Talked to a local place that makes and sells potting mix today - Custom mix?

[LouNeo]

Ive mentioned before that im on a quest to figure out a little bit more about the best potting mix to use after cuttings have rooted.

To me the best means:
1. Meets all the requirements for growth
2. Maintains the proper moisture levels
3. Is readily available
4. Is cost effective
5. Can be found in semi-bulk

I called a local place today to discuss the mixes they make / offer and after speaking with him he said he would be willing to make a couple custom mix options if it makes sense and something he could potential have a retail market for. So I come here looking for thoughts and recommendations on what you use for a mix to up pot into and or grow container figs in. What do you like about it, what dont you like about it, what do you think could be changed or tweaked.

I know some people use Pro-mix HP and love it, I know some mix up their own, and im sure there are others that swear by something else. What is that something else?

I dont think they have coco coir available as none of their mixes currently use it. So it would likely be a peat based mix. He also said they dont use bark mulch in their mixes as a general rule (although I think one of their mixes mentions it).

This is the spec sheet for Pro-mix HP:

https://a89b8e4143ca50438f09-7c1706ba3fabeeda794725d88e4f5e57.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/spec_sheets/files/000/008/412/original/pro-mix-pt20281-specs_1.pdf?1440195953

Attached is one of their main mixes and a little more about it. We talked about whether it would retain too much moisture because of the vermiculite and he said while it could be an issue that they use much less wetting agent than most commercially available mixes so he didnt think it would be that big of a problem.


Bottom line:
I guess my goal here is just to find something I can source local that will do the best for me for the price. No one local carries promix hp so I would have to ship it in which quickly makes it not cost effective for me. So if I have the chance to possibly have something similar or better made locally then it may make sense to. But I want input from those of you that are much more experience and smarter than I am on this topic AscPete for example who seems to have a wealth of knowledge on this topic. Id love to hear your thoughts.

[Fygmalion]

"Essentially Sterile".... Now that is a very attractive phrase from the perspective of someone who has had to suffer the fungus gnat consequences of an earlier use of MG... I imagine heating things up to 1000 F degrees should kill those little @@@@@@@s!

[AscPete]

The "over 1,000 deg F" is part of the manufacturing process for both (All Horticultural) Vermiculite and Perlite which causes them to expand, not really specifically for sterilization...
The Composting temperatures are usually only maintained over ~ 140 deg F.

[Fygmalion]

Thank you, Pete!

[AscPete]

Lou,
The ingredients appear to be a Annual Potting Mix which would also work well for SIPs.
Vermiculite tends to become compacted (sometimes quickly) when used in top watered potting mixes and is used most often for seed starting and annual mixes

Perennial Potting Mixes have ingredients like Pine Bark which take a longer time to break down and become compacted. The Pro-mix HP is essentially Peat Moss and Perlite which will retain it shape (resists compaction) to keep the mix aerated with the longer life span of a "Perennial Potting Mix". Good luck.

BTW, adding a few cups of Espoma Bio-tone fertilizer would inoculate the bulk potting mix with more Mycorrhizae and Beneficial Microbes than supplied with the Promix HP.

[LouNeo]

I appreciate that. What ratio do you recommend if you have a choice for peat and perlite? I can source both locally and just keep mixing my own if it makes sense to. I may use that tobbaco mix for my rooting as its cheaper than what I use now as long as it will retain the moisture I want through the rooting process. Thank you for the tip on using the Bio-tone.

[LouNeo]

Can you quite literally mix in a saftsorb type product?

[AscPete]

Yes, I've been using it ( http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pro...p-65-compliant ) for the past 4 years... Works many times better than Vermiculite with a much longer lifespan of several years.

[LouNeo]

Perfect TSC is where I found it when I went looking to see what it was. Thanks again for the help. I am just trying to get setup for next season. My biggest problem this past season was cooking roots in 1 gallon pots. So now that I know that is part of the problem im looking forward to a good season next year. I guess this means im back to making my own mix since im sure I can piece it together in the smaller bulk quantities I will need, for less than he can mfg it. I may see if he can make a similar mix to PM HP as I think it may sell well to local nurseries for him.

[AscPete]

You're welcome.

A potting mix topic in The Index of Topics (Frequently Referenced) has a few mix recipes for some of the more commonly used commercial potting mixes, https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-h...ng-mix-recipes
The 2-4-1 mix cost ~ $3.00 per Cu Ft which is more than almost any bulk Perennial Potting mix. The Bulk mixes will work to grow fig trees and are more economical for small commercial operations.

A few photos and mix recipe for the 5-1-1-1 (PBF-Peat-Perlite-Calcined Clay) and the 2-4-1 (PBF-Peat-Calcined Clay) mixes,

https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/11847-successful-potting-mix-recipes?p=48872#post48872

I use and recommend the Calcined Clay / Fullers Earth from TSC which is a mined product but Turface, a more expensive processed product was the "Original" Calcined Clay recommended on Gardenweb,

http://www.turface.com/sites/default/files/_media/resource/turface_mvp_sheet_6-12-13_0.pdf

[Harborseal]

I use pine bark as the basis for my mix just because it's a fraction of the cost of anything else. When bought by the cubic yard it works out to just over $2/cu' ($56/cu yrd) here. I throw other stuff in as I have it. I stopped using the calcined clay as it seemed to stop my cuttings from rooting. I was using the NAPA brand as it was very inexpensive. Others have reported hydrocarbons in it so that may be why. I haven't missed it but I might look in to the TSC stuff since there's one not too far.

[Harborseal]

I stopped using perlite because of the expense but also because it would float to the top. I never used the grani-grit of the original 5-1-1 mix because more weight was the *last* thing I wanted in my pots. I use pine bark chunks, Dr Earth mostly for the Glomus cousins, compost, some peat or Pro-Mix if there's extra, some tomato tone and some crushed limestone or dolomitic limestone.

[LouNeo]

Great information, thank you! Home Depot had a couple torn bags of Cyprus bark fines the other day for 1.50 so I grabbed a couple and will toss that in something to see how it does. I will see if i can find bulk fines here, there is a mulch place local as well. Id like to not use perlite if I can because my chickens tend to like to eat it as it comes to the surface lol

[LouNeo]

I just got a price back for a Cu/yd of pine bark fines. I can pick it up or $38 a yard so cost wise it could be worth it.

[Harborseal]

As far as the description above, anything that says it provided aeration, drains well or has good porosity sounds good to me. Of course all that is most important for cuttings or young plants. More mature trees are less sensitive to things like that.