soil mixes

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General HTUK rules apply. This section is for tips, hints and discussion on growing that is not related to any specific group of plants.
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James1991
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:40 pm
Location: suffolk

soil mixes

Post by James1991 »

im kinda new to the tropicals but i grow a lot of fruit and veg so im always making soil mixes. what mixes do different tropicals like?
Dim

Re: soil mixes

Post by Dim »

grow using high brix methods:

Lower half of containers should be half Vermisoil mixed with an equal part of blood, bone, bat guano... This mix should also have the following: limestone (high calcium limestone, CaC03.) /5 parts Soft Rock Phosphate/3 parts gypsum.

Upper half will be straight Vermisoil.

water often with actively aerated compost tea... if you dont brew tea, use osmocote plus as a top dressing
Kristen

Re: soil mixes

Post by Kristen »

James1991 wrote:im kinda new to the tropicals but i grow a lot of fruit and veg so im always making soil mixes. what mixes do different tropicals like?
That's a bit of a piece-of-string question :) but given than many are borderline hardy, and they are more likely to survive if they are cold but do not have wet feet too, then I would say drainage is the top priority - unless you are on a sandy soil to start with.

I've put land drains in my exotic border so they are well drained in winter (heavy clay soil here). So far so good :)
flounder

Re: soil mixes

Post by flounder »

A rough guide to soil preparation is, research the plants you have as to where they come from. Then try and find out what the soil is like from that area. Then spend many a happy hour scrolling through pages and pages of conflicting information!
A general rule is watch your drainage. A lot of the jungly plants like moisture, but don't want to be sitting in wet soil. It's easier to add water to plants, rather than trying to remove it.
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