Custom Made Soil Batches?

[Bungalocity]

It seems everything I bring home I kill or it does awful for some reason.
The only thing it could possibly be is that I don't have a handle on the soil
quality for which I plant things and different flowers or vegetation can have
different needs and mixtures.

If you had 4 Tupperware bins, what would you fill them with to draw from to
make your own potting soil depending on the plants' needs?

I'm guessing:

Peat
Manure
Vermiculite/Pearlite
?

[OakParkSpartan]

For indoor plants?

I'd go get a bag of potting soil that is made for containers.

I wouldn't plant succulents in it though (there are special soils for them).  I wouldn't put Orchids in it either (another special requirement).

[Bonster]

The fumes from all the work you're doing?

[Bungalocity]

The fumes from all the work you're doing?

Haha maybe that explains my cluster headache episodes...

[Classof67]

Hi:

I used to use this site when I lived in CA because the soil had so much clay and sand.
Maybe you could find some potting soil "recipes" for the plants you are trying to grow. 
Good Luck!

http://www.plantideas.com/potting/soils.html

[Bungalocity]

Thanks! This is great.
I guess I could go out and just get miracle grow which I just did, but I'd like to understand
what makes plants tick so if a certain variety requires heavy nitrogen for example....you get the idea..

[Classof67]

Thanks! This is great.
I guess I could go out and just get miracle grow which I just did, but I'd like to understand
what makes plants tick so if a certain variety requires heavy nitrogen for example....you get the idea..

Well, Miracle Grow is always a given.  Who wouldn't you want a tomato the size of your head?  

[n01_important]

Well, in an ideal world, you would make your own compost from veggie/fruit clippings, grass, leaves, etc...  compost and use.  It's 10X miracle grow, natural, better on the environment (less waste) and cost friendly (free).  But there is one small complication with that ideal...

It's illegal in Berwyn  ... if you make compost you are no different then those that have meth labs, weed farms and prostitution rings.

I have no idea why it's illegal other than that Berwyn is a backward little town.

So buy miracle grow.. putting artificial chemicals in Mother Earth and that plastic bag will remain in a land fill for generations or move out of Berwyn.  I am a little harsh only because of the frustration that we are living in the 21st century and it boggles the mind to think that Berwyn makes it illegal to compost.

[Classof67]

Well, in an ideal world, you would make your own compost from veggie/fruit clippings, grass, leaves, etc...  compost and use.  It's 10X miracle grow, natural, better on the environment (less waste) and cost friendly (free).  But there is one small complication with that ideal...

It's illegal in Berwyn  ... if you make compost you are no different then those that have meth labs, weed farms and prostitution rings.

I have no idea why it's illegal other than that Berwyn is a backward little town.

So buy miracle grow.. putting artificial chemicals in Mother Earth and that plastic bag will remain in a land fill for generations or move out of Berwyn.  I am a little harsh only because of the frustration that we are living in the 21st century and it boggles the mind to think that Berwyn makes it illegal to compost.

Composting is illegal?  How crazy.  Maybe it's the "rats could come back factor"...

[buzz]

Composting is illegal?  How crazy.  Maybe it's the "rats could come back factor"...

Pretty sure it was illegal before we purchased outside contracts for baiting the alleys.
I think this is very rarely enforced.  Of course if the damn thing stinks (because you don't know how to compost properly) and your neighbors complain, you'll get in trouble when they call.

[buzz]

I would never use manure for any indoor plant.  Any fertilizing can be done when watering or by foliar feeding.  And...unless you buy something that blooms during Winter or early Spring they don't need fertilizer now.  Sun is too weak.

[n01_important]

There are different types of composting.

Yes, one type includes using cow manure.

But, other types of composting are just fruit/veggie clippings, grass clippings, leaves and newspaper.

Regardless of how harmless it sounds... composting is the same as having a meth lab.  It's illegal and those that engage in such vile and shady activity deserve the slammer!   

[Bungalocity]

I'm sure it's that people aren't responsible composters no doubt. It'd have to be foolproof to be varmint resistant.
Just the other day I saw a family of 5 raccoons having a huge quarrel on my neighbors roof, jumping back and forth
in branches and between them and the squirrels and possums they're pretty clever lil devils....

[OakParkSpartan]

I'm sure it's that people aren't responsible composters no doubt. It'd have to be foolproof to be varmint resistant.
Just the other day I saw a family of 5 raccoons having a huge quarrel on my neighbors roof, jumping back and forth
in branches and between them and the squirrels and possums they're pretty clever lil devils....

Maybe tackling the hundreds of garbage bins left open would be a better start than a compost bin.

Probably every garage in Berwyn have mice.  You can't fight mother nature.

[n01_important]

There are compost bins that prevent varmints from feasting on the decaying compost.

There is also the smell factor... if you properly aerate your compost, you won't have any smell.  If you choose your site to compost carefully, it will hardly be noticed.

Some people compost just leaves & grass clippings and ignore it for months.  This could lead to wasp/bee hives.  So water it so it maintains moisture.

All in all, if done right, composting in the 21st Century is good for the environment (less garbage ends up in landfill), the home owner ends up with ultra rich soil that you can't buy elsewhere, and you don't need to use chemicals/fertilizer (run off ends up in water that promotes bacteria growth). 

But if you compost in the backward little town of Berwyn... it's illegal.  In Berwyn, composting = meth labs = prostitution.

BTW, ditto for rain barrels.  Yes, rain barrels are illegal in Backward Berwyn.