I put the link in the message. Perhaps that doesn't come through for you. http://macgardens.org/?p=3610 — jw On Aug 14, 2013, at 7:34 AM, Shoal Creek Succulents <group@shoalcreeksucculents.com> wrote: > Hi John-Where is your blog? > > Best regards, Lisa > > -----Original Message----- > From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] > On Behalf Of John Willis > Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2013 9:14 PM > To: Pacific Bulb Society > Subject: Re: [pbs] potting media/dry stall - mixing it?2 > > Hi there, for what it's worth I just finished mixing up 40 cubic feet of > assorted good things for my new alpine bed using a cement mixer that I > bought from Lowes. I looked at various options including used items on > craig's list but in the end I wanted something that was likely to work for > many loads. Even this is a lot of manual labor but it beats trying to mix > the ingredients in a wheelbarrow. I used chicken grit for the gravel in two > sizes (starter and developer) from the local farmer's coop, topsoil bought > in bulk and dumped in the pasture, miracle gro potting mix, and a good > general purpose sand bought by the bag from a local nursery. The details > are on my blog. > > > On Aug 9, 2013, at 5:48 PM, Ceridwen Lloyd <ceridwen@internode.on.net> > wrote: > >> Hi all, >> Forgive me if this has already been discussed (I haven't yet had time >> to read all messages in this thread) - what do you use as a soil >> mixer? (The commercial nursery ones look excellent but I suspect my >> husband would protest.) Shovelling into a wheelbarrow is ok but slow >> and hard on my weedy old shoulders. An ODJOB or sealed bucket type >> looks too heavy to lift if it were of any useful size, so I was >> wondering whether a conventional cement mixer would do the trick? I am >> leaning more and more toward mixing my own after finding all kinds of >> crud in commercial mix (half inch chunks of laminated particle board, >> various plastics, etc) which also grows an evil-smelling mould on top >> of it when in a lidded container, which I'm in no mood to >> inhale...another thread no doubt) Cheers Ceridwen (Just potted up >> Alophia lahue from FIRST EVER seed received, yay) >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> On 09/08/2013, at 9:57 PM, "Shoal Creek Succulents" > <group@shoalcreeksucculents.com> wrote: >> >>> Thanks to everyone for responses and this new chain. >>> >>> I use a similar mix; although - Monica- yours is much more involved. >>> If it wouldn't be too much trouble - would you mind notating each >>> component's purpose? >>> >>> I believe pumice & turface are added for moisture, aeration, CEC and >>> to reduce soil compaction; so why add the sand? >>> >>> How big is your mixer, 5 gallon, 10 gallon? And would you share how >>> much of each item on your minor mix? >>> >>> For top dressing my plants, I found crushed granite at our local Farm >>> & Fleet store for $4.49 for a 50 pound bag. >>> >>> As soon as I can locate all of the items in bulk at a low cost; I >>> will start making my own mix. I am still using an organic mix and >>> adding to it. Same as you; I vary the components based on the >>> individual needs of the plant to be potted. >>> >>> Thanks again - very thought provoking. Until now; I never realized >>> how expensive my commercially bought mix was - compared to making a >>> better mix myself at a lower cost. >>> >>> Best regards, Lisa >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org >>> [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] >>> On Behalf Of Monica Swartz >>> Sent: Monday, August 05, 2013 5:30 PM >>> To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >>> Subject: Re: [pbs] potting media >>> >>> I use DryStall as my pumice source. It is cheaper and easier than >>> importing a truckload of Pumice to Texas. I am often asked about my >>> potting ingredients. For potting most plants, my basic mix is: >>> 1 part pumice (DryStall), >>> 1 part sand, >>> 1 part Turface MVP (I love this stuff, I also root cuttings in pure >>> Turface), >>> 1 part Diatomite (Napa Floor Dry 8822, but other Auto parts chains >>> have their own brands of the same thing), >>> 1 part organic (usually a locally produced cactus mix). >>> This all goes into a cheap electric cement mixer along with a scoop >>> of a mix of my minor ingredients which include Azomite, humic acid, >>> bone meal, blood meal, cottonseed meal, 9 month osmocote, systemic >>> fungicide, granular imidacloprid, inoculums, etc. >>> It takes less than 5 minutes to make a big batch that is stored in >>> big plastic boxes with lids. When potting I add ingredients to this >>> base to tailor the mix for the needs of each plant. I use big metal >>> bowls from a restaurant supply. It's like cooking, a pinch of this >>> and that as I go. The objective of this potting "personalization" is >>> to have a healthy collection of plants that can all be watered at the >>> same time no matter where they are from. It takes no special >>> knowledge about the plants to water them, my house-sitter can do it, >>> or even my husband. If a plant is in no-water dormancy, it is moved >>> into the garage, out of range of the hose. This system has created a >>> surprising amount of freedom to take long worry-free vacations, and >>> the plants are very happy and embarrassingly fecund. The PBS BX/SX is one > beneficiary. >>> m >>> _______________________________________________ >>> pbs mailing list >>> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> pbs mailing list >>> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >> _______________________________________________ >> pbs mailing list >> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > Gardens get wilder every day... > http://www.macgardens.org/ > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ Gardens get wilder every day... http://www.macgardens.org/