hey im about to start my outdoor grow and i have a couple of questions. 1. how wide and how deep should my holes for my plants be for about max growth? but still conserving soil since im on a low budget. 2. is a soil mixture of 30% ground soil, 50% potting soil, and 20% river sand a good soil mix? 3. i was just out digging some of my holes and there were quite a few roots running through my holes. i chopped most of the off but will these grow back and steal nutrients and water from my plants? are there any ways to kill of non wanted roots without posining my soil? 4. what are some good methods of keeping deer, bugs, and unwanted pests away from my grow? since my grow is close to a game trail.
I usually dig a hole 2 shovels square and about the same depth. Your soil mix should be okay, except Potting soil is mostly just peatmoss and bark fines, not very nutrient rich. I'd substitute composted cow manure (avail cheap at big box garden centers) for the potting mix. The native roots are a fact of life when growing in nature, I wouldn't worry about them too much, your plants should do fine. I don't have any recommendations for keeping critters away from yur plants. I'd guess some animal repellent should do the trick. I have read where folks pee all around their plot to scare off the wildlife.