Using espoma organic potting soil
- Thread starter Naturalme
- Start date
Any suggestions
Unwine mentioned he uses a simple organic amended soil (but, doesn't require the 2-3 month composting). If you're looking for a soil that shouldn't require much feeding, that looks interesting. I want to try it sometime.
(I prefer a light soil with little nutrients, and giving nutrients in each watering. But, I'd like to try an organic soil, especially if it doesn't require "cooking" for months. I think he just mixes it together and goes with it.
Maybe. Only way to know is to try it. If it were me, I would do what's already tried. But, I experiment with things too. Depends on what you're trying to accomplish.
whitebb2727
Well-Known Member
I use garden tone in myix. If you follow the directions on the bag it does need to cook for a few weeks.
Mix it a little lighter for quick use and follow the directions for established potted plants. You just sprinkle a little each month and work it into the top of the soil.
Mix it a little lighter for quick use and follow the directions for established potted plants. You just sprinkle a little each month and work it into the top of the soil.
unwine99
Well-Known Member
Yes, it'll work fine -- you could even use the Bio-tone if you wanted go a bit lighter; the Bio-tone is a 4-3-3 and the Plant-tone is a 6-4-4 (*edit* Plant-tone is actually a 5-3-3, not 6-4-4). They actually recommend their tones be used with their soil anyway. Just use 4.5 tbsp of plant-tone per #1 (1 gallon) container full of your potting mix, moisten, and let sit for maybe 3-7 days (ideal, but not necessary) before planting. If you're starting from seed, I would plant into a solo cup of potting mix, minus the plant tone, until your plant has rooted the cup at which point you can plant into a larger pot with the fertilized soil.
Edit: @az2000 I've been screwing with the recipe a little and I've found that I really don't like the 25% compost in the soil; it's too heavy for me. I prefer a lighter, fluffier soil. So this time around I mixed roughly 10 percent castings with 90 percent Pro-mix HP, 1.25 tbsp of dolomite lime per gallon of base, and per the advice of a local garden store owner, I only added two - two and quarter cups of tone per eight gallons of base vs. the three. I used half Garden-tone (3-4-4, 5% Ca, 1% Mg) and half Bio-tone (4-3-3, 3% Ca, 1% Mg) which together kind of tempers the two to one Ca/Mg ratio of the dolomite lime closer to the more ideal three to one.
I'm really liking the rate of growth in the lighter/fluffier soil vs. the heavier, compost laden soil.
And I'm sure if you were ever to give this style of growing a try, you could improve upon it quite a bit, as much as you like to tinker -- aaaaand I would expect any improvements to be relayed promptly. lol
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