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The Corroboree
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Good vs shit store potting mixes?

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Hello people,

im sick of buying woodchips and just plain shitty mixes. Doe anyone know of any good potting mix i can buy? Specific brands you guys with years of gardening experience can reccomend? Also is there any particular type of sand (i know sand is basically just silicon dioxide but im thinking differant types may have differant micronutrients and whatnot?) that is good? I want to repot some cactus and plants and I AM NOT planting my plants in this cruddy mix.. No.

Thankyou in advance.

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like most things u get what u pay for

Edited by bullit
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make ya own. i use dirt from the veg patch . which i made from cow shit, compost and leaf material in the bush mixed with blood n bone..

cacti. sand from the river, gravel, lil bit of my veg soil and a lil bit of blood n bone and lime..

buying potting mix can cost ya a arm and another arm.

Edited by bullit
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Coarse sharp sand is what you want. It's a lot cheaper if you buy trailer loads of potting soil and sand in bulk. You can make up your own potting mixes this way. Adding bricks of coir can help too. If you want manure then people who own horses tend to be more than happy for you to take as much as you want because they've having to shovel shit constantly otherwise.

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I use debco cacti potting mix for pretty much everything I grow, lophs, tricho, ario etc. but vary what I add to them each time I make the mix. for the more arid types I add more course river sand which I buy by the 20 or 30 liter bag which I struggle to lift. I also add a bit of perlite really because as I have heaps of it and its supposed to be good for airflow - I then have buckets of decomposed granite that I buy for $5 for two - I sieve these and seperate three different sizes. the sand sized bits get used in the mix, the 5 x 5 x 5mm bits are used as a nice heavy top dressing. the larger bit ate either top dressing or in the garden. I wash and sieve it so much the superfine compacting bits wash away.

I sometimes use debco premium potting mix for trichocereus , and always for pereskiopsis.

if I had time I would make my own but to be honest if I had more time in the garden I would use it doing more important things like repotting and weeding.

I have always been a strong believer ( and its just my opinion) in the importance of the subterranean environment as being equally if not more important that the above ground portion of the plant.

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I would also put debco more on the shit side of the scale by the way.

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Honestly i dont notice a hudge difference between potting mixes. Ive never had a "cacti and succulent mix" that looked any different from the rest.

For most cactus, i use a mix of:

  • Any cheap potting mix
  • Perlite
  • Sand (course)
  • Coco Coir

For vegies, ive been composting used potting mix and spent mushroom substrate.

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I use Searls premium potting mix for trichos and everything else.

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I have tried a few, and I think searls is the best

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At the moment I use a mixure of cheap composted green waste potting mix from bunnings that $2.70 a bag crap, amended with coco coir, sand and perlite. Depending on what I am growing in there, with added fertilliser.

I don't use the commercial peat based mixes, cos the shrinkage is too bad when they dry out lol. I am in the process of scouting out cheap composted pine fines in the melbourne area, when I do this will become the base of my mix as I believe pine bark is perfect potting base mix as long as its composted well. Then i will be happy, unfortunately bunnings only has lightly composted pine fines, which are of no use as the N draw down index is too large, and I don't have enough money to be buying 'premium potting' mixes which are based off of the pine bark as well.

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The last two bags of osmocote potting mix I have bought from bunnings has has had white mold in it :BANGHEAD2:

I think I will start making my own from raw materials in the future.

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Tbh that has a lot to do with how bunnings store there potting mixes, my one there stored uncovered outside and if we get a consistant wet period they can go anaroebic pretty quick.

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I've been driving around with buckets etc in my car collecting from piles of different sized gravel, blue metal stone, pebbles etc road work sites are good, big piles of different grades of stone ;-) then I make up my mix's for what I need, only small amounts of potting mix I've been using lately.

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I do the same as watertrade :wink:,

If anyone is on the gold coast & wants Debco cacti mix (cheap) I have 100rds of bags here, PM me to work something out.

Cheers

Jox

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Yeah, I bought 3 bags of potting mix from Bunnings and they had white mould in them. I spread the potting mix out and left it in the sun for a few days.

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I use a seed raising mix by "plant care". Have only ever seen it in my local nursery but it grows everything with zero problems. For cactus I use cheapest possible option with perlite and a layer of whatever rocks/crushed bricks I can get for free in the bottom.

But moving forward, now I have my own land/free dirt, I'll be making everything on hand myself using my own soil/composts/river pebbles etc. I also have an unlimited supply of mushroom compost so that will come in handy, I find the trichs can handle straight mushroom with sand 50/50 no probs.

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I do the same as watertrade :wink:,

If anyone is on the gold coast & wants Debco cacti mix (cheap) I have 100rds of bags here, PM me to work something out.

Cheers

Jox

I have been wondering for a while jox. How did you get all those bags? Were they the Ones on sale on eBay ages ago for cheap? :) Edited by watertrade
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Yeah mate, they were selling a pallet at a time (pick up only) so I bought one they rang them at the debco office & offered them a price to take the lot ( about eight pallets), they said no but a week later rang me back & said I could buy them as long as I took everything & they were gone by the weekend :wink:.

The story was Bunnings had ordered them up from Melbourne & they were waiting at a holding yard near Brisbane, Bunnings found out Debco were selling potting mix to Masters & cancelled there order. Debco thought it would be cheaper to sell it off than ship it back, the best part it was costing Debco to hold it at the yard near Brisbane so they told me if I wanted the cacti mix I had to take eight other pallets as well, these contained bonsai mix, azalea mix & premium potting mix which were free :). Mind you I had to hire a truck to pick it all up & drop it at mine.

Cheers

Jox

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Yeah mate, they were selling a pallet at a time (pick up only) so I bought one they rang them at the debco office & offered them a price to take the lot ( about eight pallets), they said no but a week later rang me back & said I could buy them as long as I took everything & they were gone by the weekend :wink:.

The story was Bunnings had ordered them up from Melbourne & they were waiting at a holding yard near Brisbane, Bunnings found out Debco were selling potting mix to Masters & cancelled there order. Debco thought it would be cheaper to sell it off than ship it back, the best part it was costing Debco to hold it at the yard near Brisbane so they told me if I wanted the cacti mix I had to take eight other pallets as well, these contained bonsai mix, azalea mix & premium potting mix which were free :). Mind you I had to hire a truck to pick it all up & drop it at mine.

Cheers

Jox

It's a good story :). So may I ask.... How many pallets of potting mix do you have left? :D

The punch line to the story should be... "....And I live in an apartment block"

Edited by watertrade
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^^LOL, I am renting & am hoping to renew my lease at the end of the month just so I don't have to move all my plants & the pallets of potting mix :lol:.

I have about four pallets of cacti mix that have been kept dry undercover & are still like new & about one & a half pallets of cacti mix that has been out in the weather, these weathered ones would be great for someone who owns a house & wants to build a raised cactus garden.

Cheers

Jox

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Great yarn jox! I've done heaps of these silly bulk purchases in the past but yours takes the cake!! Anyone in the shipping biz know what a pallet would cost shipped from Bris to Syd? I'm in half a mind to make you an offer in one bro!

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I'll give the thumbs up to searls :)

Depending on how poor I am I will mix a bag of seatless premium with a bag of cheapo mix then depending what I'm growing mix in some crumbly ground up rotten granite from the big pile in my dad's front yard. Does the trick fine :)

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Great yarn jox! I've done heaps of these silly bulk purchases in the past but yours takes the cake!! Anyone in the shipping biz know what a pallet would cost shipped from Bris to Syd? I'm in half a mind to make you an offer in one bro!

Hey mate, borrow a ute & come for a drive up :lol:, I give ya some cacti & you can take as many bags as the ute can handle. This way you can have a holiday & get free potting mix :wink:.

Cheers

Jox

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