Soil for brugs

I certainly should have asked this question before the weekend, but.....I put my largest Brug in a much larger container.
Shards on the bottom and a mixture of potting soil and compost to fill. Okay?

Sounds good to me. Keep in a place that is protected from direct sun during the hotter parts of the day.

Sounds good as long as you have good drainage and it's not the moisture retaining kind. I cut the potting soil with quite a bit of perlite to increase drainage.

Hi Linda, I use Supersoil myself, But I know other's use Miracle grow or any good regular potting mix. I agree with Lois, you don't want any of those that have moisture retaining stuff added.

The compost can hold a lot of moisture, so without extra drainage material that mix may be borderline considering we're heading into winter. Are you able to keep yours outdoors all winter there?
I'm sure it will be fine, but if the plant is not in a period of vigorous growth, then you might want to be very careful with watering, maybe letting it get a little drier before you water, also protect it from excess winter rain if it's outdoors. :)
- Tom

Yes, they are all outside all winter. We rarely freeze here (except last year). The potting mix I bought was from American Soil and Stone. I should own stock in them!

Tell me about it! The Uncle Malcom's potting soil I use is $10.99 for 1.5 cubic feet. You'd think there was gold dust in it. LOL

With good compost it should be OK but the problem with "potting soil" is it can be anything. No way to tell from one brand to another how much water it holds, the pH or what nutrients are in it. One local brand produced by a nursery near me has so much clay in it, it's useless for most immature plants.

"Potting mix" is different.

I use PRO-MIX 'BX'/MYCORISE potting mix for everything (there are other similiar brands). It is pH neutralized and contains peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, a wetting agent and endomycorrhizal fungi (which helps plants take up nutrients). I got it for my main crop--heirloom tomatoes which can have dampering off and other difficulties--but it works great combined with decomposed cow manure and a little garden soil for my solitary brug (in a 15 gallon grow-bag) and other potted plants. Be even better I think with your compost (I don't have any made or I would use that instead of buying the decomposed cow manure). A 3.8 cu ft compressed bag isn't that expensive. I like it also because its consistent and lets me evaluate what is added to it. With potting mix instead of potting soil you know what the base line is and if a plant takes off (or doesn't) you know its not the fault of the potting mix (which has only micronutrients).

This message was edited Oct 16, 2007 8:11 PM