How To Make Potting Soil Mix For Container Gardening, Self Watering Pots, Grow Bags And Soil Blocks
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Published 2022-05-20
Feel free to share this video with anyone who may find it useful.
Correction: 2:47 If you are using a bale of compressed peat like I have in the video, it expands to more than 3 cubic feet. For 3 cubic feet of compressed peat you should add 2 cups of dolomite, instead of 1.5 cups of dolomite.
Here are links for many of the products I use in my vegetable garden. Note that a lot of these items, like the fertilizers and the trays/saucers, have gotten much more expensive lately (like everything else). I shop around to find the best prices on the items and if I can't find something at a reasonable price then I will just do without or find a substitute):
7 Gallon Grow Bags: amzn.to/2XaJ1mp
5 Gallon Grow Bags: amzn.to/3ht2wNP
10 Gallon Grow Bags: amzn.to/3k4WpkB
14 Inch Diameter Grow Bag Trays/Saucers: amzn.to/3tAkzqc
16 Inch Diameter Grow Bag Trays/Saucers: amzn.to/3AiP724
Sustane Organic Fertilizer (4-6-4) 20 lb Bag: amzn.to/3lztPHJ
or
Jobe’s Organic Fertilizer (4-4-4): amzn.to/3EdxeV2
or
Espoma Organic Fertilizer (3-4-4): amzn.to/3EbvJ9P
For Berries: Espoma Berry-tone Organic Fertilizer (4-3-4): amzn.to/3jlD8dA
In addition to the above fertilizers I occasionally use these seaweed and fish fertilizers to give my plants a boost of nutrients. I also use some of the seaweed fertilizer (half-strength) on my seedlings right after I transplant them (Note: I don’t use fertilizers with fish in them for seedlings):
Maxicrop Seaweed Fertilizer (Powder): amzn.to/3uWO9ak
Maxicrop Seaweed Fertilizer (Liquid): amzn.to/37uA0JJ
Neptune's Harvest Tomato & Veg Fertilizer 2-4-2 (Note: this formula is best for first few weeks of plant growth, as it encourages lots of green leafy growth. For fruiting/flowering plants, I switch to the Rose & Flowering formula after the first few weeks. Also, this contains fish and the smell attracts animals, which will dig up the plants trying to find the source of the fish smell, so I use it early in day and water it in just before dark to minimize the smell). amzn.to/3r8OJ40
Neptune's Harvest Rose & Flowering Formula 2-6-4 (Note: this formula is best for later stages of plant growth to encourage more flowers and fruit to grow. This formula also contains fish so everything I said above about attracting animals applies to this formula too). amzn.to/3KqBino
The Following Organic Soil Amendments Add Trace Minerals To The Soil.
Green Sand (Organic Soil Amendment Adds Trace Minerals): amzn.to/3z5uG7B
Kelp Meal (Organic Soil Amendment Adds Trace Minerals): amzn.to/3tz2lFH
Dolomite Lime: amzn.to/3CbclIl
Self-Watering Grow Boxes:
Patio Pickers: amzn.to/3vrhHhW
or
Earthbox: amzn.to/39VfsaX
Row Cover (This is a multipurpose plant covering that can protect plants from insects, provide some cold protection in winter, and can also provide a small amount of shade): amzn.to/3nreXh5
Drip Irrigation: amzn.to/3uzbhuV
All Comments (21)
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When I lived in Virginia and used to mix large batches of soil mix, I bought a cheap blue square tarp spread out my peat then my first layer. I mixed them together by picking up one corner and tumbling the content back toward the middle. After lifting each corner, I would take the back of a garden rake or a hoe and spread it back out and add another layer of amendment, tumble it back to the center and repeat. As I aged it was a lot easier on my back than being bent over turning it with a shovel. 😁👵
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Great video I’m going to try your mix this season
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Nice mix! Thanks!
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Thank you for the comprehensive guide!
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Thanks for sharing your knowledge and keep your videos coming please.
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Well done!
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Thanks for sharing 🙏 😎 🏖 🏝
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this is great! thank you! :)
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Very nice and informative video. I have a questions, i live in texas, where temperature is very high during summer, i want to grow vegetables in container in my backyard, so is this an ideal recipe for potting soil? What about black cow brand manure? Some says it's very good for plants. Please help me with your advice. Thanks❤😊
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Thanks.
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Thank you for the video and detailed explanation! Can I substitute perlite with play sand?
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Great informative video! One note, the 3 cubic feet of peat moss you have is compressed(I have the same one). Web says it can expand “up to 6 cubic feet”. Something to keep in mind to anyone who gets non-compressed peat moss following the recipe mix.
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Hi Elizabeth, I have been watching your videos which I really appreciate. I have my tomato seedlings growing inside, and want to transplant them soon. What size grow bags would you recommend❓What vegetables do you prefer to grow in grow bags❓ Wouldn’t the biggest grow bags work for most or all veggies and tomatoes? THANK YOU‼️
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This fantastic. Thank you! ---- I'm growing cucumber with the, so 6.5 would be a good ph to my knowledge. I have the same lime that you have. Would 2 cups be enough to make the soil a little less acidic? Does that sound reasonable? Or more?
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Thank you for this. I’m in SWFL and it’s nice to see how-to’s for FL gardeners as gardening down here is definitely different than gardening anywhere else. I find my biggest problem is the humidity/water retention in my containers… the TOP of my 5 gallon buckets can be dry while the bottom 1/3 is wet with algae growth on the side—even with like 10 1/4-1/2 inch drainage holes in the bottom AND sitting on elevated bleachers! Any thoughts on why and what I can try to remedy that?
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What would you do different for strawberries, if anything.. Very nice video.. I just found your channel..
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I wonder if you could use a compost tumbler to mix the ingredients?
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Ratios would be very helpful.
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I am in 10b Palm Beach County, great video and information! I can’t bring myself to use any mushroom or manure based compost due to the grazon problem spreading even into some commercial mixes. Otherwise, I loved every bit of this except that your neck hurt. ❤️
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Rain in Florida 🤣I live in central Florida we get a lot of rain
