CHINESE CONTAINER GARDENS - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 188

Soil for Containers
As with any type of gardening, soil is critical. Avoid bringing in baskets of earth from
your yard. Garden soil is heavy, and watering makes it even heavier. This is a factor if
you're gardening on a rooftop or in an apartment. The combined weight of your con-
tainers might be more than the roof can bear. In addition, garden soil in pots becomes
too compacted. Another disadvantage is that it's not sterilized; garden soil can bring
outdoor pests and diseases inside.
For container gardening, use a soil-less growing mix, usually a blend of peat moss
and vermiculite, and sometimes perlite. You can buy these in small or large quantities
at any garden center, or you can make your own. Many commercial mixes contain fer-
tilizer as well.
MAKING YOUR OWN SOILLESS POTTING MIX
Most soilless mixes are composed — more or less — of equal parts of peat moss and vermiculite, plus fer-
tilizer. Always moisten your soil mix before using. You may need to let it sit for 15 minutes so it has time
to absorb water. Some commercial mixes contain a wetting agent to speed up the process (this helps the
peat moss absorb water). If you purchase a small bag that feels reasonably heavy, it may be premoistened,
but a large “bale” of potting mix is rarely premoistened.
MY FAVORITE LARGE-BATCH SOIL MIX
To mix this formula, I dump all the ingredients into a plastic garbage can, cover it, and roll it (on its side)
back and forth, or over and over, until the contents are thoroughly blended. A glance inside the can tells
me if everything is well mixed.
12 cubic feet of peat moss
12 cubic feet of vermiculite
5 pounds of a “complete” fertilizer (I use 5-10-5)
5 pounds of limestone (less for plants that like acidic soil)
2 pounds of rock phosphate
CORNELL UNIVERSITY SOILLESS MIX
If you don't need a large quantity, here's a smaller recipe. This is the original soilless mixture developed
at Cornell University for container plants. I think it's easier to skip the dried manure and superphosphate
and substitute time-release fertilizer, but don't add that when you make up this mix. Time-release fertil-
izers should be added just before potting.
8 quarts vermiculite
8 quarts shredded peat moss
8 tablespoons dried cow manure or steamed bonemeal
2 tablespoons ground dolomitic limestone