I used this method for 3 avocado trees back in December. I washed the roots in a big tub of water gently massaging the root ball until almost 100% of the wood chip soil was washed off then I repotted with top pot with 1 scoop shovel of sand mixed in my mixer and they never missed a step . I think it was helpful doing this during the cooler weather. After repotting I put them in the greenhouse with filtered sunlight. They are all doing good .
That’s awesome. I am so glad now I didn’t pot up my avo trees yet cos I was going to use mostly just potting mix, some sand and perlite. Thank god we research these things hey cos I wouldn’t have even known about adding things perlite and sand even. I am getting some pumice, volcanic rock, charcoal, more sand and perlite too. I won’t ever be using only pure dead trees potting mix again. I mean I don’t see an issue with putting some in top of the soil but not right through it that’s for sure.
Uncle. Thank you. After a lifetime of growing, and not knowing what is right or wrong. You have provided everything that I didn't know. Good information. MythBusting bad information. Unbelievable that in less than 15 minutes, you've more knowledge than most people can get in a college.
Well, in theory I do like the thought of having a sterile free draining planting mix, and I will be potting some avocados in a self made mix similar to top pot. The only thing I would say is that in the past I have always big box mixes and have trees and plants do just fine. If a plant fails ten years after planting I’m not sure you can blame the potting mix with 100% certainty.
How do you fix trees that you've already put in the ground? If it's planted in native soil, will they do ok with the potting mix surrounding the root ball? Digging up the tree to remove the potting mix could do more damage on a 5 foot guava tree with a large root ball. I was thinking of using a rebar or something to make holes in the soil around the root ball to fill up with pumice for aeration. Not sure if this is possible. I had the tree in a 25 gallon grow bag for 2 years, the root ball is big and probably 13 inches deep. I planted it in the ground the last January and it grew new leaves but it's not big or full. The smaller guava tree still in the grow bag looks like it's doing better. So I think the roots are rotting or the tree is focusing on the new root growth. Not sure what to do. Any tips? Thanks in advance.
So what can be done if anything with existing plants in a garden? I have plants many trees/shrubs/flowers within the last year and they are all sadly in a mixture of compost and cactus mix. There are a few things I can remove but for the most part everything is pretty established by now. Should I dig out what I can and replace with sand/peat moss/pumice and hope for the best? Whats best for established plants/trees?
could you ditch the peat moss and just rely on a thick mulch? in a cooler climate? the pile of quartz i had stayed really wet like it didn't try out in summer weather lol so it makes me wonder if even that material is holding 2 much moisture on its own.. probably not.. probably the perfect amount.. man why did i have to spend a week sifting and mixing compost with it nooo lol the story of my life seems to be stay super busy busting my ass overdoing everything haha omg lol i wonder how many in there 20s have gone through learning everything the stubborn and hard way like i have i have not heard 1 other person on the whole of the internet say to use sand or soil as potting soil and trust me i have searched about it a lot, without your videos i wouldn't have learnt what to do tfor probably another year or i would have given up and gone back to the coco and perlite and just rebuying the soil so thankyou very much sir
IKR same here 😂 I have wasted so much time and effort doing the wrong thing. All potting mixes are just full of dead trees composted wood chips. I mean so far nothing has died but I don’t want to have any issues in the future.
I can’t stop watching your videos, Great content! I’m in Texas and I’m having trouble finding the crushed pumice or lava rock, about how small do the pieces have to be? Also does the charcoal have to be horticulture grade or can it be charcoal like for BBQ. Thanks in advance.
I was also wondering what charcoal it has to be. Can it be our own charcoal we use from burning some pruning from trees in a fire? I have heaps of wood I need to burn off for ash and charcoal for my plants.
If you have to use charcoal for the grill then make sure it is untreated like lump charcoal. Aquarium charcoal or biochar is a better option especially if "charged" with nutrients for a month or longer. You don't have to buy biochar if it is too expensive for your budget. You can make your own biochar via a cone pit method and dried wood. There are plenty of you tube videos showing how to do it. Skillcult has some good videos. I'd charge it with seaweed kelp meal or similiar.
Could I use this method on an avocado tree purchased from the nursery? I had one for 3 years and it just seemed to systemically fail. I want to get another, but after watching your videos, it’s seems like any tree will be doomed. Right now seems like a good time to try. Thanks!
Absolutely. The three year period seems about the right time for the roots to rot out because of the high organic matter in the soil. You can follow the steps in this video and just make sure you replace the dirt with our soil, or if you are not located near us, with a mineral soil alternative, like sand and peat moss or peat moss and pumice. Just make sure your soil is mostly mineral and you should be fine.
I am wondering how the Manzanita @ 10:48 responded to having the soil changed? Was it a success or did the plant suffer and die from having the roots disturbed?
Any soil with bark is soil that you don't want to use, especially for permanent plants like citrus. We have seen over the years that citrus trees don't grow nearly as well in soils containing high amounts of organic material.
Gary's Best Gardening oh no I have a lemon tree growing in pot that has the wood chips. I better get it repotted I think before it gets too established. It’s only been in it for couple of months.
I just baught an avocado tree in a 15 gallon pot and want to repot it into a 30 gallon pot. Do I need to remove all the commercial soil before I repot it? I live in Florida but don't want it in the ground. Since I can't get your soil over here, what is the percentage of each ingredient, so I can make my own mix. I don't want to mess this up, since i paid a lot for this tree.
I'm certain a bit of manure is not a problem. I'm also certain that if it is piled over 1' deep that would be a problem. It depends on how permeable the compost is. Air has to be able to penetrate.
Either is fine, as even fine grained sand is still more coarse than clay. We prefer to use more coarse because it provides a little better aeration to the roots, and is less expensive usually and more readily available.
I cannot find pumice for sale. Is pumice and vermiculite the exact same thing? Or is vermiculite something different but can be used in place of pumice?
pumice is similar to perlite...though typically a bit heavier (less likely to float). Pumice and perlite are like "popped" sand, vermiculite is equivalent to clay. Too much vermiculite (say more than 10%) tends to stop drainage.
@@GarysBestGardening Aha! Thanks for clearing that up. Perlite (white color) is similar to pumice(white color). But not vermiculite(golden tiny micro cubes). :)
@@rauljimenez8132 yeah both are a gd ripoff. I would never shop at Amazon. I've taken to making my own. I've got a fireplace and a 5 gallon metal bucket and lid. Are you the wolves striker?
@@rauljimenez8132 I've started making my own charcoal. I fill a metal 5 gallon bucket up with wood matter put a loose lid on it and place it in the middle of my fireplace. Still working on an efficient way to crush it.
you said u don't use water couse of droughts but what if u kept a bucket of water that u could just dunk the rootballs in and massage the compost away.. i guess the reason why you don't do this is cause eventually youd just have a bucket of fertiliser lol
That is definitely an option. We have tried that here at the nursery, but it seems that for our purposes, using water seems to be too much of a hassle unless we use a hose and blast the dirt off. If we have a lot of buckets with water then we start to attract mosquitos, which is not desirable when customers are walking around our stores.
Compost is composed of mainly organic matter. Too much organic matter in a poor draining pot or ground. Can easily lower oxygen level off those plants root, thus suffocating danger is a treat for our plants long term. Yes growing carrots & other vegetables is great in medium made of one-third compost, one-third peat moss and one-third perlite. But after 5-7month it'll start breaking down loosening it's hefty soil structure. Peace out
I used this method for 3 avocado trees back in December. I washed the roots in a big tub of water gently massaging the root ball until almost 100% of the wood chip soil was washed off then I repotted with top pot with 1 scoop shovel of sand mixed in my mixer and they never missed a step . I think it was helpful doing this during the cooler weather. After repotting I put them in the greenhouse with filtered sunlight. They are all doing good .
That’s awesome. I am so glad now I didn’t pot up my avo trees yet cos I was going to use mostly just potting mix, some sand and perlite. Thank god we research these things hey cos I wouldn’t have even known about adding things perlite and sand even. I am getting some pumice, volcanic rock, charcoal, more sand and perlite too. I won’t ever be using only pure dead trees potting mix again. I mean I don’t see an issue with putting some in top of the soil but not right through it that’s for sure.
Uncle. Thank you. After a lifetime of growing, and not knowing what is right or wrong. You have provided everything that I didn't know. Good information. MythBusting bad information. Unbelievable that in less than 15 minutes, you've more knowledge than most people can get in a college.
Well, in theory I do like the thought of having a sterile free draining planting mix, and I will be potting some avocados in a self made mix similar to top pot. The only thing I would say is that in the past I have always big box mixes and have trees and plants do just fine. If a plant fails ten years after planting I’m not sure you can blame the potting mix with 100% certainty.
What’s big box mixes mean? Is that a type of soil you bought?
@@NMW80 Big Box means from a big chain store like The Home Depot, Lowes, Costco that have buildings that look like a Big Box.
@@richardmang2558 oh ok thanks haha I’m from Australia so I didn’t realise what he meant.
How do you fix trees that you've already put in the ground? If it's planted in native soil, will they do ok with the potting mix surrounding the root ball? Digging up the tree to remove the potting mix could do more damage on a 5 foot guava tree with a large root ball. I was thinking of using a rebar or something to make holes in the soil around the root ball to fill up with pumice for aeration. Not sure if this is possible.
I had the tree in a 25 gallon grow bag for 2 years, the root ball is big and probably 13 inches deep. I planted it in the ground the last January and it grew new leaves but it's not big or full. The smaller guava tree still in the grow bag looks like it's doing better. So I think the roots are rotting or the tree is focusing on the new root growth. Not sure what to do. Any tips? Thanks in advance.
So what can be done if anything with existing plants in a garden? I have plants many trees/shrubs/flowers within the last year and they are all sadly in a mixture of compost and cactus mix. There are a few things I can remove but for the most part everything is pretty established by now. Should I dig out what I can and replace with sand/peat moss/pumice and hope for the best? Whats best for established plants/trees?
could you ditch the peat moss and just rely on a thick mulch? in a cooler climate? the pile of quartz i had stayed really wet like it didn't try out in summer weather lol so it makes me wonder if even that material is holding 2 much moisture on its own.. probably not.. probably the perfect amount.. man why did i have to spend a week sifting and mixing compost with it nooo lol the story of my life seems to be stay super busy busting my ass overdoing everything haha omg lol i wonder how many in there 20s have gone through learning everything the stubborn and hard way like i have i have not heard 1 other person on the whole of the internet say to use sand or soil as potting soil and trust me i have searched about it a lot, without your videos i wouldn't have learnt what to do tfor probably another year or i would have given up and gone back to the coco and perlite and just rebuying the soil so thankyou very much sir
IKR same here 😂 I have wasted so much time and effort doing the wrong thing. All potting mixes are just full of dead trees composted wood chips. I mean so far nothing has died but I don’t want to have any issues in the future.
I can’t stop watching your videos, Great content! I’m in Texas and I’m having trouble finding the crushed pumice or lava rock, about how small do the pieces have to be? Also does the charcoal have to be horticulture grade or can it be charcoal like for BBQ. Thanks in advance.
If you are in the Dallas area check out Texas Garden and Hort. 8330 Director's Row #200 Dallas TX 75247.
2146349376.
I was also wondering what charcoal it has to be. Can it be our own charcoal we use from burning some pruning from trees in a fire? I have heaps of wood I need to burn off for ash and charcoal for my plants.
@@NMW80 I used regular charcoal you would use for bbq. Charcoal is burned wood. I crushed it with the hammer.
@@angt9367 oh cool thank you. I wasn’t sure if I could use that incase it has some chemicals etc in it.
If you have to use charcoal for the grill then make sure it is untreated like lump charcoal. Aquarium charcoal or biochar is a better option especially if "charged" with nutrients for a month or longer. You don't have to buy biochar if it is too expensive for your budget. You can make your own biochar via a cone pit method and dried wood. There are plenty of you tube videos showing how to do it. Skillcult has some good videos. I'd charge it with seaweed kelp meal or similiar.
Could I use this method on an avocado tree purchased from the nursery? I had one for 3 years and it just seemed to systemically fail. I want to get another, but after watching your videos, it’s seems like any tree will be doomed. Right now seems like a good time to try. Thanks!
Absolutely. The three year period seems about the right time for the roots to rot out because of the high organic matter in the soil. You can follow the steps in this video and just make sure you replace the dirt with our soil, or if you are not located near us, with a mineral soil alternative, like sand and peat moss or peat moss and pumice. Just make sure your soil is mostly mineral and you should be fine.
I am wondering how the Manzanita @ 10:48 responded to having the soil changed? Was it a success or did the plant suffer and die from having the roots disturbed?
We have done about a dozen Manzanita plants with no losses
What do you think of the 511 soil people use on citrus? Sounds like it's the wrong route to take because of the bark that's added.
Any soil with bark is soil that you don't want to use, especially for permanent plants like citrus. We have seen over the years that citrus trees don't grow nearly as well in soils containing high amounts of organic material.
Gary's Best Gardening oh no I have a lemon tree growing in pot that has the wood chips. I better get it repotted I think before it gets too established. It’s only been in it for couple of months.
I just baught an avocado tree in a 15 gallon pot and want to repot it into a 30 gallon pot. Do I need to remove all the commercial soil before I repot it? I live in Florida but don't want it in the ground. Since I can't get your soil over here, what is the percentage of each ingredient, so I can make my own mix. I don't want to mess this up, since i paid a lot for this tree.
Can I use coco peat + sand and tiny stones mix for my Potted Dragon Fruits ?
Hi Gary, Do you do delivery to San Marino?
I need 12 bags of the Gary’s Best Top Pot soil but I don’t drive. Pls kindly reply
Couldn’t u fill up a tub and move it around in the water? Seems a lot of plants could be done this way maybe even add some kelp to the water?
Sorry seen your reply down below
Can compost from manure be in touch with trunk of the tree? Thank you.
I'm certain a bit of manure is not a problem. I'm also certain that if it is piled over 1' deep that would be a problem. It depends on how permeable the compost is. Air has to be able to penetrate.
Do you recommend finer grained sand or coarser grained sand for container growing?
Either is fine, as even fine grained sand is still more coarse than clay. We prefer to use more coarse because it provides a little better aeration to the roots, and is less expensive usually and more readily available.
@@GarysBestGardening Hi, where I am we can get sand from 1 mm to 8 mm. What would you recommend?
I have used "washed", "all-purpose" and "play" sand with similar results. Have not tried mortar sand...however I would expect all to work.
Gary how much is ur top soil?
I cannot find pumice for sale. Is pumice and vermiculite the exact same thing? Or is vermiculite something different but can be used in place of pumice?
pumice is similar to perlite...though typically a bit heavier (less likely to float). Pumice and perlite are like "popped" sand, vermiculite is equivalent to clay. Too much vermiculite (say more than 10%) tends to stop drainage.
@@GarysBestGardening Aha! Thanks for clearing that up. Perlite (white color) is similar to pumice(white color). But not vermiculite(golden tiny micro cubes).
:)
Any idea where a guy can get charcoal for potting mix?
Home Depot, Amazon......
@@rauljimenez8132 yeah both are a gd ripoff. I would never shop at Amazon. I've taken to making my own. I've got a fireplace and a 5 gallon metal bucket and lid. Are you the wolves striker?
@@ragnaraxelson59 Wrong wolves.😊
@@rauljimenez8132 I've started making my own charcoal. I fill a metal 5 gallon bucket up with wood matter put a loose lid on it and place it in the middle of my fireplace. Still working on an efficient way to crush it.
you said u don't use water couse of droughts but what if u kept a bucket of water that u could just dunk the rootballs in and massage the compost away.. i guess the reason why you don't do this is cause eventually youd just have a bucket of fertiliser lol
That is definitely an option. We have tried that here at the nursery, but it seems that for our purposes, using water seems to be too much of a hassle unless we use a hose and blast the dirt off. If we have a lot of buckets with water then we start to attract mosquitos, which is not desirable when customers are walking around our stores.
Gary's Best Gardening also the water will go stagnant and not be good for plants if it sits for too long.
compost bad? tell that to Charles Dowding ..
Compost is composed of mainly organic matter. Too much organic matter in a poor draining pot or ground. Can easily lower oxygen level off those plants root, thus suffocating danger is a treat for our plants long term. Yes growing carrots & other vegetables is great in medium made of one-third compost, one-third peat moss and one-third perlite. But after 5-7month it'll start breaking down loosening it's hefty soil structure. Peace out
It all depends on how long the roots remain in the soil.