Window box Replanting

[SDR]

I have been given a number of windowboxes with cacti and succulents. I started reading this forum and learned that I need to replant them. I have them on shelves on one wall of my room. They are in a very random order. I would still like to have them all inside in windowboxes for a while so I can study them. I will eventually transplant all of them to more permanent homes. Is this possible with a remix of 1 part existing soil and 2 parts Napa Diatomaceous Earth Mix, or do I have to customize soil for types of plants.

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[majcka]

Unordinary ornament you have in one of the boxes I can tell you. But plants look nice.

[adetheproducer]

I would deffinatelly get them out of that wood chip filled compost as soon as possable. Where will these plants be living, indoors/outside/in greenhouse this will help decide what kind of soil mix you would use. Generally speaking it need to be free draining so does not hold on to much water for very long but also easily re-wetting. I live in Wales, UK and we have quite damp weather and limited direct sun so all of my plants bar a few with special requirements are in a primarily mineral mix with little organic material (varying between 5-10%).

[SDR]

For now I would like to keep them inside. I will move the ones that will thrive outside one by one. When they were "regifted" to me, I thought I would have a static display and nothing would develop for a long time. To my surprise, something changes on one of them almost daily. Of course some of it is just my noticing different levels of detail as I learn more on this site. I have about 80 seedlings.

[Steve Johnson]

For now I would like to keep them inside. I will move the ones that will thrive outside one by one. When they were "regifted" to me, I thought I would have a static display and nothing would develop for a long time. To my surprise, something changes on one of them almost daily. Of course some of it is just my noticing different levels of detail as I learn more on this site. I have about 80 seedlings.

Uh oh, there goes old Steve Johnson again...

Since you live in TX, do you have easy access to horticultural pumice? If so, I would highly recommend using it as the mineral component for a mix. For cacti, keep organic materials in the soil down to a minimum if possible. IMO sandy loam is best if you can find it, although you may be stuck with a commercial potting soil. Should that be the case, take out the big chunks and leave yourself with something that at least resembles actual dirt with some composted organics. Pumice has a unique combination of high water absorption and open porosity, and you'd be surprised to know that it doesn't dry out as quickly as one may think. I don't know your climate, but my guess is that a 50/50 pumice-soil mix should be fine, although you could go even a little more heavily on the pumice.

I have very little experience with succulents, so unfortunately I can't give you any help on that side of things. The forum has a subforum dedicated to growing succulents, so you may want to ask questions over there.

[SDR]

Thanks. I am going to check on availability of soil components. I am a parts guys so I was going to look into the NAPA product and the coconut fibers I read about Daiv's soil post. I am able to get some sandy loam and will check on the pumice. I guess I have to get over my "more mulch the better" habit. From all the post I was thinking 2 parts pumice, 1 parts ground cocunut fibers and 1 parts sandy loam. I will probably not get to it until next weekend. I used a hydrometer when they were dropped off on both ends and the middle. They were dry and had a little bit of shrink wrinkling to I watered them in. I made sure there was no standing water after 1 hour. That was 2 weeks ago. The hydrometer shows moisture from about 2" in the middle and 3" on the ends right now. adetheproducer recommended 5-10% organic. Daiv said that the coconut fiber was less likely to cause rotting than mulch so I guessed the higher percentage. I will keep adjusting based on the feedback. You are all very helpful.

Thanks.

[SDR]

Well, now I have the NAPA 8822 diatomaceous earth and sandy loam, along with the original potting mix or whatever it is. I can't find coir yet.

[SDR]

I finally found a place to get coir. Now I have: NAPA 8822 DE Diatomaceous Earth, Sandy Loam Topsoil, and Coir (The dark brown fibers on the far right)

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I am thinking of mixing it 3 parts DE, 1 part Coir and 1 Part Sandy Loam as the first soil for all my cacti and succulents for now. I want to get all of them out of the potting soil. Any suggestions.

Thanks,
Steve

[SDR]

The sandy loam got wet in the sleet we just had and seemed gummy. I made on batch with 3 parts DE and 1 part Coir. It seems nice and porous.

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Thanks!

[adetheproducer]

Looking good, just need to clean the old soil of the roots and then get them planted.

[CactusFanDan]

That mix sounds good to me. Nice, lean and airy! Coir is quite low in nutrients though, so you'll probably have to apply fertiliser from time to time.

Be sure to be thorough when removing the old soil mix from the roots of your plants. Water has difficulty moving from a more porous soil mix into a less porous soil mix, so removing most of the old stuff stops the roots from drying up.