I'm so grateful you posted these videos on soil! Started using Gary's top pot for dragon fruit and now acid mix for my roses and they all do well. Thank you
I've started to convert to organic farming by switching all my pots (eventually) to sand/sunshine 4/ pumice! I also started using bloodmeal as per your video, and im very excited to see how happy they will be :)
I've mixed my own potting soils over the years depending on what I'm growing. I've found the commercial mixes all benefit from additional perlite to improve drainage and aeriation, reducing pathogens and rot. After watching your videos I've switched over to Sunshine Mix 4 and have been very pleased with the results. What I've found works really well is a 4:2:1 mix of 4 parts Sunshine mix, 2 parts sand, and 1 part course perlite. I also add some Extreme mycorrhizae to the mix to help boost the beneficial organisms. My garden has a good population of earthworms so I always drop in six into my small pots, more into my large ones to generate worm casting naturally. May try adding a bit of rock phosphate this year to see if it helps boost budding. Thanks again for the great videos!
Very awesome, great tips. I like perlite #4 because of the size. Pumice is another mineral based material that dragons love. I rooted many in 100% pumice last season. I like your ratios
Hey Paul, You have a nice little property there and i always wonder why you plant your dragons in pots rather than directly in the ground like some of the commercial growers do. Do you prefer to plant in pots as it gives you more control of the soil around the plant? Im tossing up whether i should do pots or direct in ground
I got a patio dragon fruit plant I need to transplant soon and I’m getting info overload when it comes to soil. Did I understand correctly that it can be planted in just sand? If do, where will it get nutrients? I use a mixture of either commercial potting mix, perlite, a little compost and worm casting or coco coir, peat moss, worm casting and perlite for most of my plants. Would either of those work and what type of fertilizer should I use?
According to a search drainagd is most important, ideally 6.0 ph: We use a clay soil with compost 50:50. I would bet yours may be too soggy if the pure sand is performing better. A natural habitat soil mix for dragon fruit would closely resemble a well-draining, slightly acidic soil with a mix of sandy soil, organic matter like compost, and added drainage elements like perlite or pumice, mimicking the conditions of their tropical, epiphytic growth where they often cling to trees with minimal soil contact; essentially, a mix prioritizing drainage over high nutrient content.
Great video and analysis. If you top off the pots containing Fox Farm or coconut coir that have declined (in media height), won't you be risking stem rot? I inevitably get potted fruit trees from nurseries that have added "soil" to the top of pots that have compressed and many of them developed stem rot. Now, I remove that topped off "soil", pull the plant out of the pot and put a more permanent media under it to re-establish proper height in the container.
That is a good idea. I believe the pots with worm castings and chunky coconut coir will do ok when I add more of the mixture. They others will get our potting mix and then a fine layer of top dressing with Fox Farms. I’ve seen some plants not rot and get super woody and dense. I happed to pull out a yellow Thai the other day that I stuck in very deep when I started growing dragons. It got very woody. Email me and I’ll send you a picture. I agree with you it’s better to raise the plant if possible instead of adding more media to the pot. Thanks for watching
I have one from home depot for my first plant also and it's the slowest growing and the least cold hardy and the least heat tolerant. I think I should replace it.
Bummer. I tried so hard to get the supplier to fix those labels, but he wouldn’t. They source their cuttings from California farms and Florida farms. FYI 🐉❤️
Hey ! Thanks for the info! Am I missing something, I can go across the street to the beach and just take sand from the beach and put it in pots and use that? Please clear this up for me. How do you feel about the organic cactus palm and citrus mix From Home Depot?
Hi, there is probably salt in your local beach sand. You are better off using washed sand from homedepot or Lowes. Palm and cactus mix has compost. Another option is using sunshine mix #4 or peat moss mixed with sand and pumice.
What can I do with my 4 pots that have only foxfarm in there? They are almost 4 year old. The soil has compressed a lot also and needs to be topped off. What can I do or add?? SOS lol
Don't do what Grafting Dragon Fruti recommends. Top dressing with Top Pot is horrible advice. You are better off removing as much soil as possible and then replacing it with something compost free.
Get a new 55 gallon blue barrel (if used be sure it wasn't filled with chemicals), it needs to have the top cover in place, cut it exactly in half and you will have two very nice and durable 30 gallon pots. Drill holes on the top lip, pass a sturdy rope through them, tie it and you will have nice handles to move them around. Far better and cheaper than any big pot you can buy.
@@TimHoSDWalter Andersen usually has it for 15. If you have a truck, you can buy a cu yd (27 cu ft) for 125 at San pasual valley soils. Way cheaper at least than 5 a cu ft.
If you like Paul's SHIRT and WANT ONE ... HIT THE LINK -- www.teepublic.com/user/rare-dragon-fruit
I think it would look better with the picture on the back or a small one on the top right
I'm so grateful you posted these videos on soil! Started using Gary's top pot for dragon fruit and now acid mix for my roses and they all do well. Thank you
Thanks for posting and providing your soil mixture for dragon fruit plants. Have a great week.
Thank you, you as well
I've started to convert to organic farming by switching all my pots (eventually) to sand/sunshine 4/ pumice! I also started using bloodmeal as per your video, and im very excited to see how happy they will be :)
I've mixed my own potting soils over the years depending on what I'm growing. I've found the commercial mixes all benefit from additional perlite to improve drainage and aeriation, reducing pathogens and rot. After watching your videos I've switched over to Sunshine Mix 4 and have been very pleased with the results. What I've found works really well is a 4:2:1 mix of 4 parts Sunshine mix, 2 parts sand, and 1 part course perlite. I also add some Extreme mycorrhizae to the mix to help boost the beneficial organisms. My garden has a good population of earthworms so I always drop in six into my small pots, more into my large ones to generate worm casting naturally. May try adding a bit of rock phosphate this year to see if it helps boost budding. Thanks again for the great videos!
Very awesome, great tips. I like perlite #4 because of the size. Pumice is another mineral based material that dragons love. I rooted many in 100% pumice last season. I like your ratios
Hi, Perlite or Pumice? Also, doesn't Sunshine Mix #4 already have perlite?
Hey Paul,
You have a nice little property there and i always wonder why you plant your dragons in pots rather than directly in the ground like some of the commercial growers do. Do you prefer to plant in pots as it gives you more control of the soil around the plant?
Im tossing up whether i should do pots or direct in ground
Thank you.
Thanks for watching
I got a patio dragon fruit plant I need to transplant soon and I’m getting info overload when it comes to soil. Did I understand correctly that it can be planted in just sand? If do, where will it get nutrients? I use a mixture of either commercial potting mix, perlite, a little compost and worm casting or coco coir, peat moss, worm casting and perlite for most of my plants. Would either of those work and what type of fertilizer should I use?
This helps, thank you!
Thanks for watching
Looking amazing! 🐉🔥
Much appreciated
I really like it works really well for me.
Excellent!
According to a search drainagd is most important, ideally 6.0 ph: We use a clay soil with compost 50:50. I would bet yours may be too soggy if the pure sand is performing better.
A natural habitat soil mix for dragon fruit would closely resemble a well-draining, slightly acidic soil with a mix of sandy soil, organic matter like compost, and added drainage elements like perlite or pumice, mimicking the conditions of their tropical, epiphytic growth where they often cling to trees with minimal soil contact; essentially, a mix prioritizing drainage over high nutrient content.
Top dress with compost like nature. Don’t mix it in your potting soil. Other than that, you are on track
Great video and analysis. If you top off the pots containing Fox Farm or coconut coir that have declined (in media height), won't you be risking stem rot? I inevitably get potted fruit trees from nurseries that have added "soil" to the top of pots that have compressed and many of them developed stem rot. Now, I remove that topped off "soil", pull the plant out of the pot and put a more permanent media under it to re-establish proper height in the container.
That is a good idea. I believe the pots with worm castings and chunky coconut coir will do ok when I add more of the mixture. They others will get our potting mix and then a fine layer of top dressing with Fox Farms. I’ve seen some plants not rot and get super woody and dense. I happed to pull out a yellow Thai the other day that I stuck in very deep when I started growing dragons. It got very woody. Email me and I’ll send you a picture. I agree with you it’s better to raise the plant if possible instead of adding more media to the pot. Thanks for watching
I have one from home depot for my first plant also and it's the slowest growing and the least cold hardy and the least heat tolerant. I think I should replace it.
Bummer. I tried so hard to get the supplier to fix those labels, but he wouldn’t. They source their cuttings from California farms and Florida farms. FYI 🐉❤️
I ordered pumice and when received, it was 1/2 inch. Looks too big should I use it anyway?
Sounds like a big size, should be fine.
I would also like to buy the sunshine mix 4, but I live in the Netherlands and we don't have that, is there another alternative that I could buy?😔
You can make your own. Peat moss, pumice, perlite and sand are great for dragons.
Interessante
Gracias!
Hey ! Thanks for the info! Am I missing something, I can go across the street to the beach and just take sand from the beach and put it in pots and use that? Please clear this up for me. How do you feel about the organic cactus palm and citrus mix
From
Home Depot?
Hi, there is probably salt in your local beach sand. You are better off using washed sand from homedepot or Lowes. Palm and cactus mix has compost. Another option is using sunshine mix #4 or peat moss mixed with sand and pumice.
What can I do with my 4 pots that have only foxfarm in there? They are almost 4 year old. The soil has compressed a lot also and needs to be topped off. What can I do or add??
SOS lol
Don't do what Grafting Dragon Fruti recommends. Top dressing with Top Pot is horrible advice. You are better off removing as much soil as possible and then replacing it with something compost free.
Where do you source your 25gal pots from ?? Would ❤️ ones with handles. I can’t find any other then fabric ones which I don’t trust
Get a new 55 gallon blue barrel (if used be sure it wasn't filled with chemicals), it needs to have the top cover in place, cut it exactly in half and you will have two very nice and durable 30 gallon pots. Drill holes on the top lip, pass a sturdy rope through them, tie it and you will have nice handles to move them around. Far better and cheaper than any big pot you can buy.
I use 20 and 25 gallon pots. I get them from a local hyrdoponics store. Nursery's have them too around here
Hi Paul, a year ago you mixed peat moss, sand, and Sunshine Mix #4. Now you recommend just Pumice+Sunshine Mix #4? TIA
Both work well,but if I had to pick only one, I ‘d use the 3 ingredients
Paul, where did you get the Uni-Gro Pumice in San Diego? TIA
Walter Anderson Nursery or Green Thumb usually have it in stock.
@@RAREDRAGONFRUIT Got some at Green Thumb San Macros, $20/1cuft Thanks!
@@TimHoSDWalter Andersen usually has it for 15. If you have a truck, you can buy a cu yd (27 cu ft) for 125 at San pasual valley soils. Way cheaper at least than 5 a cu ft.
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How many inches had the bad Fox Farms pots dropped over 3 years?
About the same as the coconut coir and worm castings. The plants at the end of the video had soil all the way up to the top of the pots.
You have so many variables going on this is confusing....
Sunshine Mix #4/ Peat Moss
Sand
Pumice
Bio char
Worm castings