DIY potting soil

[ChickenMomma91]

I subscribe to three of Ogden publications enewsletters and came across this.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/orga...n=04.01.16 MEN GFSS eNews&utm_term=GFSS eNews

 

[digitS']

A good thing for us to talk about this time of the year, @ChickenMomma91 !

I like the idea of using compost in potting mixes but there is compost and there is compost. (Is that Barbara Pleasant still scolding us about things? Or, is it someone with a similar name ?)

The compost here at home in my "stealth compost piles," under the decks outside the chicken coop and greenhouse, have a lot of potting mixes from previous years in it. I use it with screened topsoil and peat moss for perennials and my backyard tomatoes - things that will remain in pots for the growing season(s). I would not use it for seeds and would never again bring compost into the house to sterilize in the kitchen, again !

I think the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service link Ms Pleasant provides is a great resource for recipes for potting soil.

Regardless what she has to say about asbestos contamination in Montana vermiculite, that mine has been closed since George Bush 1 was president.

The peat moss I use is left from storing dahlia roots. It works well. Maybe I can try coconut coir. Some gardeners find to be a good alternative to peat.

By the way, the outfit that makes a peat substitute from cow manure in Washington State only sells its product in WA and OR. Even I would find it difficult to find locally.
http://www.organix.us/product/find/

Steve