Soil For Pots And Raised Beds

[drtreelove]

Repeat of request on Farming in Thailand Forum:

 

I'm working on development of a formula for a state-of-the-art  COF (mineralized complete organic fertilizer) to incorporate with new container and raised bed soil, and to recharge the soil annually or for subsequent plantings. The blend would have all needed slow release nutrients, soil mineral and biological amendments for high nutrient density gardening, to add to your composted soil blend. Or to top-dress existing container plantings. 

 

What do you use for soil or artificial soil planting medium for your concrete rings, pots, raised beds, etc. for home and commercial growing of limes and other fruit trees, veggies, herbs, flowers, etc. 

(Field crops and orchards in native soil not included in this request at this time)

 

I just need a poll, no judgement involved, I want to know what growers are using for container and raised bed soil, for what crops, and where do you buy it.  I want to make the formula or various formulas, compatible and advantageous with common growing mediums in Thailand.

 

Thanks, Don

[cooked]

No answers yet, huh? Same as when I asked a similar question a few years ago. I tried all sorts of magic mixtures, including termite hill soil which didn't work and of course became very hard despite my adding sand and compost.

These days I just buy the stuff in green bags which is probably spent mushroom medium, and add cow poo tea, which seems to work with most of my plants.

If I had the means to sterilise the soil here, which I have got to a very nice consistency, I might get more adventurous. Too many pathogens for many vegetables.

And then there's Osmocote of course, haven't used that since I started with cow poo.

 

[drtreelove]

Thanks for your interest.  There were some answers in the Farming forum for the same question. 

 

What do you use for potting soil?

[seajae]

I grow frangipani/plumeria for cross pollination(I have over 500), for holes in the ground and for the rings(also pots) I fill them with coir chips then add mixed compost and fermented manure, mix it through thoroughly and plant, trees love it.

[tutsiwarrior]

I gonna try raising some vegetables from seed on my terrace using the usual rectangular planter boxes that are generally available (plastic)...what commercially available organic compost/potting soil is recommended for this purpose? any recommendations for soils mixtures for this climate are appreciated as well (central Thailand river drainage 2hrs north of BKK, very hot and humid)...

 

 

[drtreelove]

On 8/26/2018 at 7:02 PM, tutsiwarrior said:

I gonna try raising some vegetables from seed on my terrace using the usual rectangular planter boxes that are generally available (plastic)...what commercially available organic compost/potting soil is recommended for this purpose? any recommendations for soils mixtures for this climate are appreciated as well (central Thailand river drainage 2hrs north of BKK, very hot and humid)...

 

 

Check your local plant markets and building supply stores to see what's available. I haven't found a universally available product to recommend for potting soil. There is a multitude of sack products available, but it's hard to know exactly what the material is derived from.  Some labeling is deceiving or not clear on ingredients and amounts. Most growers make their own mix, like Seajae is doing for his plumerias. 

 

That's the big question that I have been working on, sourcing acceptable materials for potting soil and fertilization.  My wife and I are working on developing a good COF (complete organic fertilizer), a balanced mineralized blend of about 10 ingredients, that will be a "high nutrient density" product for general purpose soil fertility with any soil or planting media, pots or raised bed planters. But it's going to take a little longer before we can make it available. This concept is the new frontier in moving away from the practice of using of harsh chemical fertilizers that can burn plants, imbalance the soil chemistry and harm the all-important soil biology.  The COF concept is being made known in publications, like the chapter of the same name 'COF', in the hugely popular book "The Intelligent Gardener" by Steve Solomon

 

In the 'Chiang Mai area, there is a compost factory producing the real deal, a high quality compost-fertilizer and also a potting soil with the same compost material and local soil. They use it in their own 120 rai organic farm, and sell to other local growers and the general public, but they only sell locally out of their plant near Mae Taeng .  The fertilizer lab analysis from MaeJo University soil science dept looks good.  We may include this manufacturers products in our distribution. 

 

I found an excellent organic fertilizer being made here in Samut Prakan that is Japanese "bokashi" formula, with high quality EM used in the composting. They produce it for their own organic farm in Plichit and sell a little locally.  They didn't have an analysis report so I'm going to send some to a soil lab this week, so I know exactly what's in it. We may then include it in our products distribution. 

 

The problem is that most buyers want "cheap", and we all know that you get what you pay for, quality in soil and fertilizers products is not cheap to obtain. 

But cheap is what you get at the mercy of the plant markets and their suppliers and their ethics in quality and honest labeling of ingredients.  Some of the commercial compost suppliers are using dredged garbage sources that contains micro-plastics and heavy metals. They sure aren't going to disclose that fact, it's just "pui insee", and cheap, so people buy it without even conceiving of where it may have come from.  For ornamental plantings that's not as much of a concern as it would be for plantings of your veggies and other edibles.  

 

The best is to make your own compost. There's a chapter on The Intelligent Gardener, and in other publications and a course from SoilFoodWeb.com.

Or stay tuned to this discussion for more developments in availability. Don

[tutsiwarrior]

4 hours ago, drtreelove said:

The best is to make your own compost. There's a chapter on The Intelligent Gardener, and in other publications and a course from SoilFoodWeb.com.

Or stay tuned to this discussion for more developments in availability. Don

 

trouble is that I live in a shop house and there ain't no room for composting...was at the market today and they had 'organic' (in english) potting soil in white plastic bags with green lettering...I'll look around some more when I get the chance...there's a thaiwatsadu just down the road...

 

man, gotta get them romaine (cos) lettuces growing, my favorite excellent with tomato and feta...they ain't got the vegetable available anywhere but I managed to get hold of some seeds, "AAA' brand packaged in Thailand...

 

 

 

 

[cooked]

I make compost of course but as the material comes from our garden, the pathogens with which our soil is riddled get composted along with it. For me the main problem is lack of means of sterilisation, although solarisation might be an option  next time I remove the shading.

[drtreelove]

15 hours ago, cooked said:

I make compost of course but as the material comes from our garden, the pathogens with which our soil is riddled get composted along with it. For me the main problem is lack of means of sterilisation, although solarisation might be an option  next time I remove the shading.

The problem with sterilization is that it kills off the beneficial soil organisms that are so important for soil and plant health and which help to keep the pathogens in check.  And the sterility is not sustained so pathogenic fungi, bacteria and watermolds can return with a vengeance. I prefer to build soil organic matter content and humic substances, balance the soil minerals including micros and trace, and use compost tea, EM or biological fungicides to suppress pathogenic organisms. 

 

Here's a favorite that I used in the US. Double Nickel from CertisUSA. This one is not available in Thailand as far as I know, but the description of uses may be interesting to you and others.

http://www.certisusa.com/pest_management_products/biofungicides/doublenickel_LC_fungicide.htm

And if you backpedal on this URL you will see other organic program compatible biopesticides that are now available from this state of the art company. 

 

There are some biofungicides available in Thailand and I hope that Issan Aussie from the Farming forum will continue to work on making more available.  

 

High nutrient density soil management is proven to help plants resist pests and disease. A complete, mineralized fertilizer will help.