About To Plant Questions

I'll be planting 1 Cascade and 1 Mt. Hood rhizome on Tuesday finally, for the first time. Very excited. Off the top of my head....

I got 2 half whiskey barrels that have to be at least 20-25gallons each, three 40 or 50lb bags of soil with fertilizer in it, then two bags of miracle grow fertilizer.

What I'm wondering is how exactly to go about with the soil/fertilizer. I've heard varying opinions that I should put a layer of miracle grow down, then soil, then a layer of miracle grow and a little bit more of soil.
Also, I've heard that I should put either rocks or plastic bottles on the bottom of the barrels to help with drainage.

Is this all true or good techniques? Or what are some of the best ways to do that?

And with watering, it rains a lot here (Boston, MA) as it is anyways, but should I also be watering it frequently, and somewhat lightly every day? Or just check to see if the soil is wet about an inch or so deep, and only water if it's dry?

I have read that gravel, sand, rocks, etc. in the bottom of a container actually hinders the ability to drain. Dont know the backing (maybe someone can chime in) but i would avoid anything in the bottom.

What is the fertilizer ratings on everything you have? You will see somewhere it says something like 12-2-8 on the bags. You need to be careful not to over fertilize the soil because you need to keep the pH between 6 or 7 I believe. Also, too much fert can adversely effect the plants.

What I found works well is mixing soil with some compost (you can buy composted manure just about any store that sells dirt) or maybe mix a couple handfuls of fert into the soil. No need too layer...just add them and give them a little mix together.

As for watering if you can stick your finger in the soil and you dont feel any wet then it needs water. IN the summer here in Ohio I gave my containers a good, deep watering once a day. If you water too much that's what the drain holes in the containers are for.

Good luck!

I'll have to check the ratings on my fertilizers and post back on here.

Do simple pH strips, like for water, work on testing soil? I have 100s of those, and it'd be pretty nice if they did.

SOB said:

I have read that gravel, sand, rocks, etc. in the bottom of a container actually hinders the ability to drain. Dont know the backing (maybe someone can chime in) but i would avoid anything in the bottom.

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I forget the term but it's to do with dissimilar material transference. For example, the soil locks in betwen the gravel and essentially creates a dam. Wheras if the entire bed where of the same composition fluid would move through it with no change in resistance.

bosox said:

I'll have to check the ratings on my fertilizers and post back on here.

Do simple pH strips, like for water, work on testing soil? I have 100s of those, and it'd be pretty nice if they did.

Click to expand...

From what I have read, for soil pH testing you have to test it with sediment in suspension to get the most accurate readings thus, dipping a litmus into a mud slurry might prove difficult to read.

BUT, similar to the titration kits if you make certain to get teh sample well mixed and then let it settle taking a reading from the "clear" water after the solid flocculate will get you in the ballpark.

For this, you really need a deep sample tho'. pH "can" change pretty quickly from the surface to say 4 inches deep. Ideally, you'd atke sevgeral samples from various "layers" and mix them all for a "average condition" sample to test.

I've just checked, the soil I have is labeled as 14-14-14 and the miracle grow fertilizer is 8-8. I have 3 soil bags and 2 fertilizer bags.

I wouldnt add any more fert to the soil at this point. Hold off on the fert until later in the year.