It is good to know the changes needed in the soil specifically for potting plants; no fine sand, instead use small pebbles and no wood. No wonder now why my potted plants were less than great. Your mules are a great asset to your videos, they're adorable. Take care!
He's wrong though - any "browns" (bark included) absorb nitrogen. Then they rot, and become soil; the nitrogen is only temporarily unavailable to plants. And wood contains potassium and phosphorus, as well as calcium and a bunch of micronutrients. Not disputing any of what he says about potting mix, but rotted wood has its uses.
I used old conveyors belts to cover the walkways in my raised bed gardens and cover those with 6 inches of bark mulch or wood chips and in about two years it deteriorates into rich black soil that I then scoop up mix with composted leaves and add to my raised beds.
Yea the back to eden video is amazing!! i've also done piles of leaves and just running over them with the lawn mower every two weeks and in the spring its dark beautiful dirt! I learned about it from an organic farming video. Thanks for your videos!
Thats how you give out information straight to the point no flashing emojis or needless music just straight up info, even his cell phone going off didn't stop him
thank you. that was just what I needed to hear. I'm on a tropical island and making my own potting mix. my next question is going to be about micro nutrients. I tend to move around a lot hear so I'm doing a lot of container gardening now. kinda new to me.
GOD be with you ! thanks Mike ! I also watched your video on the differences between mulch as I was lacking knowledge on the subject. After I bought some black mulch, before I opened it I did some research. I returned the unopened black mulch to Walmart and bought some pine bark mulch ! I live in south Florida. From this video, I think I'm close to the right path as I am planning to use the pine bark mulch as part of an indoor and outdoor soil ! thanks for all the knowledge! GOD bless and Glory to GOD !
Extremely helpful. I'd considered the tree chips but not now. Here in Ga. DeKalb & Fulton Counties (both in the Atlanta area), process garden trim such as leaves etc. They then process it by heating somehow whereby it turns black. It's free for the taking but I've seen a lot of bark in it which didn't break down. I've saved quite a bit in big containers so now I'm going to put it out till it breaks down more, as you instructed. Think I'm going to watch this a couple more times so that it stays in my head and I do it the right way. Thanks again.
Excellent information in this video. I have fruit trees on large containers and I noticed they were not doing too well in the potting soil I got from local hardware store.
Your videos popped up on my feed & glad it did. I want to start propagating for my personal use & you share many interesting ways. Never to old to learn 👵🏻👩🌾❣️
I buy the bagged Garden Soil from big box stores and it looks like shredded wood and there is usually some fertilizer or chicken litter added. This stuff works well for in-ground gardening to build the soil. I recently read on a forum where people were adding pine bark to reuse potting mix and it was an effective growing medium... Those wood chips will take years to break down, although Back to Eden can be misleading due to other factors based upon your area and the amount of rainfall.
Thanks, Mike. I moved to Dancing Rabbit Eco Village about a year ag. This year was my first year vegetable gardening but I have always wanted to grow my own food. A large grarden space has landed in my lap and I now have 18 large raised beds, about 10 feet long by 4 feet wide. I also have 3 smaller beds right next to my house. I am trying to gather as much info. as I can to prepare for next year. We have qa dairy farm just down the road, so I should be able to get cow manure to ammend the beds. They need it badly. I am in Missouri and on a piece of land that was overfarmed for many many years. We have this clay soil, that takes a lot fo work to dig in, so I know the veggies have to be having a hard time pushing their roots through it. I am looking for anything I can add that will loosen it up as well as add nutrients. I have gotten wood chip mulch for the paths, but I know that cannot be mixed inthe soil or it will strip it of nutrients. I will ask them and other places if anyone makes bark Mulch.
Thanks, Mike! Good advice and clarification. Like you, I also use wood chips from a tree service as mulch around shrubbery and trees. It eventually breaks down, but takes a few years. Meanwhile, it reduces the weed growth and makes pulling the ones that do pop up easy. I use about 3-4 inches worth of chips. They’re great if you can get them for free, which is hit and miss from my experience. Keep up the good work, Mike!
This is the type of soil /mulch im using now to stretch my current potting soil needs, I've been adding use coffee grounds to break down the bigger wood pieces.
Great information Mike. Thank you = ) When I start the gardening section of my channel sometime over the next 12 months I will be sure to reference you.
Winner of a video, I have been researching "how do i choose potting soil?" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you heard people talk about - Fonillian Uncomplex Future - (do a google search )? It is a good exclusive product for discovering how to add breathtaking landscaping designs to your home minus the hard work. Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my m8 got great success with it.
The sand part reconfirms what I was thinking. Might help with drainage, loosen hard soils and add weight so pots don't tip, but fills in air pockets and suffocates the roots.
All the greenhouse grow houses I have visited use a non soil, non organic anything - most use Promix or Coir peat so they don’t introduce pests, bacteria,fungi. etc. They are running nutrient mixes at proper ph so they can regulate growth.
sir your work is very impressive all the formulation is shown at screen as well as you are speaking is the batter way. i m waiting of your new vedio with written slide
We use pine fines mini nuggets very good stuff . I am in NC we buy it 90 yards at a time . I also run a tree service so I got lots of chipps . But as you said we let that stuff compost for at least 4 years and roll it a few times a year .
I'm getting wood chips just for a top layer like people use straw. It won't take the nitrogen out of the soil if it's on top and not mixed in. Also if you rot it separately, it will get enough nitrogen from whatever it can suck it from. Trust me.
Sand, Silt and Clay. Sand is the biggest particle of the three and is excellent in drainage. Best potting soil for me is 50% peat moss and 50% Perlite with a wetting agent. Use sand if you don't have perlite or want the pot to be heavier. Excellent drainage and holds fertilizers in well. Our city water has a PH of 8.1 so with the acidic peat moss it buffers to about 6.8 to 7.2. With all the lowes and homedepot soil I always get root rot.
Moss / perlite is what I've settled on, too. Was mixing sand into potting mix before. Finally bothered to learn about the individual components. I read about people doing 1:1:1 with vermiculite but my problem has always been drowning plants to death and I can't understand why people would want to retain extra moisture.
Sand drains well, but it holds air very poorly. It is not even close to having the same properties as perlite. Weigh 5 gallons of perlite and 5 gallons of sand. There have been many studies on this. Sand will help break up Clay soils, but do nothing to ad air. Adding Sand is as an old wives tale. Also it's not used as a hydroponic medium due to that same fact
How about COCONUT COIR as a substitute for the peat moss ? Would 50% COCO COIR , 50% SAND work well ? I also heard that very little organic matter (i.e. compost , fertilizers etc) are needed ; maybe as little as 1-3 % . Have you heard anything about this ? Thanks so much !!!
Peat or Coco, good ,broken down compost, vermicompost (3rd of each, give or take) and a little bit of organic fert. will make an excellent container mix. Mulch on top to retain moisture in heat. Vermicompost tea is also very good and can help keep insects at bay. Use Fish emulsion or similar (depending on plant) as necessary. If you have the space, buying by the 1/2 yard or yard is very cost effective. Azomite would also be an excellent addition. I only use sand for my Carnivorous plant mixes.
Great info. Lots of pine bark here in Southeast Texas. Problem I found is the "pine bark" is full of strips of pine tree. I buy pine bark nuggets then ground them up to suitable size. Extra work. Lots of soil mixes here will have strips of oak wood in it that will encourage fungi growth and have mushrooms in your pots. Not good. I have to start with straight top soil, ground up pine bark nuggets, a "little" peat moss, and mix in my composted Live Oak leaves soil. I'm on a very small scale focused on growing native trees.
Hi Mike! I can't wait to join your Backyard Growers Bus. Center! Firstly, thank you SO MUCH for all you do!! I was hoping to find out.. when will I be able to join Backyard Growers as a new member? It says reg opens in June 2021 so I just don't want to miss out! Also, I'm in zone 9b (Las Vegas) and I was wondering if you could give me any guidance on what I might be able to use for potting mixes (specifically, in such a dry, hot climate)? Thank you so much again for your time & wisdom! You aren't just "a man in overalls"... You are "THE MAN in overalls" :) Erica
I know a lot of farmers say that wood mulch will rob nutrients from the soil. It's not that much and once the wood breaks back down it will release those nutrients it robbed. They don't just disappear.
Mike, do you ever add any top soil (in place of the sand) to the potting soil mix or just use the 2x-3x ground down pine bark mulch? And, since it's my 1st year, should I let it sit for a year to start breaking down before using?
Thanks for sharing your info and thanks especially for stressing the importance of seeking and using LOCAL resources. It's less expensive as a consumer, as well as caretaker of our planet (less gas to transport).
University of Washington did a study on sand in garden soils. It definitely is not good. It may help to break up the soil but it does not help put air into the soil. Yeah I'd like to see some of the plants from that soil.. that would help
I have access to composted wood chips and yard debris. I go to a place that composts ground up wood mixed with fall leaves and grass clippings./ plant debris. It's all put into huge windrows, and it composts. Then they put it form people to take. I also make my own compost from veg/fruit scraps mixed with fall leaves and some wood fines. I have NO access to any wood BARK products though. My area has NO nurseries that sell any composted wood products. I can get some bulk wood mulch, made from shredded wood, but not bark. I can only buy bark in bags at a big box store. Now seeing you show the stuff in your hand at the 4:05 mark, it looks alot like the composted wood chips at my local leaf dump/compost site. And, the new woodchips look like what you show at about the 6:23 mark, BUT when composted with grass clippings and fall leaves in HUGE windrows, why is it NOT good to use? What if I add some blood meal, or another source of nitrogen? AND, what if you used a sifter to make sure you only use the smaller pieces that are NOT those big woody pieces? What if I use compost with my composted wood chips? I'm asking all of this because I have no access to tree BARK. Unless, I pay maybe $ 4-$5 a BAG at a big box store. And, I have a Bunch of compost I made. Anyhow, you are LUCKY that you have access to that bark mulch compost.
Good start but I think you glossed over what you add to your base mixture. I think everyone is going to share this information but very few will actually share their growing mixture because that’s the $. It’s where dreams are made or crushed. Good luck
Hey I like your show I just started planting collar greens seeds with peat moss and orangic dirt along with bone meal how long does it takes for collar greens seeds to germinate in
What would be a good recipe for a self wicking tub? I have access to peat moss, perilite, compost, pine bark, double hammered oak bark, and a 33% compost/33% pine bark/ 33% double hammered oak bark soiless raised bed mix. Never really did any potted growing before, but wanted to try these self wicking tubs on some veggies. Thanks
Mike....you sir are preaching to the choir.....man that is a huge pile of black gold!!!👏👏👏👏 I'm really getting into soil....in gardening and growing that's pretty much where it starts right?? Anywho...at 3:14 you were talking about getting to know some of these unadvertised tree companies...can you explain it to me a little further?? Also .... what's the end game here?? I'm just trying to learn.... I've been trying to get chipdrop to help me out but I've heard some horror stories... further more my schedule is pretty tight and so is my driveway!!! Anyways....any helpful info is greatly appreciated...hope your family is doing ok in 2021 !
Everything organic breaks down into soil. When that transformation happens, the nutrients in that thing (like the calcium in bones, for instance, or the nitrogen in a leaf) become available to plants, generally speaking (if the ph is too high, for instance, micronutrients like copper and zinc could become soil, but still be unavailable to plants). Things that don't contain much nitrogen may dry out and crumble, but they don't decompose very fast unless or until sufficient nitrogen makes its way into them. This can happen through a ton of different natural processes though.
Thanks so much for the helpful information. I was going to ask how big the pile was in the beginning of the video, but you answered what 20yds looks like! I love the detail you share! 15yds for me, coming right up...
When you figure on cost of materials and labor, most people, and even businesses, are better off just buying a professional mix that is right for you. I use Promix BK25 and it's great. But I get it at a very good price from a local nursery who uses it as both a potting soil and seed starting mix, as to I.
wood chips do not rob the nitrogen it does tie up some nitrogen at first but as it decomposers it will release far more nitrogen than it tied up and that is only in mulch
However you want to explain it, the fact is that plants do not get enough nuitrgen when you plant them in "soil" that has too much non-decomposed wood ships in it. That is a fact. Sure, you can wait 6 months or a year for that wood to decompose, but in that time, the plant will suffer greatly or die. Stop being such a Cliff Claven idiot.
it's amazing how everyone has their idea of what to use and not use...makes your head spin. the last video i watched they use decomposed mulch all the time..lol
Many thanks for video. In my country we generally use black soil, peat and dried manure. Other ready mix soil also we have ,but they are expensive.(imported)
Here in the PNW Zone 8b Pine Bark Mulch is readily available. My question is that the place I bought 5 years ago has layers upon layers of red beauty bark and extremely rocky soil underneath. I would like to plant other plants in the flower beds and have tried planting other bedding plants that just die. ( peonies, huecheras..) Do I need to remove all the beauty bark? If so how do I amend the soil?
So, all you use for potting soil is hardwood/pine bark, that have been decomposing for a couple of years, with some added gravel/stones? You don't add any soil or clay to bind the nutrients in the potting soil, so it won't get washed out? But thanks for sharing. All I've been using is peat moss with perlite and other additives, so it's quite interesting to see what you do in the US.
You know he's got a good product and doing well when he's not afraid to share all this knowledge.
Mike is a real expert. Not just educated but he's put in the years to really understand every aspect of his craft. Very informative.
It is good to know the changes needed in the soil specifically for potting plants; no fine sand, instead use small pebbles and no wood. No wonder now why my potted plants were less than great. Your mules are a great asset to your videos, they're adorable. Take care!
Thank you for explaining the difference in bark and wood chips. This is excellent and USEFUL information.
Portia Holliday
He's wrong though - any "browns" (bark included) absorb nitrogen. Then they rot, and become soil; the nitrogen is only temporarily unavailable to plants. And wood contains potassium and phosphorus, as well as calcium and a bunch of micronutrients. Not disputing any of what he says about potting mix, but rotted wood has its uses.
Portia- the only difference is that the bark decomposed faster. If you mix grass clippings in with that ground bark it wouldn’t take 3 years.
przybyla420 thank you for saying that !! That's about all I can get,, is wood chips,,
I used old conveyors belts to cover the walkways in my raised bed gardens and cover those with 6 inches of bark mulch or wood chips and in about two years it deteriorates into rich black soil that I then scoop up mix with composted leaves and add to my raised beds.
Yea the back to eden video is amazing!! i've also done piles of leaves and just running over them with the lawn mower every two weeks and in the spring its dark beautiful dirt! I learned about it from an organic farming video. Thanks for your videos!
Thats how you give out information straight to the point no flashing emojis or needless music just straight up info, even his cell phone going off didn't stop him
When your phones runs you and you stop running it, humans will be genetically engineered. The vaccine will have the nanobot in it.
So you just pile pine bark for a few years? Honest question
thank you. that was just what I needed to hear. I'm on a tropical island and making my own potting mix. my next question is going to be about micro nutrients. I tend to move around a lot hear so I'm doing a lot of container gardening now. kinda new to me.
Very helpful info. I like how it addresses the dos's and the don'ts on each ingredient. TY. 👍
it's very kind of you to explain all in details, thank you!
GOD be with you ! thanks Mike ! I also watched your video on the differences between mulch as I was lacking knowledge on the subject. After I bought some black mulch, before I opened it I did some research. I returned the unopened black mulch to Walmart and bought some pine bark mulch ! I live in south Florida. From this video, I think I'm close to the right path as I am planning to use the pine bark mulch as part of an indoor and outdoor soil ! thanks for all the knowledge! GOD bless and Glory to GOD !
Extremely helpful. I'd considered the tree chips but not now. Here in Ga. DeKalb & Fulton Counties (both in the Atlanta area), process garden trim such as leaves etc. They then process it by heating somehow whereby it turns black. It's free for the taking but I've seen a lot of bark in it which didn't break down. I've saved quite a bit in big containers so now I'm going to put it out till it breaks down more, as you instructed. Think I'm going to watch this a couple more times so that it stays in my head and I do it the right way. Thanks again.
Excellent information in this video. I have fruit trees on large containers and I noticed they were not doing too well in the potting soil I got from local hardware store.
Your videos popped up on my feed & glad it did. I want to start propagating for my personal use & you share many interesting ways. Never to old to learn 👵🏻👩🌾❣️
I buy the bagged Garden Soil from big box stores and it looks like shredded wood and there is usually some fertilizer or chicken litter added. This stuff works well for in-ground gardening to build the soil. I recently read on a forum where people were adding pine bark to reuse potting mix and it was an effective growing medium... Those wood chips will take years to break down, although Back to Eden can be misleading due to other factors based upon your area and the amount of rainfall.
Thanks, Mike. I moved to Dancing Rabbit Eco Village about a year ag. This year was my first year vegetable gardening but I have always wanted to grow my own food. A large grarden space has landed in my lap and I now have 18 large raised beds, about 10 feet long by 4 feet wide. I also have 3 smaller beds right next to my house. I am trying to gather as much info. as I can to prepare for next year. We have qa dairy farm just down the road, so I should be able to get cow manure to ammend the beds. They need it badly. I am in Missouri and on a piece of land that was overfarmed for many many years. We have this clay soil, that takes a lot fo work to dig in, so I know the veggies have to be having a hard time pushing their roots through it. I am looking for anything I can add that will loosen it up as well as add nutrients. I have gotten wood chip mulch for the paths, but I know that cannot be mixed inthe soil or it will strip it of nutrients. I will ask them and other places if anyone makes bark Mulch.
I've been to this place, had AWESOME pizza!
Thanks, Mike! Good advice and clarification. Like you, I also use wood chips from a tree service as mulch around shrubbery and trees. It eventually breaks down, but takes a few years. Meanwhile, it reduces the weed growth and makes pulling the ones that do pop up easy. I use about 3-4 inches worth of chips. They’re great if you can get them for free, which is hit and miss from my experience. Keep up the good work, Mike!
You are a wealth of knowledge Mike. Thank you and keep posting please.
Dagwood sandwich. Brings back memories!!!!
This is the type of soil /mulch im using now to stretch my current potting soil needs, I've been adding use coffee grounds to break down the bigger wood pieces.
it's very kind of you to explain all in details
Excellent information! Thank you Mike!
Great information Mike. Thank you = ) When I start the gardening section of my channel sometime over the next 12 months I will be sure to reference you.
I didn’t know that about wood chips! Glad I found your video
When a man in overalls gives instructions on how to work with soil you better listen up!
Trevor Williamson funny that's why I watched this video. He looked like he knew his bizness lol
Exactly
Old school is the best school..and your right overalls tell a story all their own...
Winner of a video, I have been researching "how do i choose potting soil?" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you heard people talk about - Fonillian Uncomplex Future - (do a google search )?
It is a good exclusive product for discovering how to add breathtaking landscaping designs to your home minus the hard work. Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my m8 got great success with it.
Thats his boyfriends fetish. Nothing to do with his gardening advice ;)
Thank you Sir your very informative and kind to share your love for what your doing
The sand part reconfirms what I was thinking. Might help with drainage, loosen hard soils and add weight so pots don't tip, but fills in air pockets and suffocates the roots.
What about using it a soil amendment? You are talking about it as a potting mix?
All the greenhouse grow houses I have visited use a non soil, non organic anything - most use Promix or Coir peat so they don’t introduce pests, bacteria,fungi. etc. They are running nutrient mixes at proper ph so they can regulate growth.
Thank you, I have learned a lot from your video. thank you for your tine and knowledge
You're welcome!
sir your work is very impressive all the formulation is shown at screen as well as you are speaking is the batter way.
i m waiting of your new vedio with written slide
Thank you !
👍
Sub.
We use pine fines mini nuggets very good stuff . I am in NC we buy it 90 yards at a time . I also run a tree service so I got lots of chipps . But as you said we let that stuff compost for at least 4 years and roll it a few times a year .
This is such great information. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us it is much appreciated!
Thanks so much Mike, we can all use a good soil recipe!
Willows Garden No problem!
Thank you, Mike! I appreciate you sharing this info.
Good video, have no idea where to find tree bark in bulk anywhere close to where I live.
I'm getting wood chips just for a top layer like people use straw. It won't take the nitrogen out of the soil if it's on top and not mixed in. Also if you rot it separately, it will get enough nitrogen from whatever it can suck it from. Trust me.
Sand, Silt and Clay. Sand is the biggest particle of the three and is excellent in drainage.
Best potting soil for me is 50% peat moss and 50% Perlite with a wetting agent. Use sand if you don't have perlite or want the pot to be heavier. Excellent drainage and holds fertilizers in well. Our city water has a PH of 8.1 so with the acidic peat moss it buffers to about 6.8 to 7.2. With all the lowes and homedepot soil I always get root rot.
Moss / perlite is what I've settled on, too. Was mixing sand into potting mix before. Finally bothered to learn about the individual components. I read about people doing 1:1:1 with vermiculite but my problem has always been drowning plants to death and I can't understand why people would want to retain extra moisture.
I guess for hot areas like Arizona or Nevada it makes sense.
Sand drains well, but it holds air very poorly. It is not even close to having the same properties as perlite. Weigh 5 gallons of perlite and 5 gallons of sand. There have been many studies on this. Sand will help break up Clay soils, but do nothing to ad air. Adding Sand is as an old wives tale. Also it's not used as a hydroponic medium due to that same fact
How about COCONUT COIR as a substitute for the peat moss ? Would 50% COCO COIR , 50% SAND work well ? I also heard that very little organic matter (i.e. compost , fertilizers etc) are needed ; maybe as little as 1-3 % . Have you heard anything about this ? Thanks so much !!!
Peat or Coco, good ,broken down compost, vermicompost (3rd of each, give or take) and a little bit of organic fert. will make an excellent container mix. Mulch on top to retain moisture in heat. Vermicompost tea is also very good and can help keep insects at bay. Use Fish emulsion or similar (depending on plant) as necessary. If you have the space, buying by the 1/2 yard or yard is very cost effective. Azomite would also be an excellent addition. I only use sand for my Carnivorous plant mixes.
Black gold.. that's some pretty soil.
Great info. Lots of pine bark here in Southeast Texas. Problem I found is the "pine bark" is full of strips of pine tree. I buy pine bark nuggets then ground them up to suitable size. Extra work.
Lots of soil mixes here will have strips of oak wood in it that will encourage fungi growth and have mushrooms in your pots. Not good.
I have to start with straight top soil, ground up pine bark nuggets, a "little" peat moss, and mix in my composted Live Oak leaves soil.
I'm on a very small scale focused on growing native trees.
Why Is the fungal growth not good?
This dude gives me awesome genuine vibes
Dagwood sandwich, excellent visual! Thanks for the clear advise.
So very helpful. Thank you.
8:58 - *_"A Dagwood Sandwich"_* HeeeHeeee I haven't heard that in many years.
Hi Mike! I can't wait to join your Backyard Growers Bus. Center! Firstly, thank you SO MUCH for all you do!! I was hoping to find out.. when will I be able to join Backyard Growers as a new member? It says reg opens in June 2021 so I just don't want to miss out! Also, I'm in zone 9b (Las Vegas) and I was wondering if you could give me any guidance on what I might be able to use for potting mixes (specifically, in such a dry, hot climate)? Thank you so much again for your time & wisdom!
You aren't just "a man in overalls"... You are "THE MAN in overalls" :)
Erica
I heard this guy making this video on my back-porch in North Carolina back in 2015. Lol
You are a great gardener
I know a lot of farmers say that wood mulch will rob nutrients from the soil. It's not that much and once the wood breaks back down it will release those nutrients it robbed. They don't just disappear.
Wood chips does rob nutrients when used in a potting mix.
But not so much when applied as a mulch.
Mike, do you ever add any top soil (in place of the sand) to the potting soil mix or just use the 2x-3x ground down pine bark mulch? And, since it's my 1st year, should I let it sit for a year to start breaking down before using?
So helpful. Thanks brother ☮️
When I see the term recipe i think i'm going to get a recipe for potting soil, great explanation of what pine bark does but what is your soil recipe?
Thanks for sharing your info and thanks especially for stressing the importance of seeking and using LOCAL resources. It's less expensive as a consumer, as well as caretaker of our planet (less gas to transport).
University of Washington did a study on sand in garden soils. It definitely is not good. It may help to break up the soil but it does not help put air into the soil.
Yeah I'd like to see some of the plants from that soil.. that would help
I have access to composted wood chips and yard debris. I go to a place that composts ground up wood mixed with fall leaves and grass clippings./ plant debris. It's all put into huge windrows, and it composts. Then they put it form people to take. I also make my own compost from veg/fruit scraps mixed with fall leaves and some wood fines.
I have NO access to any wood BARK products though. My area has NO nurseries that sell any composted wood products. I can get some bulk wood mulch, made from shredded wood, but not bark. I can only buy bark in bags at a big box store.
Now seeing you show the stuff in your hand at the 4:05 mark, it looks alot like the composted wood chips at my local leaf dump/compost site. And, the new woodchips look like what you show at about the 6:23 mark, BUT when composted with grass clippings and fall leaves in HUGE windrows, why is it NOT good to use? What if I add some blood meal, or another source of nitrogen? AND, what if you used a sifter to make sure you only use the smaller pieces that are NOT those big woody pieces?
What if I use compost with my composted wood chips? I'm asking all of this because I have no access to tree BARK. Unless, I pay maybe $ 4-$5 a BAG at a big box store.
And, I have a Bunch of compost I made.
Anyhow, you are LUCKY that you have access to that bark mulch compost.
Super helpful, thank you som much Mike!
Wish I had seen this when I started gardening a few years back 😢
Mike, thank you for all of the information that you put out. I find it to be very helpful.
Good start but I think you glossed over what you add to your base mixture. I think everyone is going to share this information but very few will actually share their growing mixture because that’s the $. It’s where dreams are made or crushed. Good luck
Thanks for the info on wood chips. I had already done that mistake. How about using grass, weed, etc?
Nice video Mike. Good information on it thanks
I have the same phone ringer. Thought my boss was calling me. Great info.....thanks.
Same, I thought it was my phone ringing when I heard it.
Hey I like your show I just started planting collar greens seeds with peat moss and orangic dirt along with bone meal how long does it takes for collar greens seeds to germinate in
Confusing. What's the recipe?
Nice job!!
Tell you what, trust us old folks for true knowledge
What would be a good recipe for a self wicking tub? I have access to peat moss, perilite, compost, pine bark, double hammered oak bark, and a 33% compost/33% pine bark/ 33% double hammered oak bark soiless raised bed mix. Never really did any potted growing before, but wanted to try these self wicking tubs on some veggies. Thanks
Do it they are amazing . We switched to moisture wicking tubs last year and it’s a game changer
Very insightful sir
When it breaks down, does it attack termites and are termites involved in breaking it down?
Great video Mike. Good information. Thank you.
Larry342516 Thanks!
very useful video Mike
Great video Mike!
Great info, 👍🏽... thanks for sharing it!
Mike....you sir are preaching to the choir.....man that is a huge pile of black gold!!!👏👏👏👏
I'm really getting into soil....in gardening and growing that's pretty much where it starts right??
Anywho...at 3:14 you were talking about getting to know some of these unadvertised tree companies...can you explain it to me a little further??
Also .... what's the end game here??
I'm just trying to learn.... I've been trying to get chipdrop to help me out but I've heard some horror stories... further more my schedule is pretty tight and so is my driveway!!!
Anyways....any helpful info is greatly appreciated...hope your family is doing ok in 2021 !
No fertiliser added to the mix? What exactly are you growing in this medium and for how long? What is the recipe?
Interesting perspective. Ive heard kind of the opposite, that the nutrients in the wood become available as it breaksdown. Very good info.
Everything organic breaks down into soil. When that transformation happens, the nutrients in that thing (like the calcium in bones, for instance, or the nitrogen in a leaf) become available to plants, generally speaking (if the ph is too high, for instance, micronutrients like copper and zinc could become soil, but still be unavailable to plants). Things that don't contain much nitrogen may dry out and crumble, but they don't decompose very fast unless or until sufficient nitrogen makes its way into them. This can happen through a ton of different natural processes though.
Great information, Mike 👍
A neighboring town has a leaf mulch area that you can get for free. Is this good for potting mix?
Thanks Mike
A channel for reference
Thanks big Mike
Awesome information
very good job keep it up.
***** Thank you!
Thanks so much for the helpful information. I was going to ask how big the pile was in the beginning of the video, but you answered what 20yds looks like! I love the detail you share! 15yds for me, coming right up...
Great information. Thank you .I would like to buy your mix
that would be a good base. I would add perlite, blood meal, bone meal and manure to it.
yes
Thanks Mike!
Great information.
When you figure on cost of materials and labor, most people, and even businesses, are better off just buying a professional mix that is right for you. I use Promix BK25 and it's great. But I get it at a very good price from a local nursery who uses it as both a potting soil and seed starting mix, as to I.
after using your new expensive bought soil, it is eventually gonna need rejuvinating, or rebuy. too expensive long-term.
Solid good information. Thanks!
That’s for the knowledge quality info
wood chips do not rob the nitrogen it does tie up some nitrogen at first but as it decomposers it will release far more nitrogen than it tied up and that is only in mulch
However you want to explain it, the fact is that plants do not get enough nuitrgen when you plant them in "soil" that has too much non-decomposed wood ships in it. That is a fact. Sure, you can wait 6 months or a year for that wood to decompose, but in that time, the plant will suffer greatly or die. Stop being such a Cliff Claven idiot.
it's amazing how everyone has their idea of what to use and not use...makes your head spin. the last video i watched they use decomposed mulch all the time..lol
d65 I'm confused ?? I seen the same kinda thing your talking about and it seemed to work very well !
Many thanks for video. In my country we generally use black soil, peat and dried manure. Other ready mix soil also we have ,but they are expensive.(imported)
Great Tips thank you!
Here in the PNW Zone 8b Pine Bark Mulch is readily available. My question is that the place I bought 5 years ago has layers upon layers of red beauty bark and extremely rocky soil underneath. I would like to plant other plants in the flower beds and have tried planting other bedding plants that just die. ( peonies, huecheras..) Do I need to remove all the beauty bark? If so how do I amend the soil?
RIP Mike, peace be with you mate. :(
He passed?! When’s? I just discovered him today😔
Thank you.
awesome video my friend. you mentioned pine bark (a truck load) ...what about pine needles? are they like wood or bark? thanks -adam
Great videos Mike.
Thondup Andrugtsang Thank you!
great video.
thanks
There's bark in the tree service chips just not as much as only bark
So, all you use for potting soil is hardwood/pine bark, that have been decomposing for a couple of years, with some added gravel/stones?
You don't add any soil or clay to bind the nutrients in the potting soil, so it won't get washed out?
But thanks for sharing. All I've been using is peat moss with perlite and other additives, so it's quite interesting to see what you do in the US.
Jeppe K Yep, for the most part! Over the years, this recipe has worked best for me!
many thanks