Pro Mix
A D.I.Y. potting soil alternative
Between November and January, I bought seven GreenStalks. I think I bought four originals and three leafs. Or maybe it was three originals and four leafs? I am not sure anymore. I mixed them up a little and ended up with eight towers, each a combination of original tiers on the bottom with leaf tiers on top. Little by little I have been filling them with D.I.Y. potting mix.
I was down to three towers in need of potting mix. I went to Walmart to buy more ingredients and noticed a brand new pallet full of Pro Mix. I had never heard of Pro Mix before buying a GreenStalk and exploring the GreenStalk site. They have a blog post titled Soil Test – Which Potting Mix is Best?
Looking at the packaging, the Pro Mix was appealing as the ingredients are similar to what I was using in my mix. Instead of me having to buy peat, compost, and perlite, I could just buy this single product. This was especially appealing as these compressed packages are easy to carry. I am tired of lugging heavy bags of peat and compost around. The compressed Pro Mix is a piece of cake in comparison. The bags are light and have handles of sorts. I was sold.
Each compressed package of Pro Mix has two cubic feet of soil, according to the packaging. Looking at one compared to a bag with two cubic feet of soil makes you wonder if this can be true. They are so light and easy to carry in comparison. Can it really be? I figure it must be as if not, someone would have made a video or posted on Reddit or somewhere calling them out. Right? Well, guess what? I found a video with a guy who tested it! I knew someone would! Skip to the 7 minute mark for the ProMix part.
You may have noticed that my bags are yellow and the one in this video is pink. Pay attention to the names. The pink is “Moisture Potting Mix” and the Yellow is Organic Garden Mix. I’ve had bad luck with “moisture” mixes in the past, so I went with “organic.” Maybe I will have to water more, but at least I will be in control. “Moisture” potting mixes in containers have led to root rot during the rain season for some of my poor plants. The moisture mix may be advisable in other areas or for GreenStalks that are under cover. I just wanted to point out the difference.
Besides the color of the packaging, what is the difference between these two products?
Organic Garden Mix
Sphagnum peat moss (60-70% by volume)
Perlite
Coir
Gypsum
Ground Limestone (for pH adjustment)
Wetting agent
Mycorrhizae
Moisture Potting Mix
Sphagnum peat moss (80-90% by volume)
Coir
Perlite
Ground Limestone (for pH adjustment)
Wetting agent
Mycorrhizae
It seems that it comes down to the percentage of peat moss and the addition of gypsum in the organic mix. Gypsum adds calcium and sulfur to the soil without changing the ph. Here is a good article about gypsum if you want to learn more: How Gypsum Can Help Your Garden Grow.
Both versions include mycorrhizae. If you are like me, you may be wondering what mycorrhizae is and why they would add it. It turns out that it is a fungus that helps transport nutrients to the plant roots. The University of Wisconsin provides us with a detailed explanation: Mycorrhizae
Reading this makes me wish I had added gypsum and mycorrhizae to my D.I.Y. mix. Oh well, we will see how they compare months from now. In both cases, I add Dr. Earth Organic and Natural Home Grown Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer when filling each tier. It turns out that Dr. Earth adds mycorrhizae as well.
Contains TruBiotic® beneficial soil microbes plus mycorrhizae. TruBiotic® ensures organic nutrients are thoroughly broken down and then released in the soil for plant roots to absorb them as they are needed, contributing to drought tolerance, enhanced nutrient availability and increased plant performance.
Each Original tier holds 1 cubic foot of potting mix. There are two cubic feet per compressed package of Pro Mix. This makes it easy to figure out how much to buy. One package fills two tiers. Each leaf tier uses a little less. A leaf tier holds .75 cubic feet. Having extra does not hurt. You can use it in seed starting trays or for a container plant or two.