Hi Sue,

" I don't want to use peat though. "

Most soilless media are based on peat, but coconut coir may be what you want to use. You might add some Perlite to it. I use Premier Pro-Mix BX, which is peat based.

ZM

Any bagged potting soil is a soil-less medium :-) It just means there is no real dirt (garden soil) in the mix, which is not at all desirable for growing anything in a container. But as noted, the vast majority of these are peat-based.

media.. is a water management system ... predictability is one key .... so if you have all the same pots ... with all the same media .. then they will all dry out.. around the same time .. that makes life very easy ...if you throw dirt ... soil .... into the equation ... there will be much less predictability.. and you will end up with watering problems ...

are you doing this in the house????

ken

ps: you could probably use straight perlite.. if you were willing to add all nutrients.. thru water sol fert ....

Sue, why don't you want to use a (soil-less) peat based potting medium? Am curious about that.

I cannot speak for Sue, but usually people cite that it isn't a sustainable resource. It is also said that it adds to the carbon problem, because the bogs where this stuff is formed is a carbon sink and by displacing it and using it...it will add carbon to the air as it breaks back down. Also, since it is flammable and used instead of wood in the places it is found, there are concerns about it catching fire by accident and burning for months/years....until it burns everything that is combustable.