Salt, wishing you the best with your setup, and keep us posted! This thread is truly pretty amazing for the variety of mixes and things that can be done in containers. Pls. excuse another side trip...
SQWIBB, your "hugel pots" are blowing my mind.
Please let us know how it works out for you. To answer your question most people don't replace mix that often. As you said, for organic growing, replenish with compost or well rotted manure on a yearly basis. I remove some mix in the spring (up to 1/3), add fresh compost and crushed kelp and a bit of lime as well as other ferts. I used the same container soil for 5 years that way, but then decided to cycle it outdoors due to a pest buildup in the greenhouse. Kind of regret it, because it is not that easy to rebuild what I had using commercial peat and compost, and it will need a lot of amendment before it's as good as the old stuff.
For non organic growers, the soil-less mix whether peat bark coir whatever does break down over time and loses the ideal structural properties, so afaik they also periodically change or replenish with fresh material to maintain it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SQWIBB
Great thread!!!
I have been lining my pots with wood that has been soaked in a solution of 10-10-10 all winter, and Bio-Char that is charged with urea. We will see what happens.
I do have a question for the container folks, do you replace the mix every other year?
I was thinking about replenishing with my compost and growing a cover crop in the pots in the fall.
My potted plants usually get a shot of osmocote or 10-10-10 three times a season after bloom.
Wood, Charred wood, soaked in 10-10-10 solution all winter
Drip irrigation to pot.
Compost, Bio-char, Rabbit Manure and Bedding, old potting soil, some old clay soil, coffee grounds...pray for me!!
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