Відео

Can You Add Compost & Manure to Old Potting Mix? WHAT'S WRONG WITH MANURES & COMPOSTS? If you've seen my original SIP video from many years ago, perhaps you've wondered why I said: "You don't want to use manures. You don't want to use those gross composts that you get in the bag at the store." Some people have been curious. Of course, other people have been completely triggered. I've seen people who overreact, assuming that I'm only an advocate for synthetic fertilizer. They may think I'm opposed to all forms of manure and compost in all situations, but that's simply not true. Samples of Retail Bagged Cow Manure and Mushroom Compost Although some compost blends are fluffy and well textured, others are absolute garbage. Sure, you could throw them in an in-ground bed and the plants will grow. But a sub-irrigated planter doesn't function in the same way. It is constantly in contact with water. For plants to thrive, you need to strike a good balance between water absorption and aeration. From that perspective, cheap, industrial bags of manure or compost just don't cut it. BAGGED COMPOSTS / MANURES? To prolong the viability of your SIP potting mix, it's best to replenish nutrients in the form of fertilizers. Organic gardeners are apt to use compost as often as possible. In SIPs, worm castings can be included in small amounts. But using composts in containers can yield unpredictable results. Bagged (retail) compost, humus or manure might have a fine consistency, similar to garden soil. If it contains fine silty particles then this can reduce pore spacing and aeration properties of the mix. That's why topsoil is NEVER recommended. I would like to point out that this is not a theoretical concern. I've seen real world situations where gardeners' SIP beds have completely failed because of using subpar materials. Note how one gardener described her bad experience: I ordered a planters mix and had it delivered. It's composed of Compost (though I couldn't see any good black dirt in there), Manure, and top soil. Needless to say, I had ZERO wicking, and even when I top watered nothing grew. By July I did my research and felt stupid on both SIP forums and Garden Forums. I'm currently unloading the dirt from the bed and it's a muddy nightmare from the warm spring snow. As air gaps get plugged up by ultra fine particles, compaction occurs. And since SIPs are always resting on a perched water table, the few remaining air gaps tend to be saturated with water. This impairs root health, preventing plants from getting the oxygen needed at the root zone. This can lead to a decline in plant growth, or even root rot and death. Even if plants grow ok in the first year, over time the potting medium may break down to the point that it must be replaced. Mels Mix SIP Potting Mix with Woody Homemade Compost HOMEMADE COMPOST? Buying bagged compost is not financially advantageous in large beds anyway, not when compared to buying a bulk organic fertilizer. Of course, homemade composts might work, especially if they are mostly wood based. These tend to have more structure. Larger particle size means improved aeration. I've found though that it's very easy to reserve my compost for conventional beds and perennial plantings. It all gets used, just in a different location. albopepper.com/refreshing-sip-potting-mix-adding-fertilizer-year-2.php

@@Albopepper Thanks for the information.

Excellent strategy!

@@Albopepper , it was easier to plant the small paper squares (with seeds) than to try to handle the tiniest seeds without damage. 💖🌞🌵😷

Thanks for watching! The two main options for use with rocks would be either plastic or fabric. Since they don't decompose, they are a good match.

LOL! 🙂

@@Albopepper seriously, I live in zone 9b, in search of the passion vine. We moved in a year ago. Now there are sprouts with leaves giving me passionfruit hopes. Will you show the cyberspace a young sprout leaf?

Thanks for watching Matt! I really appreciate your support. 😃

Thanks so much for watching! 😀

Thanks for watching & sharing your tip! I've never tested that for this specific application. It would be interesting to see a test showing how well it works over time! 🙂

Thanks for your interest! 🙂 You can get all of the info you need on the book here: albopepper.com/persephones-quest-for-a-green-thumb-book-review.php It was written for a young audience, but adults have told me they enjoyed it as well. I have an eBook version along with 1 paperback & 2 hardback options. You can listen to the audiobook for free on the page I linked.

I'm so glad that my videos are able to help out! Thanks for all of your support & for sharing the results from your SIPs. 😁

@@Albopepper Maybe you can answer a question I've always wondered, can plant nutrients be fed through the reservoir? Will nutrients wick up? I've always treated my beds like raised beds but have been curious whether bottom feeding would work.

Yes, plants can get some nutrients from the reservoir. This process works better with smaller SIPs like 5 gallon buckets. Sometimes it's a super convenient way to add nutrients for my seedlings which I grow in mini-SIPs. But I don't advise adding nutrients to the reservoir in the large SIP beds. As plants get bigger, they would be able to access some of those nutrients. But you can't really control how well the nutrients are dispersed throughout the reservoir. And if the reservoir overflows because of being full, you can get extra nutrient runoff. I prefer to top water the liquid feeds, allowing them to infiltrate the entire root zone of the plant.

Thanks for watching & for sharing the results from your projects! 🙂

If it rains, then you don't need to water your garden. But if it snows, then you can build a snow man, go skiing or bobsledding, or you can build a snow fort and have a snowball fight.

I disagree. The effort was minimal. And it afforded me an opportunity to document the results and share the technique with others.

Buy the cheapest one. Microgreens don't need much.

​@@Albopepper thank you very much for the answer but alibaba led lights would do ot too? 😅

Thanks for watching & sharing your ideas! :-)

You're welcome! :)

It might be possible to do that. I don't use straight potting mixes in my SIPs, so I can't confirm that through testing. I know though that there's a lot of variance from one brand to the other. Even when using the exact same type of a specific brand, I've seen differences from one batch to the next. A good SIP mix needs to wick well. It also needs good pore spacing for root aeration. For the wicking medium, the most important factor is wicking. Be sure to avoid a mix that is mostly chunks of wood or bark. It needs a large amount of peat / coir.

Thanks for watching! The inside of the boards is not exposed to the air, so the wood needs to dry from the outside. SIP soil is constantly moist, so the plastic acts as a vapor barrier, reducing the amount of moisture soaking into the wood. Since the boards are not completely surrounded by impermeable or wet surfaces, it's at least possible for them to expel moisture.

Thanks so much for taking time to watch! 🙂

Thanks for watching Chuck! I answered the question about potting mix in the video. Also I referenced the video about fertilizer if you'd like to know more. Feel free to check that out.

I'm glad to hear your system is doing well! Thanks for watching. 🙂

So glad to hear it! I hope you have a great growing season! 😁

Thanks for watching Uncle Dave! I appreciate your feedback. I hope you guys are doing well. We're getting ready for a massive heat wave in a couple days... 🥵

@@Albopepper Being prepared is what we do all day every day, anymore. I had to rebuild my tines on the rototiller because they wore out so bad, just to keep going this year. I did a video. Be safe, love to you all.

Thanks for sharing your experience with various plant types. From my experience, the beans are not the best candidates for SIP planters. I'm testing a couple varieties this season in SIPs. They do OK, but if the weather gets too wet, the young plants may struggle. I typically try to stick with traditional raised beds for beans, when practical. Most other types of veggies have grown extremely well for me in SIPs. Thanks for watching!

@@Albopepper have you tried growing Asparagus in them?

No, I haven't. Generally, I don't recommend perennials in these SIPs. SIPs work extremely well for annual fruits & veggies. This article might be helpful to you: albopepper.com/sip_expectations.php

Thanks for watching! I avoid sand in the media. I've found that a combination of perlite and vermiculite work well (along with peat) to create a good growing medium which also wicks well in SIPs.

Nice to see another Gary follower on this channel. I use a 50/50 mix of peat and pumice for SIPs. Billybudz, have you tried the sand media for SIPs? Al, fantastic and informative video. I enjoy your channel very much.

That's a great tip!

That's so great to hear of your successes with your SIP! I'm glad my info was able to help you in the process. Those sound like some cool adaptation. Thanks for watching & sharing your results!!! 😀

"No bending over" means a whole lot once you hit 70! My back hurts watching! LOL. PS: Since you do hoops, do you ever cover with shade cloth during those hot summer days? I'm in Oklahoma and we get temps up to 100 and sometimes below zero.

@rcubb7 Any chance you could post a video or picture of your set-up. somewhere? Sounds great.

I'm glad that the info is able to help out! :) I agree that it can be a little tedious to mix up all of that substrate. It would definitely be nice to just get a pre-mixed option which is optimized and ready to go. I'm usually stocking up on 2 cu ft bags of MG when it's on sale. But if the Promix or Sunshine options were effective, that would be great to know. (Especially if they come at a good value.) My best advice in that regard would be a small scale test in something like a tote or bucket SIP. Either way, you're certainly on the right track by looking for the porous types of mix. I share your same sentiments about trying to keep things easy and scalable. I'm also pretty concerned about affordability too, which is why longevity is so important. I've found that the buckets and totes are a great way to test things out and to get started without needing to invest too much. Then if a grower wants to expand, they can take their old mix and dump it right into a larger SIP bed. Thanks for all of your insights & support! 😁

@@Albopepper Well I am happy to try the sunshine 4 this year for a few of my bins as it's what I scooped up and need to find homes for a few extra seedlings that sprung in the grow tent. Taking a look at it, it does just seem like a solid perlite, coir, peat, and vermiculite, but of course they won't tell you the ratios. It did have a lot more perlite than my mixes usually do though :) then I added the 1/5th of potting soil (promix vegetable garden) to keep the classic ratio that I've figured out from your instructions :)

@@Albopepper i've got a lot of confidence in the containers themselves that you've built and improved upon, and the quality of the soil remaining. this is the future of gardening in spaces we can't :)