Nicolas Naranja

I switched from my regular fafard's or jungle growth and used some Scott's potting soil because there was no jungle growth left at the time and the stuff stayed way too wet for the tissue cultures.

On the possiblity that you aren't familiar with Scott's it is a company, I am not singling out someone on here named Scott.

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Richard

Which Scott's brand potting soil did you use and what trouble did you have with it?

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Nicolas Naranja

It was just labeled Scott's Potting Soil. It came in a 2CF bag from Home Depot. The problem that I had with it was that it stayed too wet, which was bad news for trying to grow out tissue cultures for field planting. The plants that actually survived have fairly week root systems compared to the plants that I had planted in Jungle Growth.

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

ron_mcb

i dont know what you used but stay away from any lazy mans additive that is advertised on the bag that is supposed to retain moisture.. some of that stuff breaks down over time and turns to sludge that may rott whatever you are trying to grow.

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Richard

From a local Ag supplier you can obtain 4 cu.ft. compressed bales of "Plug Mix". You'll find that per square foot it is less expensive than any "soil" at a big box store and just the right stuff for growing out TC's or plugs in 4 inch pots.

Alternately, you can make your own:
2 parts thoroughly cooked sifted compost or ground sphagnum peat
1 part fine grain perlite or vermiculite
1 part worm castings
1 part 1-2mm washed, untreated sand

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sandy0225

I love growing tc's, it's like babysitting! Very hands-on...
You can go to local greenhouses, ones that grow their own plants and ask for a HP (high perlite) mix that drains well. Tell them you need something that drains well. It will probably set you back around $25 for a 2.something cubic foot bag retail price, but it will be worth every penny.
I don't plant my tc's in plug mix. I put them directly into promix hp in 3.5 inch pots. You water them in thoroughly when you plant them. Then you don't water them again until the soil color is starting to change on the surface to a light brown. That varies how many days that will take depending on your temps and sun and the size of the tc's. You mist the leaves of the plants very lightly with water several times a day,not too late in the day. You want them to be dry before nightfall. Keep the roots fairly dry. This helps acclimate them. I do that for about a week or so and then you start slacking off on the misting to once a day in the morning. Keep them warm at least to 60 at night. You don't lose any that way. Even if UPS and Fedex crunch the box and you have to cut them in half. Which unfortunately happens way too often!
Actually, your scott's mix would probably work if you mixed in 1/3 perlite to lighten it up really.

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Nicolas Naranja

I honestly wish I could just buy the plants already hardened and ready to grow for a reasonable price. It costs me about $2.50 to make a 12-15" plant in a 6" pot. I'd just about pay $3 not to have the hassle of it all. From between last week and mid-june I will grow out about 1300 tissue culture plants and I am trying to keep establishment costs low, which means I have about 1300 holes to dig as well.

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.