Medium for containers

[aykhan]

If one is dependant on the mali for watering i do not think there can be any good potting mix. A lot depends on how the pot is watered. This is what I do Brig saheb. Plants which require moisture get a lot of peat moss and perlite and that is it. If they are heavy feeders they get a lot of garden green compost and or manure. This ensures drainage and mositure retention. So if mali waters too much it drains and he cannot water less since it soaks up the water as it is hitting the soil so he is tempted to water more. It is water logging which destroys plants more than high moisture in my opinion. This is not a cheap option but the only one for more expensive or precious plants. Peat moss does not decompose easily to the soil level is maintained. There is a problem of perlite collecting up if watered with pressure. At the botton I have a half to one inch of bajri to ensure drainage.

[aykhan]

Plants which are drought tolerant can go in just nehri bhal since it has sand and drainage is good. Fertilization one can control in both cases. I would add superphosphate to pots which will have plants for many years. This ofcourse is my assessment but we can wait for Gulzarullah's opinion also.

[aykhan]

To clarify a misconception above, Perlite will not retain moisture. For moisture retention you need vermiculite. I use vermiculite in pots I am unable to water too frequently eg the ones on my rooftop. Even then the heat on the rooftop in May and June will make sure your plants dont survive no matter what you do.

[aykhan]

BTW I think these threads shoulod be in the Questions and Problems or General Discussion since most people including myself rarely come here. Probably that is why Gulzarullah is not in the loop yet.

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

I have a few hundered pots of various sizes at thokar and I visit not more than twice a week. Yess most die due to water loging some also suffer due to inadequate perculation,the upper half is wet and lower half bone dry.
I want to develop a MALIPROOF inexpensive medium.

[aykhan]

Maybe the best option is manure and sand 50-50 or close. If risk of burn then you can use your own homemade compost and tons of it. Maure/compost for water retention and sand for drainage. No bhal unless it is nehri with A LOT of sand.

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

For a general purpose medium I am thinking on following lines.
GASSU is in between canal bhall and river sand, more readily available, but will require tons of leaf compost/mold.
The other option is Gassu + rice husk + cow manure.
Third option is rice husk charcoal, Leaf compost, Manure or a conglomeration of whatever I can get easily.

[aykhan]

Yes. I guess the key is to have a medium which retains moisture and helps drainage, no matter how you accomplish it.

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

Maybe the best option is manure and sand 50-50 or close. If risk of burn then you can use your own homemade compost and tons of it. Maure/compost for water retention and sand for drainage. No bhal unless it is nehri with A LOT of sand.

In my search I came across the following advice;
In my own humble opinion, I WOULD refer to any overly organic materials, such as manures, as a contaminant in my container mediums. And I would do so remembering the idea that growing in the ground or garden is infinitely different than growing within the confined space of a receptacle, because Mother Nature is not present helping me to maintain any balances of microbes or creatures and PH. Therefore, any fine or quickly decaying matter are saved for organic use within my gardens... while I maintain a more controllable inorganic environment.

When you apply a little science and physics basics to growing plants, you see that Mother Nature in the garden is a totally different environment than we can provide and maintain within the confined spaces of pots.
Save the manure for the garden... use sturdy, more INorganic ingredients within containers. That's my advice.

[aykhan]

So what inorganic materials are there other than garden soil? Btw peat moss is organic but it's known to take years to decay.