We Tested 5 Different Potting Soils - Here's What We Learned
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- čas přidán 10. 06. 2024
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In this video, we test 5 different potting soils for growing peppers in containers. If you want to keep things simple and grow your peppers in pots, which potting soil is the best choice?
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POTTING SOILS (affiliate links):
Fox Farm Happy Frog:
amzn.to/3M9yr5s
Fox Farm Ocean Forest:
amzn.to/3Qpf3nl
Miracle Gro Performance Organics:
amzn.to/45DIlTE
Miracle Gro Potting Mix:
amzn.to/3tIRjSj
Pro Mix Organic:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00M2Z5HPO
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Timestamps:
0:00 About the soils
1:48 Transplanting the peppers
2:32 Up-potting the seedlings
4:01 July update
5:00 Harvesting
8:06 Final results (price, yield)
***********************************************
Thanks for watching Pepper Geek!
#peppers #gardening #containergardening - Jak na to + styl
We need more content like this. Number based, performance driven statistics!
Ill be honest he missed an important factor. Flavor.
I agree, but, as the host said, "Of course this experiment is not statistically significant because we only had one plant for each category. You'd really need many, many more plants if you want to get some definitive results." The presentation is very enjoyable, but don't bet the farm on the results.
@@SnarkyMcSnarkles Not a word about Viscosity. ...Clickbait for Fox Farm :)-
N needs to be at least 13 to be statistically significant. There are many other problems with this "test." Not picking on Pepper Geek. It's the rule rather than the exception on CZcams. Better sources of information are agricultural universities, their extensions and papers that have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Pro mix doesn’t have extended release fertilizer! You must add your own. I’m a retired professional grower of perennial flowers and I used Pro Mix exclusively. Need to wet it with warm water first, then add your fertilizer. Continue to fertilize throughout the growing season. If used properly it will out perform any growing medium.
Thanks for sharing - I wondered why it petered out so quick. I did really like the consistency and that it stayed moist longer than the others
Thanks for sharing 👍
I'm glad you mentioned that the ProMix was dry....I thought I was buying old stock. I use ozmocote then for extended fertilizer.
I like Pro Mix too, no uninvited bugs in your home.
Agreed on the ProMix 😊
I use a mix of Ocean Forest Happy Frog and Ocean Forest, along with some of my homemade compost. It was a great year for peppers.
Ocean forest and happy frog is an epic combo. And mix some pro mix in it for better drainage and aeration
Glad i ran across this comment. Did this today on a whim. It's my 1st time at gardening & went for peppers, tomatoes and a few flowers. We'll see how it goes 🙂
When I opened the Happy Frog soil it smelled like how the island I grew up on smelled (okinawa). Just heavenly!
I love it there
@@cristianmccullough66 Please tell us why.
I love okinawa, spent three years there.
One thing to note to the newbies (I myself am only 1 year into this), is that each variety of plant requires different conditions. That means one potting soil might do better than another due to their makeup.
I screened the bark out of 2 different bags just to see how much it had. It was eye opening. There is no value in cheaper brands if it is mostly bark.
Would have been nice to see a cheap generic brand in the test. I've had relatives pick up the cheapest they can find and the bags are just wood chips with a tiny bit of perlite and fertilizer mixed in. The plants grow terribly and root rot is almost guaranteed.
Which brands did you screen?
@@WynterDragon the non organic miracle grow in this video and the fox ocean in this video. Miracle grow had a lot of bark.
Planting seeds and young seedling transplants definitely need screening when there are large organics in it like bark, in my opinion but for larger pot the bark will rot nicely and breakdown like in a compost.
I do buy pretty cheap soil as well. I don't have any big box stores in my small town so Dollar General "organic" potting soil it is. I definitely need to screen it, add perlite and compost soil from my compost. It has way too much bark so when I screen it, that bark goes into my compost and that too eventually gets screened.
Thank you so much for following this project through the entire season. The numbers speak for themselves.
Just started my first garden & everything has been a little bit overwhelming when it comes to knowing the best items to purchase for a good healthy garden. Thank you so much for this video!! ❤
Happy frog is our favorite
It's a great option!
@PepperGeek it's getting a little difficult to get it here for good price. Orshenlins carried it, but their company is gone now with tsc buy them. Tsc doesn't carry the frog.
Miricale grow did better tho
@@EricCheetoh full of industrial chemicals not organic material.
@@zack9912000 all of them do ...u slow if u think not..they all packaged in a damn factory full of metal machinery...miricale grow owns alot of other companies too
This year i planted my first inground garden and my soil was absolutely horrible like dried concrete powder. I decided to juice it all up so i purchased a pallet of Miracle Gro Performance Organic, a pallet of Black Kow Manure and 6 bags of 2 cubic yard bags of peat moss. I spread it allover my 23ft by 33ft garden and deeply tilled it all in. Everything went absolutely bananas including 9 banana pepper plants that ended up being almost 5ft tall and producing around 5 bushels of very beautiful pods. I also used MGPO in my 30ft by 4ft raised pepper bed and it absolutely was mind blowing as well. I live in the southern piedmont of NC. Absolutely love your videos and i appreciate the knowledge i have learned from watching!
So this year I grew peppers in 4 Greenstalks..30 plants each. I had 2 filled with Espoma potting soil and 2 filled with Coast of Maine tomato and vegetable soil (red bag). Coast of Maine was the clear winner. Not only did the peppers themselves look healthier and were large for their kind, the plants themselves looked way better...more greener. Next year perhaps I will do Coast of Maine vs Happy Frog. Thanks for doing this comparison video. I like this type of video...very useful.
Premium Potting Mix:
3 parts Peat, 3 parts Compost, 1 part Perlite
Outdoor Potting Mix:
1 part Topsoil, 1 part Compost, 1 part Perlite
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost)
Heavier Potting Mix (Prevent Tipping):
1 part Topsoil, 1 part compost, 1 part sand
Seed Starting Mix:
1 part Peat, 1 part Screened Compost (⅛")
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost) Optional: ½ part Perlite
Raised Bed Mix:
2 parts Topsoil, 1 part sand, 1 part vermiculite
1 part Compost
There are 25.71 dry quarts in 1 cubic foot
If not using compost, transplant 2nd set leaves
I bought espoma for all of my plants this year and none of them performed as they should have, of course I bought supposed organic soil, compost and mulch from a new place this year and our summer was horribly wet at first then extremely dry and hot so I can't say what exactly happened but it's like all of my plants were stunted this year. Flowers as well as vegetables. So disappointed I doubt I will invest in any new seeds this year. I will need to clear out all of the soil from last season and start all over again.
I have put my seeds in Coast of Maine seed starting mix. I was glad to read your comment. I hope to get good sturdy plants.
I use promix when I start my seedlings which works better than seed starter mix for me. And yes I hope you do more of these types of videos. It helps all of us
same with me
@@kenbirkin7753
same here, I find that that I get a better root structure on my seedlings. I have grown my own seedlings over 30 years and last 2-3 years have used Pro-Mix HP Mycorrhizae and plant health and structure much better and experiencing less transplant shock. Never used Fox-Farm so can't compare.
Premium Potting Mix:
3 parts Peat, 3 parts Compost, 1 part Perlite
Outdoor Potting Mix:
1 part Topsoil, 1 part Compost, 1 part Perlite
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost)
Heavier Potting Mix (Prevent Tipping):
1 part Topsoil, 1 part compost, 1 part sand
Seed Starting Mix:
1 part Peat, 1 part Screened Compost (⅛")
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost) Optional: ½ part Perlite
Raised Bed Mix:
2 parts Topsoil, 1 part sand, 1 part vermiculite
1 part Compost
There are 25.71 dry quarts in 1 cubic foot
If not using compost, transplant 2nd set leaves
I find that ProMix is great for seeds and new starts. I find the Fox Farm soils to be heavy.
Seeing a new pepper geek video is always a bonus.
I love pro mix. I use Pro-Mix BM when starting seeds. BEST root system hands down.
Love the comparison. Helps new gardeners for sure
THANK YOU for this comparison of potting soil!! VERY helpful, and yes I'd love to see more videos like this.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING! It was very informative and very helpful for this gardener.
It doesn't surprise me in the yield from Fox Farms products, their organic nutrients being taken up slowly and naturally will not only make for healthier (enriched with vitamins/minerals) peppers, but these soils can be revitalized and reused via soil amendments for your next growing season.😊
Arg! Vitamines have never been shown to be taken up from roots.
I never had good luck with that indoors, just outdoors.
Believe it or not, you can revitalize and reuse any growing medium. Even beach sand can be "revitalized via soil amendments" as you say. (meaning you add perlite/vermiculite/compost/peat/coco/nutrieints/etc. It's not really rocket science, it's just soil biology/composition. Heck, some people can even "revitalize" tap water with NO soil and get great results.
By organic you must mean steer manure. Does it stink?
That's the job of bacteria & fungus to break them down for the plants to take up.@@alexgrover1456
Happy frog! Thanks for all your time that went into this video!
Good review. I've been using Ocean Forest for the past 3 years and always have great yields/results. Might buy some Happy Frog bags next year to mix with the Ocean Forest I used this year.
I love your videos. You guys have really helped me learn a lot about growing peppers. You guys provide great content in general as well, thank you for your videos!
So nice of you, it’s our pleasure!
Extremely useful information for my winter greenhouse grow! Thanks so much :D
I loved this! Thanks for doing the comparison. I also liked the fertilizer comparison from a while back.
You should chose your 'soils' to match the job. Pro Mix is not intended to make up pot grown plants since it contains starter fertilizers that favor vegetative growth that usually will run out in a couple of months it isn't an organic. There are big differences between starter soils that are used to germinate seed and sometimes to maintain the seedlings in packs. Then there are potting soils for a light, well drained soil mix in pots, there are several container growing soils starting to show up on the market. It is great to see your results and the choices of the most easily found products available in most markets.
He has no clue about the soils he used apparently, Fox Farms is a hot soil that will kill some seedlings because it's so hot, so no surprise Fox Farms did the best with no feedings
I love a comparative analysis!
Fox farm never disappoints me.
I run ocean forest after watching it outperform happy frog. I like them both, but it's important to note I spike my soils with Dynomyco inoculant and sometimes add worm castings, etc.
I love these practical trials, Cheers! Well done!
Thank you for your dedication!
I aee a lot of comments saying different soils for different plants, i think a lot of homegrowers have to keep it simple and are looking for a good multipurpose organic compost. This was extremely helpful
I always recommend mixing Ocean Forest and Happy Frog in a one bag to one bag mix.
Pro mix stuff is usually more marketed as a substrate or component in a potting mix intended to be fertigated professionally. Its performance will shine in these conditions
Great test. I've tried lots of soils over the years. The mixes we use here is happy frog and the standard promix.
Straight promix for cuttings. 1:1 happy frog:promix for seedlings and 2cu ft happy frog to 3.7cu ft compressed promix with 1 gallon Epsoma garden tone and 12 oz neem seed meal. I'm sure there is a better mix but it grows nearly anything and they hold all season with little care besides watering
Premium Potting Mix:
3 parts Peat, 3 parts Compost, 1 part Perlite
Outdoor Potting Mix:
1 part Topsoil, 1 part Compost, 1 part Perlite
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost)
Heavier Potting Mix (Prevent Tipping):
1 part Topsoil, 1 part compost, 1 part sand
Seed Starting Mix:
1 part Peat, 1 part Screened Compost (⅛")
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost) Optional: ½ part Perlite
Raised Bed Mix:
2 parts Topsoil, 1 part sand, 1 part vermiculite
1 part Compost
There are 25.71 dry quarts in 1 cubic foot
If not using compost, transplant 2nd set leaves
One of my favorite videos you have ever done. :)
This is a great video!!!! You put so much work into it and I just wanted to say thank you!!
Thank you for taking the time to do this experiment. Its very helpful in my situation considering i dont have options for soil in my town. In the event that i have the opportunity to choose, this experiment will definitely aid in my choosing.
Excellent and informative. Thank you.
Great video! I've wanted to do this kind of experiment for years.
Awesome experiment!! thanks for your hard work!!
Thanks for this video. I've been unhappy with my current potting mix and will be happy to give Happy Frog a try.
Great video. Really appreciated the effort.
Happy frog and promix have always been my goto.
Thank you. Yes, please do more comparisons.
Excellent video. Keep these coming!!
Lambert is by FAR the best I have tried!
Excellent, Years back, I had a nursery. The number one soil mix that sold the most was HAPPY FROG. Highest-ranking recommended and sold the best. Made a lot of people HAPPY-GO-LUCKY ❤ Thanks for you well deserved input.
I do appreciate analytical gardeners! Thanks for your data. I find experiments are a huge part of the fun of gardening.
If done right with all the information, this video did neither
Thank you for this excellent video full of great information!
I use the basic Miracle Grow. Sam's Club blows them out at the end of the season for $4.91 a bag. Just load up on as many as I want.
For in season use, I use compost and coco coir with mulch on top. Water retention is pretty good and as long as you fertilize on schedule you should get a bazillion peppers and tomatoes.
After the season, just mix in more compost and leave it.
I do like the comparisons though. If I ever down sized and only focused on 20 or less pots I would consider the Happy Frog.
Excellent video! Thanks! This is very helpful. I will continue to use Happy Frog in my GreenStalk gardens with more confidence!
I make my own organic soil and😮 i always use promix as my base. Promix also is a great medium for rooting clones and starting seeds so its really my go to for everything. I usually get 100% germination on seeds and when rooting cuttings so it's great in my opinion. Ive also used it with great success running liquid or synthetic fertilizer.
I’ve been using a roughly 50/50 mix of Happy Frog and Ocean Forest over the last 5-6 years for most of my potted plants. Both peppers and tomatoes seem to love that. I do add MicroLife 8-4-6 about once a month to keep the soil going strong. Hasn’t let me down yet.
Sounds like a solid idea - I'm sure the two only complement each other
Yay! New sub here, This is so overwhelming for me and I am glad you make this all easier to understand!
I love Happy Frog. I don’t even grow seedlings anymore, just add the soil to my beds and direct sow. Haven’t had an issue with growing anything, however I should mention I live in zone 9 so we don’t get a lot of freezing weather.
Great video and yes we need more like these.
Thanks, more to come!
Great results with black gold potting soil
yes lots more experiments like this one, they are illuminating
Thank you for this! I've been using Ocean Forest for years with great success, but it's been harder to find this year so I was thinking of switching to Happy Frog. This video convinced me to do it! Can't wait to try it out.
6month miracle grow potting soil is hands down the best. I've tried everything over 20yrs
Great and interesting experiment, thank you very much.
I don't think we have any of these brands here in Denmark, but it's interesting to get to know what difference the soil makes 👍🏻
I usually go with a standard good-quality potting mix and add in some perlite (20%) and bit of vermiculite (5-10%)
I add some finely crushed eggshells and some dried grass clippings to the mix as well.
I don't know if this Is the right or perfect way to grow peppers, but hey it works for me 😊
Thank you for all the good advice here and on Geeky Greenhouse 👍🏻
Best wishes and keep up the very good work
Nice video. Interesting and thorough. 👍🏼
I'm going to have to get some Happy Frog this year. My husband stopped and got some potting mix for me on his way home from work several years ago, and my seedlings did the best that years that they've ever done. I had completely forgotten that it was this brand until I saw this video. Thanks!
Great insight and helpful tips!
LOVE this type of video!!!
Experiment videos are awesome!!
This summer I used the MG Performance Organic plant food. I yielded more peppers overall than I have ever grown before, just using a pelleted organic plant food.
Excellent!!! Thank you 😊
Wow! Here in MA I just paid $35 for the same 2 cuft bag of Happy Frog! I used Ocean Forest ($27 for 1.5 cuft - so both roughly $18/cuft) this year after doing a similar test on my seedlings with cheaper local organic brands (specifically Coast of Maine and Espoma) and finding far superior results with the Ocean Forest. When I went to get more, the clerk accidentally gave me the Happy Frog, and after seeing your results, I’ll give it a try! Crazy the difference in price. In my area, they only sell Fox Farm products at specialty nurseries. Great video - so interesting!
I am also in MA and bagged soil is hard to find and pricey. Walmart has bagged soil but they do not offer premium bags at my location.
Outrageous. Some of us don't have green houses to start seeds for an early garden to extend our season. When the weather doesn't cooperate I visit our veggie stands to help them stay in business. BTW. I don't like bringing bugs and their eggs indoors from my compost pile which I could use to start seeds. It may be cheaper to buy dirt and make a compost tea.
It's over 40 a bag for any fox farms potting soil here. Never seen it anywhere near 25 bucks.
Premium Potting Mix:
3 parts Peat, 3 parts Compost, 1 part Perlite
Outdoor Potting Mix:
1 part Topsoil, 1 part Compost, 1 part Perlite
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost)
Heavier Potting Mix (Prevent Tipping):
1 part Topsoil, 1 part compost, 1 part sand
Seed Starting Mix:
1 part Peat, 1 part Screened Compost (⅛")
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost) Optional: ½ part Perlite
Raised Bed Mix:
2 parts Topsoil, 1 part sand, 1 part vermiculite
1 part Compost
There are 25.71 dry quarts in 1 cubic foot
If not using compost, transplant 2nd set leaves
Aubuchon Hardware sells Happy Frog and Ocean forest.
They also sell Coast of Maine.
Keep making kinds of videos! It was very good.
Thanks, more to come!
What size grow bag was used ? What was your water schedule / amount per week per pot and or moisture decision process? You are providing a process of growing peppers with actions that provide results which provides a knowledge base to add to the learning curve of growing peppers . Thank you !
happy frog over ocean forest
I use the happy frog with homemade compost. I also use it for seed starting after a good screening with a riddle.
My favorite brand is beyond peat!
Strawberry fields is a good soil from fox farms too
My experience. Ocean forest is a hot soil. I do a 50/50 blend happy frog(it’s very light on nutrients and mostly good myco) and ocean forest. This gets me a month after transplant. Seedlings always go in straight happy frog. I grow cannabis and they get burnt easily by the ocean forest alone. Learned the hard way. But I love these tests. Great info with real results.
I love happy frog, but got a bag of strawberry fields because they were out of frog, and it seems to be very, very good.
For peppers, of course, but it may be my new favorite.
My experience. Ocean forest works just fine from seedling stage and if your having a nutrient burn issue the batch is either real fresh or your watering practices need improvement.
Strawberry fields is hot and not great for veg. @@choccolocco
Happy frog for veg and ocean forest or strawberry fields for flower
I have 2 autos in ocean forest right now and you're right it is a very hit soil .. I made the mistake of giving nutrients too soon and my girls got way to much nitrogen...next grow I'm gonna do what you do
I have never forgiven "miracle" (more like a curse on your garden!) grow ever since I opened several bags only to find rotten wood chunks and bug eggs. There wasn't one molecule of anything that any farmer would recognise as "soil" or "dirt." It was literally just fungus rotted wood chips, spider mites and other random bug eggs. I threw the rest of the bags out and have only used HF from then on
And fungus gnats galore.
That’s why I had all those gnats this summer damn at least I still got a good yield
@@wealthNwisdom63
If you ever have that problem again, you can cover the soil with a good layer of sand so the gnats can’t lay their eggs in the soil.
WealthNwisdom63 take a fan and blow it across your soil and turn it a few times until it dries out. Then use it like normal and you won't have bugs
That was the experience I had with happy frog in 2920 after years of using them exclusively. It’s so expensive where I am I never forgave them, never bought their product since.
Very well done video! I haven’t used any of those brands, but was entertained anyway 👊🏻💥👊🏻
Just subscribed and looking forward to learning about everything chilli 🌶️ shame that over here in GB our outside season is very short but will have to adapt . All the best 👍
Perhaps a mix of Fox Farms’ Ocean and Happy Frog will yield a large number of larger fruits? I also heard good stuff from Gaia Green.
Thank you for doing all of this great work. There is a very limited variety of potting soils in my area and I'm on a pretty tight budget. I want the best bang for my buck. Looks like I need to find some Happy Frog soil!!!
I'm very happy with Happy Frog.
Excellent work, as always
Build a soil is my go to!
Happy frog for sure
I'm a data geek and love experiment videos like this. Thanks for the data. World love to see more in the future.
Same!
Fox Farm helped me grow some amazing flowers
I've used Pro Mix for 50 years and grows as well as anything out there.
30 bucks a bale.
This was very interesting! FoxFarm does sell smaller bags of Happy Frog and Ocean Forest. It’s $9.99 /bag for a 12 quart bag at the nursery where I work. We really like their soil conditioner too
Happy frog is my favorite for tomatoes and peppers! ❤
I’m just trying to start getting into container gardening. I did not know you could grow peppers like that and grow bags. You have opened my eyes.
Premium Potting Mix:
3 parts Peat, 3 parts Compost, 1 part Perlite
Outdoor Potting Mix:
1 part Topsoil, 1 part Compost, 1 part Perlite
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost)
Heavier Potting Mix (Prevent Tipping):
1 part Topsoil, 1 part compost, 1 part sand
Seed Starting Mix:
1 part Peat, 1 part Screened Compost (⅛")
(Vermiculite can be substituted for Compost) Optional: ½ part Perlite
Raised Bed Mix:
2 parts Topsoil, 1 part sand, 1 part vermiculite
1 part Compost
There are 25.71 dry quarts in 1 cubic foot
If not using compost, transplant 2nd set leaves
You can grow in cardboard boxes! Works fine …just get the corrugated cardboard, not thin like beer cartons or Amazon boxes for instance.
Really helpful very good presentation I dare you to do more vid's like this
Thanks... I did like this type of video.
Great video. Thanks!
data driven beautiful testing. TY great vid
Hi ! Loved the video. I usualy do a 1 on 1 comparison every year. Challenger vs. champion, and make adjustments. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do a 5 banger. I guess I'll be looking at Happy Frog for next year. And DEFINITELY do more videos like this..... Well played Sir.
outstanding, Great pepper video's , I hope one day to get to the volume of your growing
I've had good luck with Coast of Maine raised bed mix.
I would love to see you do more specific medium tests and nutrient tests
Much love thanks for taking the time🍻 I crossed ghost and banana peppers in hydro 🔥 hottest peppers I’ve ever tried🔥
Ive been using fox farm products for a while now and have never been disappointed
One of best mixes I ever used was 40-50 percent HP pro mix...then 25-30 ocean forest and another 25-30 percent happy frog