container garden setup with smart pots

14 years ago

At 66 I am easing into container gardening on my patio for my vegetable garden with smart pots, timer drip system, and a lot of enthusiasm.

I have 5 big plastic bales of Promix BX that I got at a nursery closout sale for next to nothing a couple of years ago and the have been sitting in my garage. Can I use that in the smart pots that will be sitting on my concrete patio or do I need to add something to make it denser?

If i have 20 smart pots that are mostly 10 gallon pots with a few 5 gallons and a few 20 gallone ones will that be enough soil?

If I'm gardenibg right up to winter frosts with cool crops can I just leave the soil in the pots for the following year if I cover them and replenish the soil bit in the spring?

Thank you soooo much for having this wonderful garden wek. I've been reading you guys for the past few years when the arthritis was so bad that all i could do was "armchair garden."

Thanks also for any advices you can offer.

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Comments (6)

augiedog55
14 years ago
Delaware, I to am new to smart pots too. I'm putting out 10-15 gallon and 5 -10 gallons. I've asked the same question as you. I bought 3 big bales promix bx myself.
One thing i was told was that these 3.8 cu ft bail will make more than that once moistened. 1 CU FT = about 7 gallons.
As far as mixes I've had three different people tell me three different mixes. All have posted pictures of there tomato plants ans all did a great job.
One guy told me 4-2-1. Raybo. 4 parts promix-2 parts pine bark fines and 1 part perlite.
The other gentleman told me he uses
70% promix and 30 percent cowmanure.
The last person told me 50 /50 with promix and manure. All had pictures to back up what they were doing.I was impressed with all three.
So I'm sure there will be many more suggestions and thought given here.Do what you are most comfortable doing. This will give you a starting point or 2.
delaware
Original Author
14 years ago
Thans Augiedog!
I'm glad to see that someone else is experimenting with smart pots too. We can compare notes.
That formula that you gave me really helped to estimate how much planting medium I would need. Apparently with my 24 smart pots I will need 120 gallons of medium and I'll have 133 gallons with the 5 3.8 cu. ft. bales. Great!
As far as enhancing the mix I was leaning toward 20% cow manure and then later fertilizing with Miracle Gro every two weeks.
It should be a grand experiment. Right now I am setting up my grow lights on my porch for the tomato and sqash, etc seedlings.
Keep me posted on your progress and let's post photos!
Thanks for your reply.
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TheMasterGardener1
14 years ago
Just use the promix BX by itself. And use fertilizer and keep it easy and water light.

Hope this helped.
delaware
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks. I love it when advice turns out to be easy!
zzackey
14 years ago
I'm new to this forum. What is a smart pot?
buford
14 years ago
Hi, I've been using smart pots for 2 years now. First year I did Pro Mix with some manure, this year I'm adding more manure. Smart Pots can handle a heavier mix than regular pots. The heavier mix will hold the water longer. Just make sure they don't dry out. If they do, use a spatula to poke holes in the soil and resoak them.

A smart pot is a fabric pot (sort of felt like). They are better than plastic pots in that they 'root prune' (the tips of the roots are cut when they reach the inside of the pot) so the plants don't get root bound. They can also be put on top of soil and they can root into the soil.

Smart Pots