil conditioner or planting mix) and a third pine bark mulch (usually mini nuggets, but sometimes shredded bark). If the recycled soil is heavy and dense, I might add some new soilless potting mix (sphagnum moss, perlite, vermiculite, ground bark). I use the pine bark for large containers -- of course, it would be problematic in 4" pots.
I always add bone meal because it's good for roots and blooms. I use maybe two trowels or two big handfuls for my 15-gallon mixing tub. If it the soil is for established brugs, I also add a trowelful of balanced granulated fertilizer -- the highest I can find, usually 13-13-13. If it is for new cuttings, I use only the bone meal.
When I have them, I also add worm castings, Ironite and/or "Essential Minor Elements." Then I water in with either root stimulator or regular liquid fertilizer (20-20-20).
Every four to six weeks (or whenever I remember), I also use Epsom Salts, which gives them a real boost.
What do y'all use?
What Is Your Special Recipe for Brug Soil?
That sounds like a good healthy recipe... I add steer manure and green sand to mine.
I mix 1 to 1 of commercial Potting soil (shredded fir bark, perlite, peat, Redi Grow brand, (cheep stuff) and planting mix (organic chicken manure, bat guanno, peat, oystershells, etc-I can't remember all the ingredients, but it's good stuff, Gardener and Bloom brand), (not so cheep), mix well, then add about 3 (1 gallon containers), of perlite. Mix again. That makes for good drainage. Thats all for the soil.
I also mix my own fertilizer;
1 box blood meal
1 box bone meal
1 box alphalpha (sp?) meal
3 cups systemic rose food (Bayer brand)
1 cup Epson salt
1 cup 16-16-16
As you can see this makes quite a lot of fertilizer, but I use this on most of my plants...everything except things I'll be eating, because of the systemic in there...but all the plants love it.
HTH,
Teresa