Best Long-Term Soil Media for Container Plants
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ธ.ค. 2024
- Plants in typical potting soil will decline due to decomposing/rotting material over time as they lose oxygen and stability. Typical bagged soil shrinks as it's made of organic material and breaks down. After hearing about the "Top Pot" mix that avoids these issues and provides plants with the media they need for healthy long-term growth, I sought to make a similar recipe using materials locally available in the Phoenix AZ area. This video covers the process of potting up a mango seedling. The products and ratios are covered in detail.
Watch Gary Matsuoka's video on proper soil: • What is Perfect Soil?
If you have access to all of the following and want to copy Top Pot soil ingredients, follow the ratios below.
35% Peat Moss
30% Pumice
20% Perlite
10% Sand (course construction/paver sand)
5% Bio Char
I am using this as a substitute mix devoid of forest products/wood that will not shrink/break down fast like most bagged soils.
Note: As of 10/2022, Home Depot has sharply increased retail prices of decomposed granite and volcanic rock. Coarse sand is a good alternative to decomposed granite. And Summerwinds does sometimes sell pumice, so if you can find that locally, it's a good alternative to the Pavestone black volcanic rock.
peat - 55%
www.lowes.com/...
decomposed granite - 25%
www.homedepot....
all-purpose sand (an alternative to decomposed granite)
www.lowes.com/...
volcanic rock - 20%
www.homedepot....
Perlite (an alternative type of volcanic rock)
www.amazon.com...
mango seedling seller (cocotropics239) - www.ebay.com/u...
Highly recommend you watch the master, Gary Matsuoka, discuss soil to get a full understanding and basis for this video: th-cam.com/video/ELVxPE7JGyw/w-d-xo.html
Gr8… nice to see you promoting real soil as per Gary M. Good luck and hope to see progressive videos. We are trying to promote mangoes in SoCal within the OC Chapter CRFG and grafting multiple varieties on each tree… we don’t all have your backyard space😉😉
greetings from surprise az9b. defiantly found this useful. thanks again for the tips and tricks as we add more tropical to our backyard orchard and vineyard this fall! cheers🍷
@@EnlightenmentGarden thank you! I appreciate you ✌️😎
Great that you are learning about soils. I watch Gary's Best Gardening every Saturday on YT and have learned a lot too. I'm trying substituting rice hulls for perlite in my gardening. Good video, as always, Natalie. 🌴
I will mix my potting soil in late Winter similar to your video! , I live in Los Angeles area plus I plated many fruit trees in my back yard, thanks.
You are welcome!
Great video. Best part is you can’t overwater it, only drawback is you have to keep it hydrated around the clock. Not a problem for us gardeners that like to be out in the garden all day :). A trick I like to do with a heavy peat mix is water in the pot 3-4 times before planting the tree so that the medium is well hydrated and the tree can immediately acclimate. I also add a little mycorrhizae since the mix is sterile for the most part, that way there is something to eventually breakdown the compost and feed the tree
Thanks! I water my container plants once a day in the typical potting mixes in the heat of summer; I'll definitely do some updates on irrigation on this mix compared to standard bagged soil like cactus mix. I was toying with adding vermiculite to increase moisture but questioned whether that would be counterproductive outside of summer so skipped it. Spot on; will definitely add in some mycorrhizae. I apply it for all plants I grow.
Excellent video. Lot to learn for Best Media for Potted Tropicals
My go to mix is one part pumice, one part natural soil, one part peat moss which helps add a little acidity, and one part volcanic sand which you can get at A & A materials for 2 bucks a bucket. Works great. Not a sterile medium but drains great, holds moisture and i have had no problems at all.
Sounds like a good balanced media and thanks for sharing an economical source for lava sand!
Nice mixture! I use something similar but use 5/16" lava rock chips and perlite instead of lava rocks/pumice -- they are light weight for containers. I also add some Azomite and worm castings.
5/16" lava rock chips sound perfect. Do you get those locally or online?
very good. dont be afraid to use even more rock/pumice/sand etc., as plants tend to go gangbusters and organic media can dry out badly in root ball.
the only rocks to avoid is ones with sharp edges, e.g. crushed hard stones that have not been tumbled.
Thank you for providing links!!
What do you think about adding azomite to this mix? Also thanks for turning me onto Gary and his TH-cam videos…I’ve been following Shamus Olearry’s instructions but what Gary is saying makes a lot of sense….I plan on experimenting after this AZ summer passes.
I think Azomite makes sense; adds micronutrients. I just ordered biochar and will add that at the 5% rate Gary recommends www.kisorganics.com/products/black-owl-biochar. Glad you found it useful. I wish I learned about it earlier. Also it explains why my garden beds nearly deplete to nothing every year from the bagged soil I've been using all these years. I'm going to start adding inorganic material there too
Hi, good video. I recently watched a video from the graft man and went with his soil mix of 40% peat moss, 40% decomposed granite, and 20% perlite with a few tbsp of Mycorrhizal Inoculant Organic Root Enhancer. Any thoughts on this mix? I believe he learned this mix from Gary Matsuoka as well, Thanks
All three ingredients are good. I feel you get good results from different ratios. 40% DG is great but is very heavy. That's a drawback if you need to move the containers. Also, not all root systems are created equal. For example, dragon fruit roots are delicate and seem to favor a mixture with more perlite/pumice
Nice instructional video for making a Top Pot- like potting soil. I decided against the 1000 lbs of pumice for $192. I just didn't want a mound of it on my driveway, along with the mounds of other ingredients that would go into the soil blend. My neighbors are already giving me funny looks as my fig project continues to grow out of control. I like the volcanic rock in your recipe. Curious to see how it will work, as it is a bit larger than the 1/4 to 3/8 inch pumice I have used in the past. I also see that you are using the DG instead of sand. I know that avocado growers like to use DG in their pots. Always enjoy your posts !!
Hey - I have a quick question. I know you like to graft different varieties onto a main tree or rootstock, but do you allow the main tree to grow/express itself or do you cut back all branches or suckers from the main tree, and only allow the grafted varieties to grow? I ask, because I have several Brown Turkey rootstocks that I've grafted on to and continue to pinch back or cut off anything below the graft point. It looks like you allow the rootstock to grow and produce, as well as the varieties you have grafted onto the tree. Do I have that right? So you can do both?
To give the best chance to the grafts, I do not in general let the rootstock branch because it will outcompete everything else. Sometimes I miss a few branches and they fruit but every year in winter I clean it back to the grafts. So yes you can have both but its a careful balance as there is only so much energy and the tree will always seem to direct it towards its own genetics when it can
@@EnlightenmentGarden That all makes sense. So when you have a tree with multiple varieties grafted onto it, you let all the grafted varieties grow, but you cut back the rootstock branches and suckers.
@@neurocognitive Exactly!
@@EnlightenmentGarden Thanks!
@@EnlightenmentGarden I decided to give it a shot, and put together an inorganic soil that sort of combines your recipe and Gary's (minus the pumice), and also based on what was available at the Home Depot closest to my home. I used 3 parts Peat Moss, 1 1/2 parts Paver Sand, 2 parts Perlite, 1 part Black Volcanic Rock, and about 1/3 cup of Mycorrhizae. I might add a little more of the volcanic rock for the next batch, but the diameter is quite a bit larger than what is used in Top Pot. Also, the Black Volcanic Rock was $10.98 for a half cubic ft bag, but the Red Volcanic Rock was only $4.98 per bag if you bought at least 12 bags. So I asked the store manager to give the same bulk rate to the Black Volcanic Rock, and they agreed. They did not have any DG, so I went with the paver sand from Gary's recipe. I must say that when I up potted a couple of trees today, using this soil, I've never seen the soil bubble so much after watering it due to all the oxygen pockets in the soil - just what the roots will need!! Tomorrow I am going to check the local quarries and see what they carry in bulk, as I will need a couple of pallets of these materials. I know they will be cheaper.
One last question, how about sand used for sand bags that we can get from various locations in the Valley?
Construction/coarse sand works well as a substitute for DG. The grittier the better. I could not believe the price of DG this week; went up to almost $9 a bag at HD! I just would not recommend play sand as it does not drain well.
@@EnlightenmentGarden I looked at Home Depot for the decomposed granite you mentioned in this video but it’s expensive. Please let me know if you ever do a tour of your garden, it is so beautiful. Also found golden bamboo at The AZ plant stand for $30. It’s about 5 feet already. I just need to purchase material to keep it contained. Thank you!
Today I'm going to replant some potted plants and I found the red volcanic rock at the WalMart in Mirage for $3.00. I don't know if the information is useful to you. Thank you for your videos, they are great information with solid bases. I want to know if this mix work for fig trees in pot.
Thanks; lava rocks at the big box stores work if they are small enough. $3 is a great price! I used this recipe for my fig trees and it has worked well. Since filming this, I found the best and cheapest method is 1:1:1 peat moss, decomposed granite or sand, and perlite. Amazon sells coarse perlite in 4 cu ft bags at around $30.
@@EnlightenmentGarden This lava rock is small , the only thing is that it is red. Don't lose anything by taking a look. Everything has its pros and cons, but I think volcanic rock provides more minerals to plants and takes longer to decompose. Thanks
Do you think I can use 1/4 minus as an alternative to decomposed granite?
I have not tried it but it should work similarly offering good drainage and some weight. The only difference that comes to mind is the silt in DG holds onto some water whereas the minus won't so it may dry out faster
@@EnlightenmentGarden thank you.
It been a while since this video, how have your trees grown in this soil?
I am very pleased with the media. Watering is fool proof with the level of drainage and no rot since organic material is only on top. Now that we are finally done with 30s and quickly heating up the mangos are pushing growth again. I'll be sure to do an update later this season.
I’m so grateful to you for introducing me to Gary and his info on soil. It makes so much sense. I really want to go to Laguna Hills Nursery and buy some acid mix and top pot! 😄 But in the mean time I’m making my own with your recipe. Thanks again, I’ve learned more from your channel than any other source.
@@rebeccaryan6229 I appreciate the kind words. KIS Organics has the biochar online and I've been using that now too at 5% of the mix like Gary suggests. Making one's own mix is very cost effective!
Any update on how they are doing?
It's only been a couple of weeks but doing well with new growth emerging. The seedlings came from FL; they are acclimating to our weather. I have them in sun until around 12ish
What’s wrong with the red lava rock?
The bagged red lava rock at my local big box stores is fairly large (3/4"+); that's the only downside. I have not found a way to crush it easily and at scale. 1/4" or smaller is more suitable for container media IMHO. Smaller size rocks are the only reason I prefer pumice or the black volcanic rock shown in this video.
The size of the black volcanic rocks shown on your video seems just as big as the red lava rock, am I wrong ?
Peat Moss $ 6.00 2.5 in WalMart Mirage.
Please forgive me but "real soil" that is 55 percent organic material,,,?,, I think not. Maybe 5 to 15 percent organic material would be more like real soil.
Thank you! I understand that clay, silt, and sand make up natural dirt. This video is "Best Long-Term Soil Media for Container Plants." My plants thrive in it compared to regular bagged soil that one can get at the big box stores which contain 90-95% organic material. If I potted up my tropicals in native dirt, they would all suffocate and die as I have heavy clay. My native soil is anything but ideal for container plants.