Will My Soil Work?

Sure. You're really going to want to add a couple of "nutritional amendments" to it though, for best results.

Kelp meal
Neem cake
Chicken manure pellets

There's always "blended" mixes of dry organic fertilizers such as made by Dr Earth, Down to Earth, Epsoma.

Very importantly, make sure it's aerated and drains well.

J

 

Garden centers. Hardware stores. Home Depot. Lowes.

Etc etc...

It would be worth doing a little reading in the "Easy Organic Soil Mix" thread. It's worth the time.

J

 

Did you add anything for aeration? You will need at least 1/3 of the total volume to be some sort of drainage (perlite, lava rock, pumice...)

 

No peat is great for retaining water but doesnt drain enough by itself, you will need to add something specifically for that.

 

Vermiculite is the ultimate for aeration and for root growth.

Needed to comment because I am getting ready to make the exact same soil mix as you. Since this is just what I have around the yard...Plus a little bit of vermiculite.
A family member of mine though said to be careful with the mushroom compost as it is very strong. They have always used it as a cover fertilizer. basically instead of mulch they would use mushroom compost. The plants would thrive and grow super healthy and luscious.
This was in a flower/plant garden though. The person rarely had to weed the garden because the mushroom compost on the top layer would burn them when trying to emerge to the surface.

My experience with mushroom compost.
Very interested to see how your mix does.

 

Vermiculite holds water like a sponge, not good for drainage at all...

 

lava rock, perlite, pumice, rice hulls among other options are what you are looking for

 

The Virgo at my HD doesnt have any nutes and is ok ... Be careful as the mircle grow does and can be a problem

 

"Vermiculite is the ultimate for aeration"

It is?

J

 

Just like Paul LePage is the ultimate for a govenor.

Start looking for sources of perlite in 2 or 4cf bags. The smaller bags will eat you up $$$ wise. A 4cf bag (30 gallons), runs about $20 +/- in my area.

Wet

 

Thanks for the input guys.....lots of help.

if you say it DOES NOT contribute to aeration you are VERY WRONG. More so than myself saying that it does.
You prove to me that having chunks of vermiculite in your soil DOES NOT help allow aeration and then you can be a smart ass

Ok. I should not have used the word "ultimate"

 

A peat and compost based soil mix already has tons of water retantion and adding vermiculite will add more water retention and very little drainage properties, certainly not enough to get the mix enough aeration to provide enough oxygen to the roots and prevent water logged conditions.

 

Ever added water to a cup of vermiculite before?

My first years of growing herb we used a 50/50 mix of perlite and vermiculite in a hydroponic setting - perlite for drainage and vermiculite to hold/retain water. The material is a sponge and the very last thing I'd use for aeration.

Personally and IMO, of course.

Edit: vermiculite WILL help provide spaces between soil particles, essentially providing a type of aeration but because it holds water so well an organic soil would have a very hard time drying out.

There are simply better options in an organic garden.

IMO - of course.

J