Saturday, April 25, 2009

Soil Mix for Indoor Garden

For future reference, and partially in response to a comment on the previous posting, the soil mix I've been using contains:
  • Sphagnum Peat Moss: good for absorbing and retaining moisture, also slightly acidic (which most veggies like);
  • Perlite: expanded volcanic rock, reduces compatibility, improves drainage and keeps soil mix light;
  • Vermiculite: mica, expanded by heat, absorbs moisture, provides air spaces, contains nutrients potassium and magnesium;
  • Zeolite: aids water retention, holds and releases nutrients, contains calcium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, and other minor trace elements, "helps split roots to create heavier healthy fine roots", and helps balance pH.

I paraphrased this from the bag, I don't actually know this from memory or what exactly it all means. I can definitely see a theme of "lite" ness, so perhaps a "heavy" soil is not so good for getting plants started.

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4 comments:

  1. The Blog FodderApril 26, 2009 at 12:53 AM

    Thanks. I am not sure what our commercial potting soil has in it but will have a look now. We have had good luck with black topsoil we dug from out in a grass field, with a little sand in it. Tanya is ever the optimist and keeps buying commercial stuff to start plants. It works good for her houseplants (she buys specific mixes for eg violets) but not for seedlings.
    We started a compost pile. Can you believe it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. JoMay 18, 2009 at 7:02 PM

    Are you using a compost container or just the pile style? If container, what type?

    ReplyDelete
  3. LED grow lightsAugust 24, 2009 at 9:07 PM

    Very interesting blog with great ideas and information.and everybody like this..
    regardless of the effectiveness or not of the LED lights to grow our indoor plants, one area I am particular about is on the issue of its being environmental friendly.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JoAugust 25, 2009 at 9:28 AM

    LED grow lights: Have you tried growing plants with LED? My understanding is that LED uses less electricity and does not contain mercury. However, I'm not sure what other components it may contain that may or may not be harmful when landfilled. Would be a good item for me to research and learn more about.

    ReplyDelete