You could add pine bark fines if you can find those where you are. Lots of them - 5 parts pine bark for every 1 part potting soil. And then add 1 part (coarse) perlite to that. That will make your potting soil go VERY far.

Rest of that stuff is junk - I wouldn't add it.

Do not add garden soil to potting mix! It will not drain well enough. You can make a better potting mix. If you can find the ingredients. It's called 5-1-1... Kind of a long read

haha "kind of a long read" is a bit deceptive! I feel like "an insanely long read that you will benefit from reading" is a better description!

thanks, awesome thread

Pine bark (any kind) and perlite cost at least the same if not more than potting months mixes.... I seriously do not understand this obsession and devotion to the mostly inaccessible and expensive 5:1:1...

Pine bark fines cost me a fraction of what any bagged potting mix does. Perlite is similar in price by volume. That makes 511 mix cheaper for me to make than bagged potting soil is to buy. Sorry to hear you aren't able to find the ingredients necessary to make the mix. I thought Agway was in NJ? It is supposed to have pine bark fines that are ready to use straight out of the bag.

Bark fines are not at all that hard find!! And yes, in many parts of the northeast, including NJ, Agway is a good go-to for bark fines. And you can always sub with repti-bark or fine orchid bark.

The advantages to the 5-1-1 mix far outweigh any of the perceived drawbacks. I garden almost exclusively in containers, have a lot of them (more than 50 permanent container plantings) and some very large and the 5-1-1 mix is by far more economical than to buy inferior bagged mixes and need to replace them all annually. btw, I water no more often than I would with a prepared bagged mix....in fact, it is somewhat less frequently because of the ability of the 5-1-1 to retain moisture while still providing fast drainage and proper aeration. I have also been using this mix for at least the last 25 years so I know how well it works compared to 95% of the bagged junk.

I get 3 cubic yards of pine bark for $6. Far cheaper than the cheapest of the cheap potting mix. I also can get everything I need for 5-1-1 and gritty mix from the same place (AGWAY) and It's on my way home. Sure, it does need more frequent watering, but it can also be amended to hold more water.

The info I provided was to make your own, cheaper and better. If you (getgoing) don't want to put the effort in to find the ingredients, making it and learning better container gardening techniques, then fine, don't, Nowhere in my post, or linked article does it say must do it my way.

Most people are here to learn and become better gardeners. So kindly keep your snide comments to yourself.

Chrissy, you can get coco coir brick from Walmart for about $6 that would add 2.25 cu. Ft when wet. Coir is a good amendment and you would probably just need additional fertilizer. Now, if you an agway nearby, instead of driving tens of miles, you could prepare the magical 5:1:1. From my cursory browsing, it is fine pine bark:peat:perlite in one version, add lime (not sure how much but the good experts here would pitch in hopefully rather direct you to read the thesis on perched water that is that thread... ) and fertilizer. It should work out cheaper if have a few large pots to fill and don't have to spend a bunch on gas. Good luck.

actually, I appreciate getting input supporting both perspectives. its super helpful.

agway usually has pine bark in stock? there's one about 30 min away so I'll have to check the scene.

is Amazon a better option? or an equivalent option (financially)?

getgoing...

I cant believe u suggested that! ive never heard of expanding soil until my bf brought home a brick yest. I mixed it up and in giving it a whirl.

let me know how the coir thing goes. I have been meaning to try it but never need that much potting mix in one go and handling several cubic feet of anything in an apartment is a challenge.

I don't think you can find pine bark fines on Amazon except some super expensive ones.

Coir as a large fraction (more than 20% or so) of a container medium has it's own set of issues that require work-arounds, or the willingness to accept the inherent issues. Coir and CHCs are extremely high in K, can have a sky-high TDS/EC levels, has less loft and more water retention than peat, compacts significantly more than peat, and has a pH high enough to preclude use of dolomite as a liming agent.

Drawing a comparison between the 5:1:1 mix and others more water retentive re watering intervals, then and disparaging the mix because it requires more frequent watering is very misleading, and illogical. I could see some sort of reasoning behind the comparison if soils that require watering only after greater than week-long intervals weren't limiting, but they are. I have no problem if someone wants to sacrifice a considerable measure of their plants' potential on the altar of convenience, but let's be honest about it. You may well be willing to accept the limitations associated with PW/excess water retention, but not all of us are. It's been my experience, that once growers understand the limitations associated with excess water retention, they're usually much more likely to work toward reducing the impact that simply throwing up their hands and tolerating it. The job of a grower consists almost entirely of recognizing and eliminating cultural influences that limit their plants, and nowhere does the job description suggest that tolerating limitations is a step toward achieving green thumb status. Most of us are nurturers by nature and are willing to invest a little extra effort and even a few $ if necessary so we can more thoroughly enjoy the sense of personal satisfaction that comes from owning plants that shine with the glow of good health, and offer yields to match. That's why a thread posted originally in 2004 or 2005 and devoted exclusively to a single concept remains active today after many thousands of posts.Some people actually care.

BTW - the cost of making the 5:1:1 mix is usually considerably less than half of what commercially prepared, water-retentive mixes are sold for. That's a big part of why it's popular.

The level path is easy, but it cannot bring you to the mountaintop.

Al

Chrissy, you may want to call AGWAY before you go. I'm given to understand some stores may not carry it. It's the regular pine bark mulch, not the mini-nuggets. The particle size of the latter is too big.

I know that with the help of pine bark, you can make good soil for orchids. But this is the first time I have heard about coconut... I'll check it out, and I'll be glad if it is. Since I grow orchids, it's not a problem to get pine bark. I usually order it on the website https://trimthatweed.com/best-potting-soil-for-herbs /. And if I manage to grow coconuts with her help, I will transform my garden. I use pine bark, as it is less susceptible to rotting for flowers than others, contains all the necessary substances for the growth of exotic plants. Oak has similar properties, but it is more difficult to find it, and the prices for pine bark are lower.

Not cheap but BonsaiJack.com has bagged pine bark fines that are screened.