Professional Potting Soil vs. DIY Mix // What's the Cost and quality difference?
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- POTTING SOIL can be a tricky part of the equation in the nursery business.... especially when you lose a primary supplier! What ingredients are involved? How much does it cost? Is DIY or professional better? All good questions we answer here.
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Finally a potting mix video that is not 1/3 peat, 1/3 perlite 1/3 vermiculite. That’s a really expensive recipe over here. Some people recommend coco coir but my plants are always stunted because they tend to have top much sea salt. I tried to understand what nurseries use and turns out pine bark was the best ingredient - it’s cheap, simple, drains well and holds nutrients. The plant grows crazy in them. I use 2/3 pine bark and 1/3 sifted compost and works for most plants. If i need more drainage, i can tweak for more pine bark ratio.
Exactly! Find a good mix and always be willing to tweak it as needed. Well done!!
Great advice to source locally. Pine bark, hardwood bark, humus, sand, can all be base components. Availability so much depends on where you live. Up north we wish we could buy pine bark economically but hardwood bark is easy and inexpensive to buy. We use a lot of readily available humus as well.
Good advice to not let this hold you back. Hunt around, experiment, adjust and keep planting! Many mixes can be made inexpensively and will work just fine. Just add slow release fertilizer and water!
Great video!
Slow release fert is key!!
I use bagged leaves. Results on my channel: cantelope
Love watching your videos, always so full of information. I average between 25-26 cents in dirt for each plant as well, so we’re on the same page. Pots are the bigger expense for me, 12-15 cents “not bad” for 6” and 50-55 cents for trade gallons “ not horrible ” but that’s what it is. Thanks for sharing guys 👋🏻
thanks for sharing
Hey bud, you've been the main channel I watch on UA-cam for the last few weeks. I have learned so much and I'm inspired. Thank you bud
Awesome, thank you!
Thank you for inspiring me to keep looking for a potting soil source .I found one in my area.thank you for all the content you have given me some hope of growing my own nursery.
You can do it - just can't be deterred when something is hard to find.
Congratulations on your success and I love what you’re doing and the way you educate and share on UA-cam.
There is another family owned nursery on UA-cam that I enjoy but unfortunately they heavily promote a brand of mulch and potting soil that they use and sell rather than making their own and educating people to create their own which would be just as good or better and save people a ton of money.
They would actually save a ton of money if they made their own rather than using that stuff and pushing it as a product they sell.
But pretty much everything they sell is either a product of proven winners or southern living.
I'm a huge proponent of doing everything you can yourself. Sometimes that's not a good idea; sometimes it is. Every channel is its own business though, and businesses exist to make money. So... good for them!
Oh how I feel your pain! When we got our putting soil sourced and 1st truckload delivered- went for the 2nd load- OUT! It's taken 4 months to find a 2nd source and they while we had enough for that current season, however we've not had anything to fill our new beds, or even refill our beds now...
We've teamed up with a friend, and for me teaching him to Can food, he's helped source the potting mix- here we need to test for several things, and cannot find the pine bark... he also has a dump trailer and will be delivering it🙌🙌🙌
Yes it's taken a good while to find and source our mix, however in the next 2 weeks we should have a truck load delivered. Woohoo!!
It's not just us, there's been many here in East Texas who couldn't find or source pine bark or a potting mix...
I appreciate you sharing.
Blessings ❤
That's great you get such a good deal. I have to blend my own using ingredients that cost as much as your blended mix PLUS pay for delivery at $220/load. My overall cost is about $75/yard including delivery for the finished product. I have a load ban on my road too so I can't get a full truckload - the load ban says you can only load up to 70% of max weight.
I use a few ingredients that some would say are big no-no's but it works for me and my climate. Pine/Spruce bark fine chips composted, topsoil, compost, peatmoss, sand, and sometimes some vermiculite/perlite gets mixed in if its included in the other ingredients. I do trees/shrubs and perennials in multiple sizes of pots (up to #10 for larger trees) and live in a very dry climate so the extra moisture retention is a huge necessity. Even with that water retention I still need to water 2x per day in the summer.
Got a ph tester and perlite today. Now I’m watching this and I agree, I’ve grown for years without ph testing.
It is interesting to see what you can make the potting mix out of. Watching and reading comments! Thanks for doing a video on this!
Thanks for watching!
Hope your soil co. Gets up and running soon 150 miles to go get soil is a stretch i have been through several soil co over the years finally found one that works.keep the videos coming. Us old back yard nursery folks enjoy them
I don't mind the drive since it's only once in a while... but I definitely wouldn't be interested in doing it often.
As gardeners we just have to say no to peat. When you know better you just have to do better. It's so devastating to the areas that it's extracted from. I'm glad your home-made traditionally doesn't use it and hope your source gets figured out soon
You do you. I'll use what I have to while I have to. Thanks for the input.
Hope the normal place gets things fixed fast! I’m sure they’re stressing everyday on losing business over all this!
Yeah... when I call them, they don't seem too concerned.
Been there. One ended up draining slower and overwater happened. Might put a qt water in old soil and qt water in new one and see the difference. Percolating test. Just a thought.
Hope the additional expense will give you more water retention and quicker growth to speed up your sales for the additional cost. Water price savings,and quicker growth. Good luck.
The guys hauling that with the live bottom truck's will tell you where the other mills are in your region of Alabama. Chances are high your normal place is in "Outage/shutdown" phase. Sometimes it lasts for weeks. Drivers know where to find more. Most of them haul from multiple mills
Hopefully they arent too far..
👍🏼
This has always been the biggest expense for me, a good quality soil medium. Based down in South Africa and pickings are slim. Found that most potting soils have too much bulky wood chip and not enough finer material for the roots just to "bite". Any info I can get to do my own is much appreciated ❤ so thank you
I came across your comment. If you're having trouble coming up with bulk medium to pot with, I have a tip. I read about in Africa actually, about "Keyhole" gardens.
I cant remember where I seen it but it's a good way to produce a great deal of high quality compost.
Hope that helps.
Very good video, really informative. I like the 'simple' soil mixes you use, like the pine and hardwood bark. I think you said you use that about 50/50 or so. I use a combination of pine bark, good quality potting soil, and some grit for drainage. Do you like the 'custom' mix you bought in this video? How does it compare to your original all-bark mix?
Through the endless days of late winter and early Spring potting, it's all gotten mixed together. Custom mix, pine bark, hardwood bark, all piled together in various amounts. It's just really not that important that you have a "perfect" mix. For what I do, it all works well.
Wow, I've been looking and finally found a source for Double Ground hardwood mulch - $40/yd. Pine Bark soil conditioner is $70. This is in the midwest where the cost of living is very low! These prices sure seem high, though. :(
That seems a little high to me, but it’s not outrageous. If I were in your position, I’d be glad to have that available and be glad to use it… while I kept my eyes open for something cheaper. Potting soil is one of the key pieces of the pie so while you may have to pay a bit more than you want to, it’s a great find.
I would separate the plants that have the new soil from the old mix just to see how they respond. The new mix may hold more water so that can be an issue you haven't had before. Not a bad idea diluting the new mix with what you have to keep your costs down.
May do that just to see if there's any difference
I hope that your supplier of your soil-less medium gets back up and running again soon!
Me too!
We used peat and washed course sand (and slow release fertiliser) with good result. Could try mixing the pine bark with course sand.
Driving 150 miles is pretty crazy, ha ha
Yeah... the drive. It's not too bad doing it once in a while. If I had to do it every week, I'd have to figure something else out.
What ratio did you use for sand and peat? I have lots of access to both here.
I really don't know; I don't use much sand in my potting soil at all... usually none. In my propagation mix, it's 100% sand, or maybe down to 70% sand just to make it less heavy.@@HoaGarden902
@@HoaGarden902 for our climate, half and half. Adjust to your needs
Thanks, I appreciate the video. Anything wrong with using just plain sawdust as a potting mix? I know it varies a lot. The stuff I have is fine but not a superfine powdery dust. It drains quickly when I do a drainage test (in a few seconds) and holds moisture. Of all the videos on youtube about potting mix, nobody seems to use sawdust. I wonder why? It's cheap and readily available. Am I missing something?
If I had it readily available, I'd try it. Likely problem is lack of nitrogen - sawdust would be high in carbon. Is the sawdust from dry, older wood, or green wood? That would likely make a huge difference, as green wood would not work, I wouldn't think. Sawdust mixed with pine bark, maybe??? Experiment with it and see.
@@savvydirtfarmer Yes I'm going to try it.I'd be using a mix of sawdust and wood shavings from logs at a local sawmill to get the best water retention and drainage properties. I'm not sure how dry the logs are when cut. So many sites say uncomposted sawdust will steal nitrogen because it's high carbon. But so are the other popular soil less potting mix ingredients like peat moss, coir, hardwood bark, pine bark, rice hulls, etc. I wonder why makes them any better than plain old sawdust?
Have you ever tried Chip Drop? I got a huge dump truck load of hardwood chips from them about that size of that big truck in your video. I paid $40 for it. I got it this fall and I'm letting it compost to use in the spring.
It is available here
hardwood chips will lock out nitrogen. you want to use bark as they don’t decompose as fast.
I would be interested in you doing a side by side. Yours the stuff what you just purchsed and your pine bark and peat and then your pine barke and sand. Thank you
I did a side by side in this video. thanks
@@savvydirtfarmer after putting in the rooted cuttings. For drainage,water retention, the just to see how the cuttings grew. Thanks
@@redwood1957 good idea!
Thank you
Welcome!
So sad I hope their able to get up and running sooner than later When it comes to overhead every penny counts. .
Agree 100%
💚💚
I have a question. Since you are working on your home property do you have to have additional insurance over above your home owners insurance? How does all that work since you have people coming onto your home property?
I have a business insurance policy that covers us.
@@savvydirtfarmer
Thank you! I will have to check on that.
Nice looking chips. What thickness of landscape material do I use thanks.
I don't know - I just order a roll of it.
@@savvydirtfarmer thanks Hope u have a great day
The white balls are perlite, not vermiculite.
thanks!
Hey Craig. This might be a silly question but is double shred the same thing as fine shred?
Probably... of course, terminology varies place to place, I'm sure.
the perfect planting medium for all plants is,
One measure each,
sand, compost, ground, manure
NO ARGUMENT
Yeah I'm honestly a little bit shocked they can grow anything at all in just bark. That would drain out immediately and give zero nutrients to anything where I am in the high desert.
I'm thinking he must have really good water, and a lot of it to o grow all those beautiful plants.
I add dirt to home made compost (woodchips/green waste and sometimes manure)
But I will argue a bit I'm that I'm totally off manures that could possibly have weed killer in them, just too hard to know their provenance) so for me anyway it needs to be chicken or something you know FIR SURE doesn't have persistent weedkiller in it.
What is a tray galloon nursery pot? How much do they hold?
"Trade" gallon; approx 2/3 gal.
Trade gallon. Usually smaller means saving money.
Is that Bermuda Grass encrouching on you pile of pine bark? We don't have too much of that here in Utah but when we do it's nasty!
yes
I use leaves to make soil. No cost and no storage space in my pathways. On my channel.
Your potting soil is a num one no no in the garden. That stuff need to go in the hen house for a couple to 6 months. All that bark equals nitrogen deficiency to the plant. Makes my life easy when everyone uses that junk. Pot them plants in the best compost you can get and they will sell themselves
Take a look at some of my other videos that have my plants in them, and show me where you see Nitrogen deficiency. I'd like to know.
@@savvydirtfarmer you probably don't have at your place but when people take home and don't post the chemicals on it shows up fast. Take one of mine home fo nothing but water for 6 months and it stays green and growing. Garden starts are non GMO and beyond organic don't need anything if you get ones in 6 inch pots for its lifetime