Judging by the lack of response, I'm guessing this must be a regional product.

No, not regional. It's comprised of ingredients that tend to 'muck up' the essential wide open pore spaces of the coarse textured container medium. I've used this product in the garden, but would never, ever employ it as a container medium.

Remove the castings, humus, and compost and you've got the beginnings of something you could work with! ;-)

Rhizo,

Not having really examined castings, what is wrong with them?

~james

Re: the castings - absolutely nothing and they are a great addition to a container soil mix. As Dorrie indicates, you need some good pore space for aeration and drainage so if you have a mix that provides that, adding the castings is just a bit of icing on the cake. I wouldn't overdo them, however. They tend to be of small particle size as well as being pretty potent stuff.

For practicality, I buy a prepared potting soil that does contain worm castings. There is minimal need to fertilize during the initial growing season because of the castings (they tend to be rather nutrient rich) but for long term plantings, I do supplement with a slow release fertilizer. Used in moderation, they do not seem to hasten the compaction, shrinkage or clumping one can experience with compost. I've had great long term results with it. FWIW, most of my container plantings are intended for longer than a single season - in fact, many of them are permanent plantings.

I would have to say that this is a pretty premium mix - were I not able to buy with an employee discount at my nursery, I'd consider it rather pricey. Purchased worm castings on their own are a not inexpensive amendment :-)

I must admit I am getting a bit frustrated with the whole potting soil issue! I was purchasing the commercially available brands of potting soil, and several people on this forum (and other forums) have said to stay away from peat based potting soils due to their tendency to become compact and basically sufficate the roots. The pine bark fines that have been recommended are simply not available where I live. I have tried adding perlite to commercial mixes, and also used the cacti/succulant mix, which appeared to have a good bit of some type of wood chips in it. When I saw this Black Gold potting mix, which states on the bag like all the other commercial brands, that it is suitable for containers, and saw the list of ingredients, I thought it would be a better choice since it is not JUST peat. If I mix this with the perlite, would it be suitable? My choices are: use this brand, which is all the local garden center and feeds stores carry, or stick with the commercial brands available at Wal-mart. There is a Lowe's about 20 - 30 minutes from here, if they carry something better than Walmart. I live in a semi-rural area and just don't have the selection that those of you in more metropolitan areas may have, and I am trying to provide the best environment I can for my plants. Is there an option I've overlooked?

I don't blame you for getting frustrated! Each of us has our own good and bad experiences and opinions, that's for sure!

My experience with the Black Gold product is that it is filled with ingredients that are all of a small particle size, creating a mucky (fine textured) consistency, rather than a crumbly (coarse textured) one. Container plants simply do better (in the long and short run) if the medium is rather coarse and fast draining.

I think you should make the most out of what you have available to you, by all means. (Most of us use peat based products, by the way.....and just add to it.) I think you could cut that Black Gold product by 50% with the perlite and end up with something that would work fine. I'll bet that the cactus mix would be perfect added to the mixture, too! Say, you could even add chicken grit from the feed store!

If you find that the surface of your potting medium begins to shrink or form a hard layer,or that water doesn't percolate through rapidly, then you can try again next time.

I used to be perfectly contented with ordinary old potting mediums, then discovered (20 years ago) a commercial brand (always peat based) that I preferred over all others, and THEN I began to amend that even more! Over all those years of observation, I learned that it was the coarse ingredients that did what I required of a container medium. At present, I make something that consists mostly of those large 'pieces and parts' with just enough peat to hold it together (barely). But, I could go back to the potting soil if I had to.

So, the moral of the story is: use what you have available to you to create a potting medium that is coarse textured and fast draining. There are NO rules other than to provide a uniform medium in which your plant's roots can readily access water and air at all times.

You should report back to us, by the way, if you end up loving that Black Gold like crazy! No fair hoarding secrets.

I think all of us have, at one point or another, shared your frustration. Last year, I couldn't find an expanded shale product. I used the smallest granite I could find, which wasn't really all that small. I spent a day picking out the largest pieces. Right now, my fig trees are in the fridge in Houston, because they were about to break dormancy and my supplier of Perlite (in bulk) was out. So it goes.

If you want to try your own mix, the pine bark mulch at the Lowes by my house is pretty fine. Perlite you can already find. If you can't find an expanded shale, you could use a poultry grit as Al has suggested, or even mix 1:1 perlite and mulch.

I mixed this in December. Mulch came from Lowes.
{{gwi:6925}}

I think the important things to remember are 1) none of this is written in stone. If you feel comfortable using a bagged mix (amended or not) and are willing to learn how it behaves, go for it. If it doesn't quite work the way you want and experiment with other amendments, go for it. Secondly, what I do in Houston might not work for exactly the same way in Colorado. There are many things that are going to be different, your environment, the quality of your water, the heat, etc etc etc. Any advice you accept should be used as a springboard, and one should expect to make modifications to it. This is, after all, a learning process for all of us. Thirdly, if you adopt a method, keep with it making only minor adjustments (unless it is clearly the wrong decision.) I see too many people abandoning what they already know in search of the holy grail. I always remember a tomato growing lecture I attended. Someone asked the instructor which variety of tomato he felt was best. The response was "any tomato that is perfectly ripe will taste better than any other that is not." I think the same holds true here. Any growing medium that you can maximize will be better than any other that you do not... well, maybe to a large degree ;)

good luck,
~james

I used to live in an apartment with a balcony, and I had ferns out there, as well as a few house plants inside (also some succulents, for which I used a cactus/succulent potting soil). I used Black Gold for everything but the succulents, because it was all that was available in a size that I could deal with. My plants always did well with it. Maybe it was just dumb luck, because I didn't know much about any of the things I've been learning on these forums. But I thought I should just let you know.

Thanks organic tosca, it does make me feel better knowing someone else had success using this product.

James, your post says you made that mix in December. Did the Lowe's in your area have mulch that time of year? I called to find out what they had before I made the drive, and they said they would have mulch in by the end of March. Walmart said late March or even the beginning of April before they would have any in. Of course the fact that we still get snow as late as April, and most places keep the mulch outside, probably explains why they don't carry it earlier in the year. Our local nurseries aren't even open yet.

Most of what is going in my containers will be heat loving plants anyway, so I guess I can wait a few more weeks, though waiting is not something I'm good at, LOL.

I guess I tend to take the climate in Houston for granted sometimes. Nurseries are open year round. Lowes/HD as well as the other nurseries (not Walmart) carry mulch, fert, plants, other supplies just about all the time.

Interestingly enough, I haven't made out to look in NJ to see if anything is in stock, yet.

~james

Yeah, I moved here from western Tennessee and was surprised when I called a nursery in January and got a recording saying that they were "closed for the winter season". There we had forsythia and daffodils blooming in February, here it happens in April.

I have used Black Gold a couple of times. It is a great amendment to soil which is rather tired. I never had any problems with it, either. I mixed it with other soil though; and it seemed to work just fine.

I am another container gardener that have used it. I did not have any trouble. My plants did fine. To me it was better than Miracle-gro that stuff would not dry.

Up in the Pacific Northwest we have several garden book authors (educated in horticulture and certified Master Gardeners) who have Black Gold on their recommend lists. I have use both Black Gold and the Gardener & Bloome products with equally good success in potted plantings ranging from fushias to 4' camelias and palms.

James,

I like the looks of your soil. It looks lite. But does it dry out to fast? ALL the roots need to get water right?. Does this mix miss some of the roots and give you dry spots within the root system if you use this soil on bare rooted plants? And do you find yourself having to constantly water your plants due to the soil drying out to fast, or does this soil stay moist long enough for a couple of days in medium size containers? about 6inches and up. Plastic and clay. It is probably great for indoor plants in winter cold months for drainage, but what about in the summer hot months?

Thankyou

Expanded Slate? Do you mean Vermicalite? If so, I believe that is expanded mica.

1eyedJack and the Dawg

I am very new to this making your own potting mix. All I have is the results from last year. I made the pine bark mix Al told us about. The results were amazing. Just for an experiment growing the same plant in the same size pot right next to one with pine bark, I used a high end peat based mix. Did the plants grow in the peat mix? Yes. Did they flower? yes. But compared to the pine bark mix they looked sick.

I had the same frustration looking for stuff. But Al said you could use uncomposted pine,fur,spruce bark ect...
So the large bag of pine spruce fur hemlock mulch bags they sell at lowes wallmart or HD will work. you just have to screen them through a 1/2" screen to get the fines. It worked for me. Good luck. filix

Dawg, expanded slate is a very different product than vermiculite. Do some googling....'Permatill' is one of the better known brands for landscape, gardening, and container uses.

I have used lava rock with perlite to aerite my soil. For succulents, I go way up on the amount of perlite, small rock, lava rock, and perlite that is in the soil.
Each of the soils that I have generally start with a commercial bag of soil for orchids, bromeliads, cactus, etc, and then I add my own ingredients.
It is a little bit like witch's brew, I have gone so far.

I don't think that any soil will be good for a plant if it doesn't get aerated. Adding perlite would be the easiest way to fluff up your soil. Loewe's soil is generally what I use, but I sterilize all my soils that I buy in the oven for 35 minutes at 300 degrees before using them.

There are too many insects in the soils that have crawled into the little aeration holes in the bag. It sounds crazy, but I have cut way down on finding new insects in my newly potted plants this way. COOK your soil, and clay pot if it has been used before, before putting your plant in it.

My two cents. But I am a sterilizing nut, and I got so tired of the bug routine.

I like the idea of using turkey grit, I don't know where to get it, but I am using other small pebbles and lava rock for aeration. The roots need it.

Good luck. This is the first time on this forum. What a delightful place for other gardeners.

Re the question of Black Gold quality...ita great stuff for my plants. Been using it for a while and its great. Runs circles around Miracle Grow.

I am presently using Black Gold Cactus Mix for my cactus orchids. I love this mix. It is the first one that I have found that does not become a solid cake of dirt in my pots. It lets your plants breath and the water drains through very nicely. My cactus' seem to be very happy in it. I had first planted them in regular planting mix and I did not like the soil and neither did they. I now am looking to plant an oriental totem pole (Dracaena). My garden center had a supply last week but they are now out and won't be getting any in for about 5 days. Trying to find another supplier so I can get it potted now that it is starting to sprout. I live in zone 10/11.

While gathering stuff for Al's gritty mix and 5:1:1 - which I thought I could do easily (NOT!) - I grabbed a couple bags of the Black Gold because I was in a hurry to get a couple of tomatoe plants in. In the past, I have not had good luck with container tomatoes. However, my tomatoes seem to be doing very well. I'm no expert and I would go with Al's recommendations for bagged potting soil (if he has any.)

I can't speak specifically to the Cactus Mix, but their product labeled 'potting soil' is very poor. FWIW - I've found most products labeled 'cacti/succulent soil' not well suited for use as labeled.

Al

Perhaps climate is an issue with problems with Black Gold All Purpose
Potting Soil. I've been using it for over a decade with no problems. It
is my soil of choice. I do add extra perlite for some tropicals that I keep in my greenhouse. For the bulk of my containers I don't amend. Here is a shot of my container garden taken in March

It's not a climate issue, BoS, it's a structure issue. It retains so much water you can't effectively water in conventional container set-ups.

Al

It's great for bog plants. I keep a bag for my Cardinal Lobelia, they will not flower in 5-1-1, but they bloom like gangbusters in Gardeners Gold. I put it in a 1 1/2 deep saucer and keep it full of water.

Highalt, do not look for a bag labeled "Pine Bark Fines". I get pine bark mulch (NOT nuggets or mini-nuggets) or Soil Conditioner, and screen with a 1/2" sieve.

New to the thread. even newer to porch potting. Al, could you post your recipe for pine bark potting mix again? I would like to give it a go. I have some Fern Lavender that looks very sick but hanging on. My Campanula plant is thriving but could use a boost. Normally the bells are vibrant and bloom longer but having a hard time boosting their bloom. It needs a lot of water too. Soil is well drained but dries out fast causing me to water daily. I am in zone 9-10 (Tempe, AZ).

Mix and let sit for 2 weeks minimum for lime to adjust Ph

5.1.1
5 parts pine bark fines (partially composted fines are best)
1 part sphagnum peat (not reed or sedge peat please)
1-2 parts perlite
garden lime (or gypsum for acid loving plants)
controlled release fertilizer (optional)
micro-nutrient powder, other source of micro-nutrients (optional)

Big batch:
2-3 cu ft pine bark fines
5 gallons peat
5 gallons perlite
2 cups dolomitic garden lime (or gypsum for acid loving plants)
2 cups CRF (optional)
1/2 cup micro-nutrient powder (or other source of the minors - provided in some fertilizers)

Small batch:
3 gallons pine bark
1/2 gallon peat
1/2 gallon perlite
4 tbsp lime - 1tbsp per gallon of finished soil (or gypsum in some cases)
1/4 cup CRF (if preferred)
micro-nutrient powder (or other source of the minors)

GRITTY MIX

1 part uncomposted screened pine or fir bark (1/8-1/4")
1 part screened Turface
1 part crushed Gran-I-Grit (grower size) or #2 cherrystone
1 Tbsp gypsum per gallon of soil
CRF (if desired)
Source of micro-nutrients or use a fertilizer that contains all essentials

I use 1/8 -1/4 tsp Epsom salts per gallon of fertilizer solution when I fertilize (check your fertilizer - if it is soluble, it is probable it does not contain Ca or Mg.

Yeah I did, the unfertilized potting mix sucks!

I use this stuff faithfully. There is 2 ways it's sourced one is from Georgia and other Canada. The closer you are too either depends which mix bag you will get. I like the stuff because it's an almost blank canvas. I add a 1cu foot bag of living soil to the 2cu foot bag of black gold and a few amendments and all I have to do is water. Prefect for indoor gardening. Many people complain about the water retention but I don't have that problem because I have high quality lights that encourage better transparation

I used to love Black Gold potting mix but over the years they’ve added a lot of wood chips and even gravel resulting in poor results. Try to find Espoma organic potting mix, Mirace gro potting mix or the pricier Fox Farm Ocean Forest. They WORK!!!

What works and what doesn't is far more often than not based on subjective opinion. IT WORKS, says no more than the person making the claim is satisfied with the combination of his choice of potting medium and how it meshes with his care regimen.

We know that media based on large fractions of fine particles are too often too unforgiving for any but very experienced growers to realize top notched results; whereas, media based on large fractions of coarse materials (usually greater than 75% of pine bark, perlite, aggregates like Turface MVP [calcined clay], perlite, pumice, crushed granite [grower size Gran-I-Grit or Manna-Pro poultry grit], or crushed cherrystone size 2), offer high air porosity and very little excess (perched) water retention. In making the adjustment from media too water retentive to media well aerated but with less ability to hold water, one should expect to water more frequently. This is because the water reservoir that offers watering intervals measured in weeks instead of fewer days than the 4 fingers on u-one hand comes at the expense of soil oxygen levels/ air porosity. The less water held between soil particles, the better the opportunity growers can provide for plants to realize as much of their genetic potential as possible. There can be no such thing as a healthy plant unless it is growing on a healthy root system and some grow media are poor candidates due to the fact they significantly limit that opportunity.

Al