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Originally Posted by PureHarvest
Good stuff.
How much and what kind of limestone do you use?
I need to run numbers using your figures and see if I can save making my own.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bower
I was also about to ask about the amount of lime.
I'm also doing a peat based mix this time, but when it comes to lime I generally just wing it. No pH meter, just optimism to carry the decision making process. It would be great to have a recipe.
We get the 3.8 cu ft bales of peat, but I've never seen perlite only in a small bag for a pretty high price. We have no volcanic rock around here, so the 'puffed rock' is coming from a long way and therefore pricey.
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Gentleman, sorry for the delay in answering your questions about the lime. As to what kind, I use regular ol' "Garden Lime". Nothing fancy, the cheapest stuff you can find. I believe I paid about $10.00 Its a 40 pound bag. The brand im not sure about, as the bag is pretty badly faded. I think I bought that particular bag a couple years back.
If im not mistaken, I found the "Garden Lime" in the covered outdoor section at Lowes. Most Lowes I have ever been too have a section out there which they keep big bags of fertilizer, weed killers, etc. Thats where I found the Lime, Im confident. If I go by there tomorrow Ill double check.
As to how much... I don't measure. But if I had to guesstimate I would say I use about 1/4 cup per 5 or 7 gallon bag.
I wish I could be more specific, but in my research, I discovered that it probably doesn't matter. Several years back, when I started making my own potting mix, I stumbled across "GardenWeb". Im sure your familiar with that forum. After much reading, and chasing web links, the general conclusion was that roughly a 1/4 cup per 5 gallon bucket. I believe the conclusion, it is almost impossible to over lime your container soil. Unless your pouring in buckets of lime, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
As opposed to buying commerical stuff, like Pro-Mix, this method has got to be cheaper. Sure you have to mix the ingredients and wet it down, no big deal. I have used Pro-Mix in the past, its about the same amount of effort in my opinion. Sure the Pro-Mix has a "soil wetter" in it, but Ill take my chances.