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miagardener
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Mixing Soil? Soil, Dirt, Peat Moss & Orchid Bark?

I was wondering about mixing a little bit of everything and planting some seeds in a pot, could I do a mixture of soil, peat moss, dirt and a little bit of orchid bark? If so, what would most likely do best in a mixture like that? Morning glories by any chance? Just curious. Thanks :)

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rainbowgardener
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Interesting you have soil and dirt as separate categories there. We had a whole thread going at one point about whether there is or isn't a difference between those two things.... Did you mean potting soil then as opposed to dirt?

I'm not familiar with orchid bark, so can't answer the question very well. But I assume the point of the bark is too loosen your mix up and provide drainage. Since I'm not an orchid or bonsai grower, I would probably use vermiculite for that purpose. You do want something like that. Soil, even soil with peat, tends to be too dense and pack down too much for use in pots. You need something to lighten it up. And be sure and put some gravel or something like that in the bottom of the container, for drainage.

But yes it seems like it should work and I would think lots of things (definitely including morning glories which are not at all fussy about where they grow!) would do well in it.

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miagardener
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Thanks a bunch, I'm going to try planting some morning glories in a mix like that.

Yes, I meant soil and dirt as different things completely. Dirt is more sandy and comes from my south florida backyard, soil is rich and moist and comes from MiracleGro (in my opinion) LOL! There is a huge difference between the potting soil I use and the dirt in my yard, extremely huge, I can hardly get anything to sprout if I use the dirt in a pot.

:)

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miagardener
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Well I did three pots with a mixture of orchid bark (at the bottom) dirt from my yard, miraclegro potting soil and miraclegro peat moss and I planted morning glories in each one.
I am going to put one pot below my orange tree and let the vines crawl up it, I am putting another on my front porch to crawl up my railings on my porch and the other one I don't know where I'm putting yet, I love morning glories <3

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Gnome
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miagardener,

I was once scolded for using the term dirt and informed that "soil is what you plant in, dirt is what you track into the house." :wink:

Just wondering, why did you decide to plant the Morning Glories in pots rather than sowing directly in your soil?
I can hardly get anything to sprout if I use the dirt in a pot.
This, I understand completely, I would never use my native soil in a pot as it will compact and exclude air rather quickly. The same soil does quite nicely in a natural setting though.

Norm

a0c8c
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Gnome wrote:Just wondering, why did you decide to plant the Morning Glories in pots rather than sowing directly in your soil?
I wondered the same thing, especially under the tree. As fas as controlling them goes, roots don't matter, seeds do. They'll drop a ton of seeds under the tree and will come back next year.

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miagardener
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The reason I prefer growing in pots is because I do all organic gardening and the weeds can be something else. It's easier to control when you grow in pots. :)

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miagardener
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Oh and also because I mulched all around the tree to kill the weeds so I can just set the pot in the mulch.



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