what is your outdoor 'in ground' mix?

Loph · Post by **Loph** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:12 pm

what does everyone use for their cactus mix in outdoor cacti that are in ground 12 months a year?

hoping to get some ideas.

here i am using 100% sand cause it gets so wet.

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 1:51 pm

Hey Loph- in Santa Fe on landscaping jobs we used a very porous soil/volcanic pumice/sand/tiny bit of commercial growing mix.

peterb

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:53 pm

My in ground mix:

Natural ground soil
DG (decomposed granite)
Top Soil (not the typical stuff, it's a certain kind, but darned if i can remember the name) 1 large bag per 25sq. ft. area
Sand 2 bags per 25sq. ft. area
Commercial cactus mix (SuperSoil red bag) I don't use much, and i only use it in the actual hole when the plants goes in the ground.
Grit/Rocks/Gravel mix as needed, depending on your natural ground soil.
Decorative gravel rock top dressing 3/4in to 1in in size

I dug out all the weeds, then used a tiller before doing anything. Shoveled on each ingredient and then used the tiller to mix it in. (it didn't like the gravel too much

)

Post by **daiv** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:53 pm

peterb wrote:Hey Loph- in Santa Fe on landscaping jobs we used a very porous soil/volcanic pumice/sand/tiny bit of commercial growing mix.

peterb

That's along the lines of what I used, except that I foolishly added peat to the mix and as a result, the plants grew very well for the first season, but once the mix dried out, growth came to a halt. Even if I had I stayed there, I was prepared to dig them all out and start over.

Chicago Cactus · Post by **Chicago Cactus** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:07 pm

I tried a 80-20 mix of paver base sand and native loam in my bed and I'm having success. I just expanded my bed this month

and I'm using a similar mix this time with some 1" broken up concrete pieces mixed in the top 5 inches of soil for added drainage.

John P Weiser · Post by **John P Weiser** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:39 pm

I use a 50/50 mix of DG(a course sandy 3/8inch through fines mix)and native clay/loam(it's heavy on the clay side).I do not have a problem with too much moisture. Just the opposite too little( 6"annually 90% during the winter and early spring).I need the clay to help retain the moisture from irrigation through the hot dry summer, but too much clay in the mix in cold weather is also a problem.I find it necessary to add course gravel base to the mix(minimum of 6" deep) into planting pockets for those extra sensitive species. I top dress the beds with 2"-3" layer of DG. From Reno,Sparks Nevada John P Weiser aka: sierrarainshadow

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:11 pm

I lucked out and did'nt have to do squat and my outdoor beds have been successful.The soil is a sandy very loose loam.
I have difficulty keeping it moist.
The area was a potato farm 30+ years ago and I dont think there were any organics left in the soil.
If I had known better at the time I would have mixed in some dg, But time has proven it unnecessary so far.

ihc6480 · Post by **ihc6480** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:07 pm

I don't change my soil alot. I till up an area then add some volcanic pumice and crushed granite and call it good. No fancy measuring, just mix ingredients till it looks good

mikayak · Post by **mikayak** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:52 am

I live in MD (USDA Z7) Normally doesn't get colder than 5-10°F. This year was wonderful, I think we only went below 20 for a few nights all winter.

I made a raised bed and filled the entire thing with Pea gravel (about 4-6 inches). My "undersoil" is VERY sandy. When I plant something, I tend to put a "potload" of my "Souky special" cactus potting mix - which varies based upon what is sitting around - but is typical.

This was my first winter - so I am still experimenting. My Agave parryi froze. However, Ferocactus hamatacanthus did just fine - as did Echino fendleri. - and several Opuntias.

I'm hoping to add more Echino's this summer (and more Opuntias) (anybody have a O. imbricata they want to sell or trade??)

tumamoc · Post by **tumamoc** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:14 am

I just used dirt from the yard without ammendments. It's a well-drained, silty sand. I lost a bunch of cacti--mammillarias and a big old clump of Echinocereus engelmanii last year during our wicked summer rains. I hope it doesn't happen again. Should I be adding some extra grit?

Loph · Post by **Loph** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:06 am

your in Arizona you lucky guy, you got tons of cacti in the wild there!

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:00 am

Hi Greg, I'd try more broken rock, grit, pebbles, sharp, coarse sand or something. The rains really are a problem, particularly as they arrive when cacti are summer dormant and more prone to turn to mush.

peterb

MichaelCactus · Post by **MichaelCactus** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 1:43 am

This topic is very handy! Ive been fussing about what to use in my garden bed, soil i got doesnt drain fast, and ive been fussing aabout trying to think of what to mix in with it, reading this, i could get the perfect mix

I saw a bag of cacti potting mix at Bunnings, so im going to fill the garden bed with the new soil mix, then in the holes im gonna plant the plants in, im going to put the potting mix in like CC said.

Lewis_cacti · Post by **Lewis_cacti** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:35 am

MichaelCactus wrote: I saw a bag of cacti potting mix at Bunnings, so im going to fill the garden bed with the new soil mix, then in the holes im gonna plant the plants in, im going to put the potting mix in like CC sai

Michael, i am telling you that the Bunnings cactus mix is not good quality. all that i have seen has consisted of excessively fine particles, which hold way too much water.. might be fine in times of drought and dry summers, but your plants may object to soaking wet roots during cold wet winter spells. A far better alternative is to get the cheapest mulit-purpose potting mix you can find at Bunnings, and then get cheap 'propagating sand' and mix the two together. if either of the ingredients appear to be too fine.. a solution i have found is to seive it over with a flyscreen, removing all fine particles and leaving the better coarse stuff. The resulting mix will give you very fast drainage and reduced water holding.then just add some cheap slow release fertilizer and/or blood and bone and your plants will thrive.

Buck Hemenway · Post by **Buck Hemenway** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:49 am

My impression is that no matter what you use (we use pretty much what John from Sparks Nevada does - native soil mixed 50-50 with small rock, or DG in our case, 3/8" and smaller) we all still need to go a long way to replicate the natural environment for our plants. It's either too cold, too hot, too wet, too dry, etc.

The most successful technique is raised beds. No matter what soil you use, if you raise the planting beds by 10" or more compared to the surrounding native soil, then you can completely control the residual moisture in the ground in the root zone of your plants. Thus, if you need more moisture at certain times of the year, you can provide it, and if your plants are getting more rain fall that they like, the raised beds provide immediate drainage so the chances of keeping them alive are much better.

We have over 600 species of succulent plants in the ground in our city lot and hundreds more at our nursery. The 50-50 method works great and only freak low temps and high temps do our plants any real harm.

There will always be plants that just won't live due to the local weather, but drainiage is by far the most important factor in keeping succulent pants alive whether in a pot or in the ground and you can't have good drainage if your plants are in the low point of the yard.