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potting mix frustration
hello,
my first gripe - modern potting mix just seems to be useless!! stuff does not grow in it properly!! (i fully expect my one potted tomato to drop dead shortly. it's perfectly healthy for now, but with my new set against Modern Potting Mix, it surely cannot last!!) my second gripe is that my last batch had mites in it(!!) i was having a bit of a bad day so i used it anyway, but the cuttings died & when i pulled them out there were maggoty things in there. (baby mites, i'm assuming.) now i don't know what to do about the rest of it. i don't want to spread mites. if i cook it in the oven, will the mix still be any use afterwards? should i cook it in the oven (or pour boiling water on it) & just dump it & try the other bag instead? (which, being Modern Potting Mix, won't be any use either whether it has mites or not g. ) or are mites quite all right in small quantities in a garden? on the bright side (i've finished griping now ;-) we have two loquat (i believe) trees, which we've essentially ignored. today i realised one has some ripe fruit! we ate one - it was fabulous!! so now i feel rather silly that i never even watered the poor things - not even once - we might have had more fruit (it only had 5 - ahem). the only, i might add, fruit we'll probably get from any of our trees this season, as the frost killed off all the peaches, apples, etc. next year i am going to do my best to ensure loquats a go go, they're fantastic (and apparently frost proof). and furthermore, our second crop of willy wagtail babies has just been born (in the aforementioned loquat tree - it might not have many fruits, but is producing baby willy wagtails quite well g. you'd think with all my willy wagtail watching, i'd have noticed a few fruits before now, wouldn't you?) kylie |
potting mix frustration
Hi Kylie, congrats on the willy wagtail babies!! A huge butcher bird keeps
eating mine...very sad. As for potting mix, the only stuff I've had any luck with (I even use it for Bonsai plus other stuff of course) is spent mushroom compost; a bag from Big W is about $8 I think? My modern potting mix is horrible and won't grow a thing either. Give the mushroom stuff a go. Did you manage to get hold of my dad? "0tterbot" wrote in message ... hello, my first gripe - modern potting mix just seems to be useless!! stuff does not grow in it properly!! (i fully expect my one potted tomato to drop dead shortly. it's perfectly healthy for now, but with my new set against Modern Potting Mix, it surely cannot last!!) my second gripe is that my last batch had mites in it(!!) i was having a bit of a bad day so i used it anyway, but the cuttings died & when i pulled them out there were maggoty things in there. (baby mites, i'm assuming.) now i don't know what to do about the rest of it. i don't want to spread mites. if i cook it in the oven, will the mix still be any use afterwards? should i cook it in the oven (or pour boiling water on it) & just dump it & try the other bag instead? (which, being Modern Potting Mix, won't be any use either whether it has mites or not g. ) or are mites quite all right in small quantities in a garden? on the bright side (i've finished griping now ;-) we have two loquat (i believe) trees, which we've essentially ignored. today i realised one has some ripe fruit! we ate one - it was fabulous!! so now i feel rather silly that i never even watered the poor things - not even once - we might have had more fruit (it only had 5 - ahem). the only, i might add, fruit we'll probably get from any of our trees this season, as the frost killed off all the peaches, apples, etc. next year i am going to do my best to ensure loquats a go go, they're fantastic (and apparently frost proof). and furthermore, our second crop of willy wagtail babies has just been born (in the aforementioned loquat tree - it might not have many fruits, but is producing baby willy wagtails quite well g. you'd think with all my willy wagtail watching, i'd have noticed a few fruits before now, wouldn't you?) kylie |
potting mix frustration
On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 12:18:30 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote:
hello, my first gripe - modern potting mix just seems to be useless!! stuff does not grow in it properly!! (i fully expect my one potted tomato to drop dead shortly. it's perfectly healthy for now, but with my new set against Modern Potting Mix, it surely cannot last!!) my second gripe is that my last batch had mites in it(!!) i was having a bit of a bad day so i used it anyway, but the cuttings died & when i pulled them out there were maggoty things in there. (baby mites, i'm assuming.) now i don't know what to do about the rest of it. i don't want to spread mites. if i cook it in the oven, will the mix still be any use afterwards? should i cook it in the oven (or pour boiling water on it) & just dump it & try the other bag instead? (which, being Modern Potting Mix, won't be any use either whether it has mites or not g. ) or are mites quite all right in small quantities in a garden? on the bright side (i've finished griping now ;-) we have two loquat (i believe) trees, which we've essentially ignored. today i realised one has some ripe fruit! we ate one - it was fabulous!! so now i feel rather silly that i never even watered the poor things - not even once - we might have had more fruit (it only had 5 - ahem). the only, i might add, fruit we'll probably get from any of our trees this season, as the frost killed off all the peaches, apples, etc. next year i am going to do my best to ensure loquats a go go, they're fantastic (and apparently frost proof). and furthermore, our second crop of willy wagtail babies has just been born (in the aforementioned loquat tree - it might not have many fruits, but is producing baby willy wagtails quite well g. you'd think with all my willy wagtail watching, i'd have noticed a few fruits before now, wouldn't you?) kylie What brand are you buying? If you get the cheap brands as sold by supermarkets, then expect problems. I've found Debco and Amgrow brands to be very good. |
potting mix frustration
|
potting mix frustration
"meeee" wrote in message
... Hi Kylie, congrats on the willy wagtail babies!! A huge butcher bird keeps eating mine...very sad. As for potting mix, the only stuff I've had any luck with (I even use it for Bonsai plus other stuff of course) is spent mushroom compost; a bag from Big W is about $8 I think? My modern potting mix is horrible and won't grow a thing either. Give the mushroom stuff a go. Did you manage to get hold of my dad? i haven't tried yet! i had this idea of contacting him for some tips after hippie solar dude visits us - well, mainly i'm just very disorganised, i think! do be sure to tell him not to _wait_ for me g. sorry about that. thanks for the mushroom tip! i've been thinking about getting some after reading through (parts of) garden len's site, & other sites where people sing its praises, (& also it is cheap!) i feel a bit more inclined to track some down now & see what it's like. there's no way it could be worse than some of the crap i've had recently. thanks!! kylie |
potting mix frustration
wrote in message
... On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 12:18:30 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote: hello, my first gripe - modern potting mix just seems to be useless!! stuff does not grow in it properly!! (i fully expect my one potted tomato to drop dead shortly. it's perfectly healthy for now, but with my new set against Modern Potting Mix, it surely cannot last!!) my second gripe is that my last batch had mites in it(!!) i was having a bit of a bad day so i used it anyway, but the cuttings died & when i pulled them out there were maggoty things in there. (baby mites, i'm assuming.) now i don't know what to do about the rest of it. i don't want to spread mites. if i cook it in the oven, will the mix still be any use afterwards? should i cook it in the oven (or pour boiling water on it) & just dump it & try the other bag instead? (which, being Modern Potting Mix, won't be any use either whether it has mites or not g. ) or are mites quite all right in small quantities in a garden? on the bright side (i've finished griping now ;-) we have two loquat (i believe) trees, which we've essentially ignored. today i realised one has some ripe fruit! we ate one - it was fabulous!! so now i feel rather silly that i never even watered the poor things - not even once - we might have had more fruit (it only had 5 - ahem). the only, i might add, fruit we'll probably get from any of our trees this season, as the frost killed off all the peaches, apples, etc. next year i am going to do my best to ensure loquats a go go, they're fantastic (and apparently frost proof). and furthermore, our second crop of willy wagtail babies has just been born (in the aforementioned loquat tree - it might not have many fruits, but is producing baby willy wagtails quite well g. you'd think with all my willy wagtail watching, i'd have noticed a few fruits before now, wouldn't you?) kylie What brand are you buying? If you get the cheap brands as sold by supermarkets, then expect problems. I've found Debco and Amgrow brands to be very good. the batch with mites (any ideas about that, btw?) is amgrow, funnily enough :-) not sure if i've ever had debco or not, but it's just that for the last 10 years or so, i haven't been able to get _any_ that's nice, squishy & loamy like one used to get. i've got it from various sources, including that made at one of the "resource centres" (or whatever it is they call the tip these days) in canberra, & it's all the same - full of woodchips with barely any dirt-type stuff, dry & nasty. the "good" stuff seems no better than cheapie supermarket stuff i (must have) bought at times. some i used while at a propogation course at the c.i.t. (like tafe) in canberra, they made themselves & it was much nicer, i must say. i asked our teacher who confirmed that the recipe for potting mix has, in her experience, totally changed in recent times - it's "meant" now to be more of a holding medium than a soil. the big problem i have with it atm, as i don't have any potted plants at all atm (except one tomato) is that i grow seeds in it, & they come up & it's all good for a while, but then the seedlings just stop growing, but they're often not big enough to plant out yet. some i have repotted afresh & they have another go, others i just put out into the garden & hope for the best despite their tininess. those that live, once in the garden recover completely & start going gangbusters. am i doing something wrong? kylie |
potting mix frustration
"0tterbot" wrote in message ... "meeee" wrote in message ... Hi Kylie, congrats on the willy wagtail babies!! A huge butcher bird keeps eating mine...very sad. As for potting mix, the only stuff I've had any luck with (I even use it for Bonsai plus other stuff of course) is spent mushroom compost; a bag from Big W is about $8 I think? My modern potting mix is horrible and won't grow a thing either. Give the mushroom stuff a go. Did you manage to get hold of my dad? i haven't tried yet! i had this idea of contacting him for some tips after hippie solar dude visits us - well, mainly i'm just very disorganised, i think! do be sure to tell him not to _wait_ for me g. sorry about that. thanks for the mushroom tip! i've been thinking about getting some after reading through (parts of) garden len's site, & other sites where people sing its praises, (& also it is cheap!) i feel a bit more inclined to track some down now & see what it's like. there's no way it could be worse than some of the crap i've had recently. thanks!! kylie Absolutely! I used some once to mix some bonsai potting mix, and noticed the change in the trees, so now I use it for everything. See if you can track down a local mushroom farm as they sell it cheapetr than Big W. Dad won't mind when you contact him, he's not exactly the most time conscious person either....probably a better idea to chat to hippie solar dude about what you want to do first anyway. |
potting mix frustration
Yeah, you cannot be sure youve got the whole pot watered properly
The only way to make ssure is to dunk the pot into a larger container full of water. A lot of these potting mixes are water resistant, they reject water untill its forced into the porers of the "pine bark" or whatever they use, therefor hard to make water stay.Debco use those water crystals, making it better but still more expensive. BTW most potting mixes still need to have trace elemnets added to them so the things can start building cells. Thats another story... 0tterbot wrote: wrote in message ... On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 12:18:30 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote: hello, my first gripe - modern potting mix just seems to be useless!! stuff does not grow in it properly!! (i fully expect my one potted tomato to drop dead shortly. it's perfectly healthy for now, but with my new set against Modern Potting Mix, it surely cannot last!!) my second gripe is that my last batch had mites in it(!!) i was having a bit of a bad day so i used it anyway, but the cuttings died & when i pulled them out there were maggoty things in there. (baby mites, i'm assuming.) now i don't know what to do about the rest of it. i don't want to spread mites. if i cook it in the oven, will the mix still be any use afterwards? should i cook it in the oven (or pour boiling water on it) & just dump it & try the other bag instead? (which, being Modern Potting Mix, won't be any use either whether it has mites or not g. ) or are mites quite all right in small quantities in a garden? on the bright side (i've finished griping now ;-) we have two loquat (i believe) trees, which we've essentially ignored. today i realised one has some ripe fruit! we ate one - it was fabulous!! so now i feel rather silly that i never even watered the poor things - not even once - we might have had more fruit (it only had 5 - ahem). the only, i might add, fruit we'll probably get from any of our trees this season, as the frost killed off all the peaches, apples, etc. next year i am going to do my best to ensure loquats a go go, they're fantastic (and apparently frost proof). and furthermore, our second crop of willy wagtail babies has just been born (in the aforementioned loquat tree - it might not have many fruits, but is producing baby willy wagtails quite well g. you'd think with all my willy wagtail watching, i'd have noticed a few fruits before now, wouldn't you?) kylie What brand are you buying? If you get the cheap brands as sold by supermarkets, then expect problems. I've found Debco and Amgrow brands to be very good. the batch with mites (any ideas about that, btw?) is amgrow, funnily enough :-) not sure if i've ever had debco or not, but it's just that for the last 10 years or so, i haven't been able to get _any_ that's nice, squishy & loamy like one used to get. i've got it from various sources, including that made at one of the "resource centres" (or whatever it is they call the tip these days) in canberra, & it's all the same - full of woodchips with barely any dirt-type stuff, dry & nasty. the "good" stuff seems no better than cheapie supermarket stuff i (must have) bought at times. some i used while at a propogation course at the c.i.t. (like tafe) in canberra, they made themselves & it was much nicer, i must say. i asked our teacher who confirmed that the recipe for potting mix has, in her experience, totally changed in recent times - it's "meant" now to be more of a holding medium than a soil. the big problem i have with it atm, as i don't have any potted plants at all atm (except one tomato) is that i grow seeds in it, & they come up & it's all good for a while, but then the seedlings just stop growing, but they're often not big enough to plant out yet. some i have repotted afresh & they have another go, others i just put out into the garden & hope for the best despite their tininess. those that live, once in the garden recover completely & start going gangbusters. am i doing something wrong? kylie |
potting mix frustration
Damn my spellcheckers on strike
Jonno wrote:Yeah, you cannot be sure youve got the whole pot watered properly The only way to make sure is to dunk the pot into a larger container full of water. A lot of these potting mixes are water resistant, they reject water until its forced into the porers of the "pine bark" or whatever they use, therefor hard to make water stay. Debco use those water crystals, making it better but still more expensive. BTW most potting mixes (Debco is OK) still need to have trace elements added to them so the things can start building cells. Thats another story... 0tterbot wrote: wrote in message ... On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 12:18:30 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote: hello, my first gripe - modern potting mix just seems to be useless!! stuff does not grow in it properly!! (i fully expect my one potted tomato to drop dead shortly. it's perfectly healthy for now, but with my new set against Modern Potting Mix, it surely cannot last!!) my second gripe is that my last batch had mites in it(!!) i was having a bit of a bad day so i used it anyway, but the cuttings died & when i pulled them out there were maggoty things in there. (baby mites, i'm assuming.) now i don't know what to do about the rest of it. i don't want to spread mites. if i cook it in the oven, will the mix still be any use afterwards? should i cook it in the oven (or pour boiling water on it) & just dump it & try the other bag instead? (which, being Modern Potting Mix, won't be any use either whether it has mites or not g. ) or are mites quite all right in small quantities in a garden? on the bright side (i've finished griping now ;-) we have two loquat (i believe) trees, which we've essentially ignored. today i realised one has some ripe fruit! we ate one - it was fabulous!! so now i feel rather silly that i never even watered the poor things - not even once - we might have had more fruit (it only had 5 - ahem). the only, i might add, fruit we'll probably get from any of our trees this season, as the frost killed off all the peaches, apples, etc. next year i am going to do my best to ensure loquats a go go, they're fantastic (and apparently frost proof). and furthermore, our second crop of willy wagtail babies has just been born (in the aforementioned loquat tree - it might not have many fruits, but is producing baby willy wagtails quite well g. you'd think with all my willy wagtail watching, i'd have noticed a few fruits before now, wouldn't you?) kylie What brand are you buying? If you get the cheap brands as sold by supermarkets, then expect problems. I've found Debco and Amgrow brands to be very good. the batch with mites (any ideas about that, btw?) is amgrow, funnily enough :-) not sure if i've ever had debco or not, but it's just that for the last 10 years or so, i haven't been able to get _any_ that's nice, squishy & loamy like one used to get. i've got it from various sources, including that made at one of the "resource centres" (or whatever it is they call the tip these days) in canberra, & it's all the same - full of woodchips with barely any dirt-type stuff, dry & nasty. the "good" stuff seems no better than cheapie supermarket stuff i (must have) bought at times. some i used while at a propogation course at the c.i.t. (like tafe) in canberra, they made themselves & it was much nicer, i must say. i asked our teacher who confirmed that the recipe for potting mix has, in her experience, totally changed in recent times - it's "meant" now to be more of a holding medium than a soil. the big problem i have with it atm, as i don't have any potted plants at all atm (except one tomato) is that i grow seeds in it, & they come up & it's all good for a while, but then the seedlings just stop growing, but they're often not big enough to plant out yet. some i have repotted afresh & they have another go, others i just put out into the garden & hope for the best despite their tininess. those that live, once in the garden recover completely & start going gangbusters. am i doing something wrong? kylie |
potting mix frustration
Jonno wrote:
Damn my spellcheckers on strike Jonno wrote:Yeah, you cannot be sure youve got the whole pot watered properly The only way to make sure is to dunk the pot into a larger container full of water. A lot of these potting mixes are water resistant, they reject water until its forced into the pores of the "pine bark" or whatever they use, therefor hard to make water stay. Debco use those water crystals, making it better but still more expensive. BTW most potting mixes (Debco is OK) still need to have trace elements added to them so the things can start building cells. Thats another story... 0tterbot wrote: wrote in message ... On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 12:18:30 GMT, "0tterbot" wrote: hello, my first gripe - modern potting mix just seems to be useless!! stuff does not grow in it properly!! (i fully expect my one potted tomato to drop dead shortly. it's perfectly healthy for now, but with my new set against Modern Potting Mix, it surely cannot last!!) my second gripe is that my last batch had mites in it(!!) i was having a bit of a bad day so i used it anyway, but the cuttings died & when i pulled them out there were maggoty things in there. (baby mites, i'm assuming.) now i don't know what to do about the rest of it. i don't want to spread mites. if i cook it in the oven, will the mix still be any use afterwards? should i cook it in the oven (or pour boiling water on it) & just dump it & try the other bag instead? (which, being Modern Potting Mix, won't be any use either whether it has mites or not g. ) or are mites quite all right in small quantities in a garden? on the bright side (i've finished griping now ;-) we have two loquat (i believe) trees, which we've essentially ignored. today i realised one has some ripe fruit! we ate one - it was fabulous!! so now i feel rather silly that i never even watered the poor things - not even once - we might have had more fruit (it only had 5 - ahem). the only, i might add, fruit we'll probably get from any of our trees this season, as the frost killed off all the peaches, apples, etc. next year i am going to do my best to ensure loquats a go go, they're fantastic (and apparently frost proof). and furthermore, our second crop of willy wagtail babies has just been born (in the aforementioned loquat tree - it might not have many fruits, but is producing baby willy wagtails quite well g. you'd think with all my willy wagtail watching, i'd have noticed a few fruits before now, wouldn't you?) kylie What brand are you buying? If you get the cheap brands as sold by supermarkets, then expect problems. I've found Debco and Amgrow brands to be very good. the batch with mites (any ideas about that, btw?) is amgrow, funnily enough :-) not sure if i've ever had debco or not, but it's just that for the last 10 years or so, i haven't been able to get _any_ that's nice, squishy & loamy like one used to get. i've got it from various sources, including that made at one of the "resource centres" (or whatever it is they call the tip these days) in canberra, & it's all the same - full of woodchips with barely any dirt-type stuff, dry & nasty. the "good" stuff seems no better than cheapie supermarket stuff i (must have) bought at times. some i used while at a propogation course at the c.i.t. (like tafe) in canberra, they made themselves & it was much nicer, i must say. i asked our teacher who confirmed that the recipe for potting mix has, in her experience, totally changed in recent times - it's "meant" now to be more of a holding medium than a soil. the big problem i have with it atm, as i don't have any potted plants at all atm (except one tomato) is that i grow seeds in it, & they come up & it's all good for a while, but then the seedlings just stop growing, but they're often not big enough to plant out yet. some i have repotted afresh & they have another go, others i just put out into the garden & hope for the best despite their tininess. those that live, once in the garden recover completely & start going gangbusters. am i doing something wrong? kylie |
potting mix frustration
wrote in message
I've found Debco and Amgrow brands to be very good. I've also found Debco Terracotta and Tub to be good. |
potting mix frustration
"0tterbot" wrote in message
... the big problem i have with it atm, as i don't have any potted plants at all atm (except one tomato) is that i grow seeds in it, & they come up & it's all good for a while, but then the seedlings just stop growing, To grow seeds you need a seed raising mix and not a potting mix. It can be bought at garden centres in similar plastic bags but it's quite different to potting mix. |
potting mix frustration
Farm1 wrote:
To grow seeds you need a seed raising mix and not a potting mix. It can be bought at garden centres in similar plastic bags but it's quite different to potting mix. Hi Farm1, I've got a lotta seeds I want to start (not now, next year) and I'm wondering what is different in seed raising mix? No wonder I didn't have much luck with the last lot of seeds! I used potting mix and probably not even a very good one. Thanks. |
potting mix frustration
Linda H wrote:
Farm1 wrote: To grow seeds you need a seed raising mix and not a potting mix. It can be bought at garden centres in similar plastic bags but it's quite different to potting mix. Hi Farm1, I've got a lotta seeds I want to start (not now, next year) and I'm wondering what is different in seed raising mix? No wonder I didn't have much luck with the last lot of seeds! I used potting mix and probably not even a very good one. Thanks. All the info you need, plus hints and all you do is add water.... http://www.greenharvest.com.au/seeds...sing_info.html http://www.selfsufficientish.com/seeds.htm |
potting mix frustration
"Linda H" wrote in message
Farm1 wrote: To grow seeds you need a seed raising mix and not a potting mix. It can be bought at garden centres in similar plastic bags but it's quite different to potting mix. Hi Farm1, I've got a lotta seeds I want to start (not now, next year) and I'm wondering what is different in seed raising mix? You can make your own if you have access to sand and buy some of those compressed fibre blocks that you put into a bucket of water to soak and then expand (made of coconut fibre or something like that) add soem vermiculite too if you are using bigger seeds but not if you are sowing fine seeds also add a minute amount of blood and bone but not much. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I buy it but first time round it might pay you to buy some so you can see what it looks like so you can make it up later. Don't use jiffy pots - a waste of tiem I've found. No wonder I didn't have much luck with the last lot of seeds! I used potting mix Not fine enough for anything but big seeds like say broad bean seeds but then you'd be sowing those direct anyway. |
potting mix frustration
Farm1 wrote:
You can make your own if you have access to sand and buy some of those compressed fibre blocks that you put into a bucket of water to soak and then expand (made of coconut fibre or something like that) add soem vermiculite too if you are using bigger seeds but not if you are sowing fine seeds also add a minute amount of blood and bone but not much. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I buy it but first time round it might pay you to buy some so you can see what it looks like so you can make it up later. Don't use jiffy pots - a waste of tiem I've found. Not fine enough for anything but big seeds like say broad bean seeds but then you'd be sowing those direct anyway. Thanks so much. Now I just have to find this thread again when I need it! |
potting mix frustration
In article ,
Linda H wrote: To grow seeds you need a seed raising mix and not a potting mix. It can be bought at garden centres in similar plastic bags but it's quite different to potting mix. Hi Farm1, I've got a lotta seeds I want to start (not now, next year) and I'm wondering what is different in seed raising mix? It is much finer in texture, so that the baby plants can push through it. I suspect it probably holds water a bit better too. -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled." Kerry Cue |
potting mix frustration
In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote: my first gripe - modern potting mix just seems to be useless!! stuff does not grow in it properly!! (i fully expect my one potted tomato to drop dead shortly. it's perfectly healthy for now, but with my new set against Modern Potting Mix, it surely cannot last!!) It comes without fertiliser. Add some. -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled." Kerry Cue |
potting mix frustration
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message
... "0tterbot" wrote in message ... the big problem i have with it atm, as i don't have any potted plants at all atm (except one tomato) is that i grow seeds in it, & they come up & it's all good for a while, but then the seedlings just stop growing, To grow seeds you need a seed raising mix and not a potting mix. It can be bought at garden centres in similar plastic bags but it's quite different to potting mix. but afaik the only difference is seed mix is finer! like i said i have no problems with the seeds coming up - it's the bit after that i don't like. am i misinformed? i have asked people about this, & they all say that it's finer, but there's no other difference. i have, however, taken on board chookie's suggestion to give it vitamins :-) no doubt that will help. kylie |
potting mix frustration
"0tterbot" wrote in message
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message "0tterbot" wrote in message the big problem i have with it atm, as i don't have any potted plants at all atm (except one tomato) is that i grow seeds in it, & they come up & it's all good for a while, but then the seedlings just stop growing, To grow seeds you need a seed raising mix and not a potting mix. It can be bought at garden centres in similar plastic bags but it's quite different to potting mix. but afaik the only difference is seed mix is finer! like i said i have no problems with the seeds coming up - it's the bit after that i don't like. am i misinformed? i have asked people about this, & they all say that it's finer, but there's no other difference. No, it's a different mix. Potting mix (nowadays) is made from pine bark (some bits finer than others) with different things added such as water crystals and long life fertiliser (it looks like small coloured beads in the mix). The really cheap stuff is vitually pure pine bark and is not good. Seed raising mix has sand in it and perlite/vermicultite and coir fibre and it also has some nutrients as well. http://www.yates.com.au/Products/Pot...urposePottingM ix/ThriveSeedRaising.asp I did a bit of a hunt for you on how to mix various seed an potting mixes and found these sites which may help you: http://www.yates.com.au/Products/Pot...urposePottingM ix/ThriveSeedRaising.asp http://www.selfsufficientish.com/seeds.htm But back to t he problem you're having with the seeds living. At what stage does this happen? could they be dieing from a damping off problem? i have, however, taken on board chookie's suggestion to give it vitamins :-) Chookie suggested adding "vitamins" to the potting mix you are using. Since the brand of potting mix you are using isn't working this would be worth a try as would adding water crystals and something like a granular food that becomes soluble over a long time - I think Osmacote is such a brand. Most of the cheaper brands seem to mostly be pulverised pine bark and I can't imagine anything doing well in them but givent hat it will cost you to add all these essential ingredients it may just be cheaper int eh long run to buy a good quality potting mix and be done with it. I now buy Debco Terracotta and Tub all the time as it seems to be a good product and I've had no problems with it. |
potting mix frustration
I hate to gloat, but I drive past a mushroom farm every day - I can pick up
spent compost for $32 pm - or $3 per bag - straight out of the growing room - complete with mushrooms, and more that pop up for the next few days. But yes, it is fabulous stuff - even makes good mulch. It dries out quite quickly if spread over the surface, then breaks down slowly over a few months - and NO Weeds :-) Cheers, Geoff "meeee" wrote in message ... "0tterbot" wrote in message ... "meeee" wrote in message ... Hi Kylie, congrats on the willy wagtail babies!! A huge butcher bird keeps eating mine...very sad. As for potting mix, the only stuff I've had any luck with (I even use it for Bonsai plus other stuff of course) is spent mushroom compost; a bag from Big W is about $8 I think? My modern potting mix is horrible and won't grow a thing either. Give the mushroom stuff a go. Did you manage to get hold of my dad? i haven't tried yet! i had this idea of contacting him for some tips after hippie solar dude visits us - well, mainly i'm just very disorganised, i think! do be sure to tell him not to _wait_ for me g. sorry about that. thanks for the mushroom tip! i've been thinking about getting some after reading through (parts of) garden len's site, & other sites where people sing its praises, (& also it is cheap!) i feel a bit more inclined to track some down now & see what it's like. there's no way it could be worse than some of the crap i've had recently. thanks!! kylie Absolutely! I used some once to mix some bonsai potting mix, and noticed the change in the trees, so now I use it for everything. See if you can track down a local mushroom farm as they sell it cheapetr than Big W. Dad won't mind when you contact him, he's not exactly the most time conscious person either....probably a better idea to chat to hippie solar dude about what you want to do first anyway. |
potting mix frustration
On Wed, 20 Dec 2006 20:15:57 +1100, "Geoff & Heather"
wrote: I hate to gloat, but I drive past a mushroom farm every day - I can pick up spent compost for $32 pm - or $3 per bag - straight out of the growing room - complete with mushrooms, and more that pop up for the next few days. But yes, it is fabulous stuff - even makes good mulch. It dries out quite quickly if spread over the surface, then breaks down slowly over a few months - and NO Weeds :-) Cheers, Geoff Let me be the first to say "I'm JEALOUS". You lucky spud, you. Tish |
potting mix frustration
I hate you. I tried to get mushrooms from my Big W bag but no go...the
*******s must have sterilized it so you have to pay for their Mushroom Growing Kit....can I come and live with you? there's not a mushroom farm anywhere up here, probably too hot. "Geoff & Heather" wrote in message ... I hate to gloat, but I drive past a mushroom farm every day - I can pick up spent compost for $32 pm - or $3 per bag - straight out of the growing room - complete with mushrooms, and more that pop up for the next few days. But yes, it is fabulous stuff - even makes good mulch. It dries out quite quickly if spread over the surface, then breaks down slowly over a few months - and NO Weeds :-) Cheers, Geoff "meeee" wrote in message ... "0tterbot" wrote in message ... "meeee" wrote in message ... Hi Kylie, congrats on the willy wagtail babies!! A huge butcher bird keeps eating mine...very sad. As for potting mix, the only stuff I've had any luck with (I even use it for Bonsai plus other stuff of course) is spent mushroom compost; a bag from Big W is about $8 I think? My modern potting mix is horrible and won't grow a thing either. Give the mushroom stuff a go. Did you manage to get hold of my dad? i haven't tried yet! i had this idea of contacting him for some tips after hippie solar dude visits us - well, mainly i'm just very disorganised, i think! do be sure to tell him not to _wait_ for me g. sorry about that. thanks for the mushroom tip! i've been thinking about getting some after reading through (parts of) garden len's site, & other sites where people sing its praises, (& also it is cheap!) i feel a bit more inclined to track some down now & see what it's like. there's no way it could be worse than some of the crap i've had recently. thanks!! kylie Absolutely! I used some once to mix some bonsai potting mix, and noticed the change in the trees, so now I use it for everything. See if you can track down a local mushroom farm as they sell it cheapetr than Big W. Dad won't mind when you contact him, he's not exactly the most time conscious person either....probably a better idea to chat to hippie solar dude about what you want to do first anyway. |
potting mix frustration
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message
... No, it's a different mix. Potting mix (nowadays) is made from pine bark you're not wrong there! (some bits finer than others) with different things added such as water crystals and long life fertiliser (it looks like small coloured beads in the mix). The really cheap stuff is vitually pure pine bark and is not good. Seed raising mix has sand in it and perlite/vermicultite and coir fibre and it also has some nutrients as well. http://www.yates.com.au/Products/Pot...urposePottingM ix/ThriveSeedRaising.asp I did a bit of a hunt for you on how to mix various seed an potting mixes and found these sites which may help you: http://www.yates.com.au/Products/Pot...urposePottingM ix/ThriveSeedRaising.asp http://www.selfsufficientish.com/seeds.htm thanks, farm! selfsufficientish is a good site, eh. (i have not had time to get through it all, of course). But back to t he problem you're having with the seeds living. At what stage does this happen? could they be dieing from a damping off problem? no.... where it's happened was about the 4 leaf stage. they'd just sit there, not growing, & not really dying either. then things like hot days or whatnot would wipe them out, or, i'd think "i'll plant them out & they'll have to take their chances". overall, planting out helped those which survived the ministrations of the wingless grasshoppers. either way, they lived or were eaten, so that was that, i was happy :-) some of the lack of growth in mix might have been my fault, but then, it's not possible for it _only_ to have been my fault! tomatoes, a prime example. out of one billion seeds planted, only four got to the point where they were even big enough to pot on. the rest just lingered in a state of suspended animation. some others were basil, comfrey, echinacea, celery, broccoli. there were others too, not coming to my addled pre-xmas mind just atm. i have, however, taken on board chookie's suggestion to give it vitamins :-) Chookie suggested adding "vitamins" to the potting mix you are using. Since the brand of potting mix you are using isn't working this would be worth a try as would adding water crystals and something like a granular food that becomes soluble over a long time - I think Osmacote is such a brand. Most of the cheaper brands seem to mostly be pulverised pine bark and I can't imagine anything doing well in them but givent hat it will cost you to add all these essential ingredients it may just be cheaper int eh long run to buy a good quality potting mix and be done with it. I now buy Debco Terracotta and Tub all the time as it seems to be a good product and I've had no problems with it. i can try debco, prior to giving up entirely :-) i haven't been impressed with amgrow, that's for sure. & i'll try to do the right thing & get some seed mix, & see if that helps in future. thanks!! kylie |
potting mix frustration
"0tterbot" wrote in message
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message But back to t he problem you're having with the seeds living. At what stage does this happen? could they be dieing from a damping off problem? no.... where it's happened was about the 4 leaf stage. they'd just sit there, not growing, & not really dying either. That sounds like a nutrient problem. I think that the previous suggestions to add some fertiliser might fix that problem - nothing will grow in pine bark even if it's well rotted pine bark. then things like hot days or whatnot would wipe them out, Well, we've all been there at some stage :-)) But add some of the water crystals and see if that improves things or try the Debco stuff or one of the other expensive brands or mix your own. I resent the prices I have to pay but I found the cheap stuff was so ghastly and was really a "non growing" media that I think of that every time I shell out a small fortune for a few bags of the Debco. I now recycle spent potting mix by adding both water crystals and fertiliser. or, i'd think "i'll plant them out & they'll have to take their chances". overall, planting out helped those which survived the ministrations of the wingless grasshoppers. either way, they lived or were eaten, so that was that, i was happy :-) Do you use a weak seaweed emulsion when you plant them out? I've found this is a good trick to help transplanted seedlings survive. some of the lack of growth in mix might have been my fault, but then, it's not possible for it _only_ to have been my fault! No. I think its more likely to be the brand you're using. tomatoes, a prime example. out of one billion seeds planted, only four got to the point where they were even big enough to pot on. the rest just lingered in a state of suspended animation. some others were basil, comfrey, echinacea, celery, broccoli. there were others too, not coming to my addled pre-xmas mi nd just atm. I think you've just defined the 'non growing' factor I mentioned :-)) i have, however, taken on board chookie's suggestion to give it vitamins :-) Chookie suggested adding "vitamins" to the potting mix you are using. Since the brand of potting mix you are using isn't working this would be worth a try as would adding water crystals and something like a granular food that becomes soluble over a long time - I think Osmacote is such a brand. Most of the cheaper brands seem to mostly be pulverised pine bark and I can't imagine anything doing well in them but givent hat it will cost you to add all these essential ingredients it may just be cheaper int eh long run to buy a good quality potting mix and be done with it. I now buy Debco Terracotta and Tub all the time as it seems to be a good product and I've had no problems with it. i can try debco, prior to giving up entirely :-) i haven't been impressed with amgrow, that's for sure. & i'll try to do the right thing & get some seed mix, & see if that helps in future. thanks!! Good luck! |
potting mix frustration
Farm1 wrote:
"0tterbot" wrote in message "Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message But back to t he problem you're having with the seeds living. At what stage does this happen? could they be dieing from a damping off problem? no.... where it's happened was about the 4 leaf stage. they'd just sit there, not growing, & not really dying either. That sounds like a nutrient problem. I think that the previous suggestions to add some fertiliser might fix that problem - nothing will grow in pine bark even if it's well rotted pine bark. then things like hot days or whatnot would wipe them out, Well, we've all been there at some stage :-)) But add some of the water crystals and see if that improves things or try the Debco stuff or one of the other expensive brands or mix your own. I resent the prices I have to pay but I found the cheap stuff was so ghastly and was really a "non growing" media that I think of that every time I shell out a small fortune for a few bags of the Debco. I now recycle spent potting mix by adding both water crystals and fertiliser. or, i'd think "i'll plant them out & they'll have to take their chances". overall, planting out helped those which survived the ministrations of the wingless grasshoppers. either way, they lived or were eaten, so that was that, i was happy :-) Do you use a weak seaweed emulsion when you plant them out? I've found this is a good trick to help transplanted seedlings survive. some of the lack of growth in mix might have been my fault, but then, it's not possible for it _only_ to have been my fault! No. I think its more likely to be the brand you're using. tomatoes, a prime example. out of one billion seeds planted, only four got to the point where they were even big enough to pot on. the rest just lingered in a state of suspended animation. some others were basil, comfrey, echinacea, celery, broccoli. there were others too, not coming to my addled pre-xmas mi nd just atm. I think you've just defined the 'non growing' factor I mentioned :-)) i have, however, taken on board chookie's suggestion to give it vitamins :-) Chookie suggested adding "vitamins" to the potting mix you are using. Since the brand of potting mix you are using isn't working this would be worth a try as would adding water crystals and something like a granular food that becomes soluble over a long time - I think Osmacote is such a brand. Most of the cheaper brands seem to mostly be pulverised pine bark and I can't imagine anything doing well in them but givent hat it will cost you to add all these essential ingredients it may just be cheaper int eh long run to buy a good quality potting mix and be done with it. I now buy Debco Terracotta and Tub all the time as it seems to be a good product and I've had no problems with it. i can try debco, prior to giving up entirely :-) i haven't been impressed with amgrow, that's for sure. & i'll try to do the right thing & get some seed mix, & see if that helps in future. thanks!! Good luck! You cant beat making your own by having an great aerated 44 gallon drum filled with all your goodies, adding lime and fowl manure, waiting for 12 months or so and it comes out nice and crumbly. I pulled apart an old concrete incinerator and used this and unfortunately sent it to the tip last month, but the stuff I pulled out of it was 2000 % better than anything I could have brought. I may be prone to exageration a times , but this stuff is now growing some great water melons and rock melons. Its not nice encouraging Debco by paying them exorbitant prices for something that you can grow your self for free. |
potting mix frustration
"Jonno" wrote in message
Farm1 wrote: "0tterbot" wrote in message But add some of the water crystals and see if that improves things or try the Debco stuff or one of the other expensive brands or mix your own. I resent the prices I have to pay but I found the cheap stuff was so ghastly and was really a "non growing" media that I think of that every time I shell out a small fortune for a few bags of the Debco. I now recycle spent potting mix by adding both water crystals and fertiliser. i can try debco, prior to giving up entirely :-) You cant beat making your own by having an great aerated 44 gallon drum filled with all your goodies, adding lime and fowl manure, waiting for 12 months or so and it comes out nice and crumbly. I pulled apart an old concrete incinerator and used this and unfortunately sent it to the tip last month, but the stuff I pulled out of it was 2000 % better than anything I could have brought. I may be prone to exageration a times , but this stuff is now growing some great water melons and rock melons. Its not nice encouraging Debco by paying them exorbitant prices for something that you can grow your self for free. Nice? Nice is really not relevant here. Kylie has a problem right now and I would assume that since she's asking questions now, she doesn't want to wait a year to produce the wonderful potting mix you've made (and this thread has also mentioned already how she can make her own potting mix). And why woud you be growing water and rock melons in potting mix anyway? Wouldn't they be better in the ground? |
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