I used the yellow bag ProMix to plant my EarthBoxes a little over a month ago. All the plants are exploding with growth. I'm happy with it. I noticed that the perlite pieces were very small also, but apparently the mix works well.
I use ProMix HP and couldn't be happier with it. That said, I have heard of other people not liking that particular bag/mix that you're reviewing. But many many people swear by ProMix.
I stopped buying expensive potting soil because I noticed the cheap bag pot did way better. I think it’s like beauty products, learn what ingredients you need and ignore the hype.
Interesting topic for sure... I usually go with the best value when it comes to purchasing my soil... for the last few years my local greenhouse has been selling 3.8 cu/ft compressed bags of Pro-mix HP and BX. i prefer the HP... i haven't noticed any sticks but the perlite levels are increased substantially. recently for my houseplants i've been adding additional perlite...lol... as i have come to the realization that over the winter i over water my plants... this is a double edge sword... because in the summer the houseplants get forgotten. Keep up the great work. Keep us thinking about and learning what's happening in our soil
I've seen a LOT of folks complaining about soil they have bought from many retailers in Canada this year. One person posted photos of plastics and other garbage in the soil she bought from a nursery in Ontario. I've definitely noticed a difference between the soils.
That’s weird. I’ve been buying Promix in the bulk size bags for years and it’s my favorite. It’s actually cheaper than Miracle Grow per liter and it’s way better texture.
These people don't know much or maybe they got a bad bag I only see 1 or 2 twigs per few handfuls and they're tiny like 1\3 a inch at most .. Pro mix is great the quality is literally 100% better than walmart soil And even picky plants love it and grow fast!!! You'd have to be a snob to not like it , IV gone through alot of horrible soils while tryna budget this year ( MG , Ace hardware potting soil , Wal-Mart etc and this is the first premise mix I bought worth the money
My experience is that the bulk bags are higher quality than the smaller ones you get at Walmart, but you need to mix in other ingredients since they are basically just a base.
These "black" colored bags of "Pro Mix Premium"(?), like your reviewing, definitely isn't up to the quality of Pro Mix HP, Pro Mix BX, and Pro Mix CC, which are the more popular and work great! With no sticks, at all. I've seen these" black" colored, smaller bags of Pro Mix, advertised at Home Depot, and other big stores. Almost got some once, but definitely won't get that version, ever. Thanks for your insights, and the great breakdown on what sounds nothing like what we expect from a Pro Mix product. 🤔👍✌️
I had lots of flies when I opened my promix from costco this year… I think those big brands still think they have monopoly for their products but the more, we as costumers, educate ourselves by watching videos like this can move them put from the market and demand better quality
I am a very budget gardener. I mainly do sip containers made out of totes and five gallon buckets. I mainly make my own mix, but I will buy a few big bags of potting soil if I am running short of time to get plants in. I have never bought promix, its just way to expensive. After this video I likely wont buy it in the future.
I find that I need to sift my bags of anything I get whether it be 'shroom compost or peat moss. I sift the peat moss anyways because it makes for a finer mix for house plants ... and worms. but there does seem to be a lot of bigger wood chips and such along with balled up softer material, clay balls as you stated. The lumpier stuff goes into my compost pile to hopefully degrade to a usable state some day.
I purchased 6 large bags of miracle gro from Costco last year and had horrible results! I Ended up having two full bags left to use this spring and I took them back no questions asked. I’ve been purchasing the cheapest weight Vs volume. It’s been fantastic so far this year. No more big names for me. Such a a waste of $$. Thanks for the review!! 🌺🌸🌿😀
I purchased a bale of Promix soilless mix in the fall and kept it well sealed in the garage. Used some to start seedlings inside and found it hatched moths everywhere! In the spring my garage was infested too. I contacted Promix Canada and even sent them photos, they really didn’t care ...purchased A bale of Sunshine mix, zero problems!
very interesting. I've never had those.issues with promix..only used them last year though, amd I used the yellow and black bag..organic garden mix. I would never have bought Walmart soil before. I would.give it a shot now. Thanks
Right to see how she reacted was actually shocking I just went out & got a bag or promix to see if they got worse or went downhill and ....Nope! Still good 😁
I knew nothing much about potted soil mix until I started going great guns this year. ProMix organic vegetable mix looked superior, so that's what I've been buying for my containers (not for my raised bed) After watching this vid, I will take a closer look at the soil to see if I notice the same things. It's def higher priced, but that made me think, it was higher quality. Thanks for the info Ashley. Really helpful.
Different potting soils are so easy to test. Simply grow identical plants in various kinds of potting soil and observe the results. Over the years, I've done this with several different potting soils (including several of my "home-made" mixes). Personally, I wouldn't judge a potting soil by how it looks or feels, I'd rather see if one produces better than another.
A more "scientific" method would be to sift both bags (at the same total weight, seperately), and weigh what went through the mesh vs. what didn't... Also, to get a better estimate of the soil's contents, for each, put a handful in jars, add water, and measure the layers of clay, sand, silt, after separation...
I have been using Organic Pro Mix from a growers outlet and have never gotten any sticks... It is packed in the bag and is fluffy and light when you use it. I have had the best outcome since I have started using it. I ran out last winter and had to buy so called starter mix from Walmart not their brand, that was a bag of sticks and straw. Result wise the Pro Mix has been the best I have ever used. Price is competitive as well. I am shocked at what you are pulling from that bag.
Been using ProMix for well over 20 years and have never seen such issues in mine, perhaps the issue is a quality control problem at a particular facility. I do my own organic composting and dependant on what I'm planning for the soil I will amend it per species I plan to grow. Between my own compost, sea weed I gather at the beach, organic Blood, Bone meal and organic worm castings as well as organic molasses for the sugar balance and finally the sludge I remove from my garden pond filter system once a year I havent had any problems growing anything be it in a pot in the greenhouse or in one of my 32 flowerbeds around my property. Homemade compost tea is my best friend! 😁
Earlier this spring I bought a "Voila" brand from a cpl stores and found the exact same crapola, vs. the CIL brand (same store) was much better quality texture with much less twigs, but they all seem to have some too large pieces. I think next year I'm gonna try getting the big bag one delivered, I've heard its better quality. My natural soil is very heavy clay some I'm reluctant to grow in it. 🤔 So glad you shed light on this issue! 👏
I put some of my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in pots to grow in the greenhouse, mainly as a hedge against racoons, squirrels, etc and mixed peat moss with my garden's soil (sandy with some clay balls that I tried to break up) and some manure (Canadian Tire brand) and sea compost (Fafard brand). For my new garden beds, I mixed my sandy garden soil with broken down spruce needles, and a bit of "manure mixed with black earth" and peat moss. I also put some random weeds, broken up turf, and other green material deeper down (about 8 inches under the surface) and occasionally some small branches, and also dried out filamentous algae from the creek in my backyard (although some of the algae I wasn't able to dry out as much as I'd like, but hopefully I didn't use enough for that to be a problem).
Awe PROMIX used to be so good and high value and a lot of gardeners really recommended it but lately there's been some complaints at the gardening group I am in... thanks for sharing.
It's just this growing season. It can possibly effect by covid. People have trouble buying/looking for promix last year in the middle of lockdown. So they have to order online and wait.
I bought 20 bags of the Wal-Mart soil last week. I'm finding a lot of plastic bits in it. They are like shredded plastic bags. I think I have 8 bags left if I remember I will grab pictures. Maybe I just got bags from a bad batch.
That’s wild! Send me photos please, it goes back to my comment that it’s the supplier of the peat more so then the company. But the quality control should be catching that
My local green waste collector (which is also the garbage collector) used to make compost riddled with plastic leaf bags. I guess they didn't bother emptying the leaf bags that they collected in the fall; the workers just tossed the full bags into the shredder. After I (and probably several other customers) complained, the manager of the composting facility agreed to be much more careful about requiring their workers to empty the leaves and throw away the bags. Since then, their compost has greatly improved.
I use to spend hundreds of dollars on bagged soil each year with average results every time. Since switching to my own sifted compost, vermiculite, worm castings and perlite. My plant life has doubled and at fraction of the cost.
Got so tired of those problems I started making my own. Zero problems now. Even adding your own amendments is still way cheaper in the long run. And to me it's actually fun. I can make them different for indoor, outdoor, cloth, plastics etc... . Biggest advantage is no more headaches with sticks, plastics etc... . Very basic and simple video but great topic for us all. Keep up the great work. ❤
If I spend more money on a mix I expect to not have to spend time picking out sticks and rocks. Cheap soil? Then I'm more willing to work, haha. 😆 I was looking at your potting mix recipe page (super cool!) but I couldn't find one for container tomatoes (this could very well be because I'm just having a hard time, haha). Thanks for sharing! 👍
@@GardeningInCanada lol I heard it was coming It's been 30is here and 15C at night and sooo dry we need rain but you can keep the snow lol we cool back down the weather man says so I'm watching
For Canadians gaia green living soil has so much big chunks of wood and sizeable rocks. Their ammendments are some of the best here, their soil needs ❤
Last spring I used Pro mix to top off my stock tank raised beds and to fill my 18 gal totes. Most of my Pro Mix was purchased by the bale, not by the bag. All did well except the last bag. I did not find twigs, chunks of wood or chunks of clay In any of them. Last bag was also topped with fertilizer . My helper may have put too much fertilizer in. My plants struggled and were very yellow. I was disappointed to see how much the soil shrunk over winter. My daughter has a landscaping company and a degree in Landscape Contracting and has not had problems with Pro Mix. Could there be a difference according to geographic area? We are in NE Ohio.
I feel covid really F’ed up the quality of bagged potting soil. Most of the influx new gardeners in the market don’t know any better regarding what quality “soil” is, so company’s don’t care lol. I ended just buying Ocean Forest cause I’m lazy and healing from an injury, so guess I’ll pay for the convenience for now. Maybe add some perlite to the ocean forest. But yeah you can’t go wrong with $12 3cbft spag moss, perlite, and compost
I purchased quite a few bags of top soil last year from Walmart to top up some of my raised beds. I added peat moss and fertilizer to it before adding it to the bed. When I was mixing it in my wheelbarrow I noticed small flecks of color. Went through the soil and discovered not small pieces of very hard plastic of different colours. It looked like it had been ground and intentionally added to the soil. I planted onions in this bed after a few weeks and none of them survived. I left this bed empty for this growing season but would like to put some carrot seeds in it to see if they grow. Is there any way to check soil to see if there is something wrong with it?
Pro-Mix Moisture Soil in a compressed 2 cubic ft carry bag with handle at ~ $20 each from Wal*Mart is beautiful stuff. No sticks, no clay, fairly large perlite pieces and some moisture so it doesn't fly everywhere but not soggy. Perhaps the compressed packs CAN'T have sticks because that would tear the plastic bag.
Well, there is always a bit of little sticks but not like those! I’ve tried a few kinds not this premium pro mix. It is weird as I don’t think the huge pro mix mycor. bags I love have even this many sticks. I hated the miraclegro as it was full of fungus gnats eggs. Didn’t like Fafard…..
i purchase PROMIX peat moss by the bail, i add my own compost to it and pearlite and GAIA GREEN ORGANIC AMENDMENTS I have tried all the major brands of potting soil and find the home mix to be better and 1/4 the price. I use fungi inoculants and add nemotobin. I use air prune 10 gallons and 15-gallon pots on risers and saucers I use 20 gallons for indoor pepper and tomato.
looks like it's normal, you should see their seedling starter mix...the amount of crap i pulled out was insane...the mid range price was amazing..never again that expensive stuff. Thanks so much for your videos..
I opened a bag of Promix Seed Starter earlier this year. It was a bag that I bought last year. It was totally white with some kind of fungus all through it. Mycelium???
Obviously more expensive is not always better. So many love and swear by promix so I bought a bag and ended up returning it.... the amount of sticks in it was a joke! Being tech challenged I need to ask if you have a video on blossom end rot and if you do can you direct me to it? Thank you! 😊
@@GardeningInCanada Yes the sticks/logs😁 were awful on top couple inches... didn't dig into it so I could return it. I know watering can cause BER but I am not sure if the soil can be a problem. It's always my Romas so I quit growing them but this year I am trying again with Martino romas. It would be awesome if you get around to making a video on it. After 25 years in the garden BER is one of my few achilles heels. Thank you again for all the great content.
I have been yea. Honestly the only way to explain it is to explain it as the moon. It’s a big spongy thing, and you step on it and you sink till you hit water. And then it’s like a big springboard. They are about 3 hrs ish North of where I am.
Sounds like the Walmart brand is better! Promix is so expensive! The one time I bought it, it was fine, but still a lot of money. I usually make my own as well, but was starting seeds and wanted to try it. Thanks for the information!
Hi, Ashley! A friend who's moving gave me 8 bags of BeyondPeat soil mix. I opened one, seems almost like there's coco bark, as well as other bark'y looking bits & maybe some really fine other bits (soil-soil?), not a lot of info in the bag. I'm just wondering if this is a good mix to add to my indoor potting mix? Last year I had a terrible gnat infestation & I'm hoping to avoid it this winter. I don't know if you have, or even know of, etc: BeyondPeat soil mix (potting soil, in my case), like what's the word on it? (If you've made a video about it or addressed it before, apologies)
Well... Can u tell me which PeatMoss Medium would be the Best for Outdoor Cannabis... I usually get GreenWorld Pro Mix VPW 420 or VPW 20 wth 80% Peat, 10% perlite, & 10% vermiculite... My Well water is roughly 8 ph... And YeaH.., they aLL have them DaM Wood Chunks...! haa
When you mentioned adding amendments to increase biological activity, could you expand on that? What amendments would those be? Or is there a video where you go into more detail about that? I would love to learn more about that!
@@GardeningInCanada I’m only a container gardener for indoor plants and some veggies on my balcony but I’m sure others might be interested in both? Always looking to learn about making the best soil I can!
If you don't live in California ,it is too expensive and I don't live there either ,I think it is a organic product still unless they changed up but it does the best I have seen so far ...I transplanted some small bell peppers in a mix of it and it grew them like nothing I had seen before ....
I just bought the same bag yesterday (I was in a pinch) and it was terrible. Compacted, dry, like *overly* dry, and full of sticks. I typically buy the bale of Promix in the blue & orange bag, same brand, and it is somewhat better.
Ha! I recently had a very similar experience with a bag of Black Kow. The first bag was perfect, the next 2 seemed to be mainly clay and sand, then a good one, then one had so many huge chunks of wood that I was able to mulch both of my strawberry planters. 😲🤦🏼♀️ I thought that was supposed to be one of the better ones, which is why I paid >$5 a bag, rather than the cheap-o $1.25 stuff, but I'm truly unimpressed. Perhaps their Quality Control team was on covid furlough. 🙄 And somewhere in there I lost the game of persistent herbicide roulette. Never again will I use a bagged compost product! And now that I've seen this video, I'll definitely not be seduced by the Promix hype, either. If I wanted a bag of sticks, I could get that myself for free. Thank you for revealing this to us shoestring gardeners!!
I've never gotten pro mix like in this video and no it wasn't bailed but every cannabis farmer will recommend promix so I think you got a bad batch but I'm getting better results with pro mix!
I agree I’ve been using pro mix for several years and I’ve had excellent results. Now I am putting in other amendments to it for nutrition and aeration, etc..
my soil mix is 70%peat 30% perlite.....I then use it as a substrate for my worm bins. 6 moths later I pick out the worms and then plant in my super soil. Also keep an eye out at the end of the season, I cleaned out walmart's fertilizers at the end of the season last year. I have been top dressing with Expert Gardner Organic 5-4-4 that I grabbed for $2.25 off the clearance rack......it even has Bacillus.
Hi dear, I like your hard work mam i have a general Question. I have done my B.Sc in agriculture specialization in Soil science can i apply and get canada visa and work in agriculture sector ?
I grow a lot of annuals outside in pot's. I usually use miracle gro or just buy the walmart or store brand. This year the walmart brand seemed different. I bought a couple different batches. The second batch all my plants started to die off within 2-3days. I decided to pull the plants to salvage what I could. In doing so the amonia smell was so bad. I have never had that happen before. My only guess is there was a lot of non composted material because this happened way to fast.
@@GardeningInCanada i actually mentioned it to the walmart garden center turns out they had bags from most likely the same batch break open in parking lot. The guy who knew nothing about gardening said he had to get his boss to ask if that was normal. They told him no and sent him home to shower 🤣. Unfortunately it killed 90% of my fancy petunias I had been collecting since April
I planted a grow bag with pro mix and pea seed. I went to move some plants around and the weirdest thing was the pro mix grow bags shook like jello . WTH. I also noticed the strawberry plants are sickly and small seeds that are sown on top of the soil had bad or no germination. If I kept pro mix moist, algae got bad. Letting it dry out a bit left a white crusty residue on top of the “ soil “! I won’t buy pro mix again.
Yikes! I don't remember it being that bad when I was still buying it. Got a couple of bags of Vigoro (? Home Depot brand) last year and it was truly awful. So heavy and dense. Must have been loaded with clay. Even mixed half and half with composted manure it was still dense.
I’m just not sold on organic growing in containers. I know a bunch of folks do it and it works for them. I find organic fertilizers to be inconsistent and kind of a bag of mysteries. What exactly is in it? Does anyone really know? I know what’s in FLAVUH.
You definitely got a bad bag. I use about 20 bags of 112 litre (super cheap at Costco in Spring - Ontario) and have had virtually zero problems for years. I also bought a bag of premium soil for very well known brand (who uses white pots) two years ago and it contained sticks, stones and broken glass from something like a windshield. Yes I contacted the company. I think sometimes their local suppliers go way off track and quality control misses it. Aside from this love your science based videos and I don’t always have to agree with you or you with me. ; )
@@GardeningInCanada I swear it wasn't me throwing them it's hot and dry here man I planted some seeds out but didn't water or I would have to water at least once a day maybe more so hopefully we get rain tomorrow to get these seeds germinating
I use promix 😂 they always have sticks in them. But I don't really mind it's organic matter itll help the soil. I will however just use promix for my flowers I plant outside for now on bc I want the organic matter in my soil. The clay pieces I have not noticed. My flowers honestly do really well with promix. But I can try a cheaper soil I add perlite to even my outside soil so I can get a cheaper one and add perlite.
Are you sure you even got real pro mix? Or did someone repackage other soil. My plants thrive in pro mix and I’ll never use anything else indoor or outdoor. Never gotten sticks. I just went through 3 bricks of premium organic pro mix.
Ive gone through many bails and bags of pro-mix for beds, starting, microgreens and never experienced this. She starts to open the bag then theres an edit lol. She's just using the name Promix for views and put those sticks in.
I’ve been using it for several years and I’ve also never found a stick or anything like that in mine ever and I bought dozens of bags over the last 17 years of gardening.
@@GardeningInCanada not to slander promix...it's convenient but we all know that comes at a price. For small scale gardening it's ok but large scale you'd go broke. I employ your method of buying components separately...it works for my wallet. Housing in Toronto is also too expensive so being frugal for myself is a way of life.
Did I just get a bad bag or is this normal 🤣😩 send my your Promix photos over Instagram instagram.com/gardeningincanada
For the potting soil recipe chart click this link gardeningincanada.net/diy-potting-soil-recipe/
The secret to gardening is "Terrasigilata" something something defloculated clay~
Haha love it!
I don't use Instagram much. How would i send you a picture of my pro-mix?
Facebook?
I used the yellow bag ProMix to plant my EarthBoxes a little over a month ago. All the plants are exploding with growth. I'm happy with it. I noticed that the perlite pieces were very small also, but apparently the mix works well.
I use ProMix HP and couldn't be happier with it. That said, I have heard of other people not liking that particular bag/mix that you're reviewing. But many many people swear by ProMix.
I stopped buying expensive potting soil because I noticed the cheap bag pot did way better.
I think it’s like beauty products, learn what ingredients you need and ignore the hype.
It’s very true. Smart women.
What an eye opener, while disappointing its valuable information for us budget gardeners. Thanks!
Hahah I like the pairing of those words
Interesting topic for sure... I usually go with the best value when it comes to purchasing my soil... for the last few years my local greenhouse has been selling 3.8 cu/ft compressed bags of Pro-mix HP and BX. i prefer the HP... i haven't noticed any sticks but the perlite levels are increased substantially. recently for my houseplants i've been adding additional perlite...lol... as i have come to the realization that over the winter i over water my plants... this is a double edge sword... because in the summer the houseplants get forgotten.
Keep up the great work. Keep us thinking about and learning what's happening in our soil
The HP also is a bale right? I’m assuming the baled products are less woody because it’s impossible to package twigs in bales 😂
For the potting soil recipe chart click this link gardeningincanada.net/diy-potting-soil-recipe/
I've seen a LOT of folks complaining about soil they have bought from many retailers in Canada this year. One person posted photos of plastics and other garbage in the soil she bought from a nursery in Ontario. I've definitely noticed a difference between the soils.
That’s not okay... plastic and garbage wow disappointing. Hopefully she got a refund
The Promix Organic I bought recently here in the US has almost zero sticks in it. The few it had were tiny.
Didnt know anything about soil as we are using normal soil for planting from our farms and all.. great to see your vedio .. HI FROM INDIA
Hello and welcome
That’s weird. I’ve been buying Promix in the bulk size bags for years and it’s my favorite. It’s actually cheaper than Miracle Grow per liter and it’s way better texture.
Same!
These people don't know much or maybe they got a bad bag I only see 1 or 2 twigs per few handfuls and they're tiny like 1\3 a inch at most .. Pro mix is great the quality is literally 100% better than walmart soil And even picky plants love it and grow fast!!! You'd have to be a snob to not like it , IV gone through alot of horrible soils while tryna budget this year ( MG , Ace hardware potting soil , Wal-Mart etc and this is the first premise mix I bought worth the money
My experience is that the bulk bags are higher quality than the smaller ones you get at Walmart, but you need to mix in other ingredients since they are basically just a base.
These "black" colored bags of "Pro Mix Premium"(?), like your reviewing, definitely isn't up to the quality of Pro Mix HP, Pro Mix BX, and Pro Mix CC, which are the more popular and work great! With no sticks, at all.
I've seen these" black" colored, smaller bags of Pro Mix, advertised at Home Depot, and other big stores. Almost got some once, but definitely won't get that version, ever.
Thanks for your insights, and the great breakdown on what sounds nothing like what we expect from a Pro Mix product. 🤔👍✌️
I had lots of flies when I opened my promix from costco this year… I think those big brands still think they have monopoly for their products but the more, we as costumers, educate ourselves by watching videos like this can move them put from the market and demand better quality
most likely fungus gnats try this to get rid of those ruclips.net/video/ZsfFt0udleA/видео.html
I am a very budget gardener. I mainly do sip containers made out of totes and five gallon buckets. I mainly make my own mix, but I will buy a few big bags of potting soil if I am running short of time to get plants in. I have never bought promix, its just way to expensive. After this video I likely wont buy it in the future.
I find that I need to sift my bags of anything I get whether it be 'shroom compost or peat moss. I sift the peat moss anyways because it makes for a finer mix for house plants ... and worms. but there does seem to be a lot of bigger wood chips and such along with balled up softer material, clay balls as you stated. The lumpier stuff goes into my compost pile to hopefully degrade to a usable state some day.
That’s a really great idea honestly
I have no idea, but another commenter said the "clay balls" are limestone for ph.
I purchased 6 large bags of miracle gro from Costco last year and had horrible results! I Ended up having two full bags left to use this spring and I took them back no questions asked. I’ve been purchasing the cheapest weight Vs volume. It’s been fantastic so far this year. No more big names for me. Such a a waste of $$. Thanks for the review!! 🌺🌸🌿😀
Yea that’s honestly the way to go. Well done
Ditto. I bought the organic Miracle Gro. Bunk. Never again. I use a lot of Fox farms soils.
I purchased a bale of Promix soilless mix in the fall and kept it well sealed in the garage. Used some to start seedlings inside and found it hatched moths everywhere! In the spring my garage was infested too. I contacted Promix Canada and even sent them photos, they really didn’t care ...purchased A bale of Sunshine mix, zero problems!
I prefer the Sunshine mix too.
Wow... that’s incredibly disappointing. And yea! Love sunshine mix number 4 specifically
Which mix do you use? Number 4
@@GardeningInCanada have only seen the #4 apparently it’s favoured by the “pot” growers...
Hahah yea... but they have a few mixes some are special order though. I know when I was doing wheat breeding we have a wide selection to order from.
very interesting. I've never had those.issues with promix..only used them last year though, amd I used the yellow and black bag..organic garden mix. I would never have bought Walmart soil before. I would.give it a shot now. Thanks
The yellow ProMix has worked well for me in my EarthBoxes.
I use Pro-mix all the time and don't ever remember getting any kind of a stick in it. I'm 100 % sure I haven't.
is it in the bale form?
@@GardeningInCanada Nope, just regular bags. I was really surprised you got such a bad batch.
Right to see how she reacted was actually shocking I just went out & got a bag or promix to see if they got worse or went downhill and ....Nope! Still good 😁
To much info and no substance.
I knew nothing much about potted soil mix until I started going great guns this year. ProMix organic vegetable mix looked superior, so that's what I've been buying for my containers (not for my raised bed) After watching this vid, I will take a closer look at the soil to see if I notice the same things. It's def higher priced, but that made me think, it was higher quality. Thanks for the info Ashley. Really helpful.
Glad you found it so helpful!
Different potting soils are so easy to test. Simply grow identical plants in various kinds of potting soil and observe the results. Over the years, I've done this with several different potting soils (including several of my "home-made" mixes). Personally, I wouldn't judge a potting soil by how it looks or feels, I'd rather see if one produces better than another.
That's what I thought she was going to do in this video.
A more "scientific" method would be to sift both bags (at the same total weight, seperately), and weigh what went through the mesh vs. what didn't...
Also, to get a better estimate of the soil's contents, for each, put a handful in jars, add water, and measure the layers of clay, sand, silt, after separation...
This is why I stick to making my own blends. It reduces the amount of disappointment I feel.
Glad I bought the Garden Experts stuff. I added extra perlite and some Recharge.
Nice! that is the walmart brand correct?
@@GardeningInCanada Yes it is.
I was so waiting for this video thank you very much
Happy you enjoyed it! ❤️
I have been using Organic Pro Mix from a growers outlet and have never gotten any sticks... It is packed in the bag and is fluffy and light when you use it. I have had the best outcome since I have started using it. I ran out last winter and had to buy so called starter mix from Walmart not their brand, that was a bag of sticks and straw. Result wise the Pro Mix has been the best I have ever used. Price is competitive as well. I am shocked at what you are pulling from that bag.
Been using ProMix for well over 20 years and have never seen such issues in mine, perhaps the issue is a quality control problem at a particular facility.
I do my own organic composting and dependant on what I'm planning for the soil I will amend it per species I plan to grow.
Between my own compost, sea weed I gather at the beach, organic Blood, Bone meal and organic worm castings as well as organic molasses for the sugar balance and finally the sludge I remove from my garden pond filter system once a year I havent had any problems growing anything be it in a pot in the greenhouse or in one of my 32 flowerbeds around my property.
Homemade compost tea is my best friend! 😁
Are you grabbing the bales or the bags? It seems like the bales are less woody
Earlier this spring I bought a "Voila" brand from a cpl stores and found the exact same crapola, vs. the CIL brand (same store) was much better quality texture with much less twigs, but they all seem to have some too large pieces. I think next year I'm gonna try getting the big bag one delivered, I've heard its better quality. My natural soil is very heavy clay some I'm reluctant to grow in it. 🤔 So glad you shed light on this issue! 👏
I put some of my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in pots to grow in the greenhouse, mainly as a hedge against racoons, squirrels, etc and mixed peat moss with my garden's soil (sandy with some clay balls that I tried to break up) and some manure (Canadian Tire brand) and sea compost (Fafard brand).
For my new garden beds, I mixed my sandy garden soil with broken down spruce needles, and a bit of "manure mixed with black earth" and peat moss. I also put some random weeds, broken up turf, and other green material deeper down (about 8 inches under the surface) and occasionally some small branches, and also dried out filamentous algae from the creek in my backyard (although some of the algae I wasn't able to dry out as much as I'd like, but hopefully I didn't use enough for that to be a problem).
Sounds really nice
Awe PROMIX used to be so good and high value and a lot of gardeners really recommended it but lately there's been some complaints at the gardening group I am in... thanks for sharing.
That’s really interesting. How long ago would you say? I’m wondering if demand from covid is the cause
It's just this growing season. It can possibly effect by covid. People have trouble buying/looking for promix last year in the middle of lockdown. So they have to order online and wait.
Oh yea makes sense
a 3.8 cu ft bail of Lambert Peat Moss is like $15, add perlite and you have a better product than "pro"mix
It’s honestly true...
I bought 20 bags of the Wal-Mart soil last week. I'm finding a lot of plastic bits in it. They are like shredded plastic bags. I think I have 8 bags left if I remember I will grab pictures. Maybe I just got bags from a bad batch.
That’s wild! Send me photos please, it goes back to my comment that it’s the supplier of the peat more so then the company. But the quality control should be catching that
I got a bag of mushroom compost from HD and it had a rubber heel from a shoe in it. Never had that problem in the past with it.
My local green waste collector (which is also the garbage collector) used to make compost riddled with plastic leaf bags. I guess they didn't bother emptying the leaf bags that they collected in the fall; the workers just tossed the full bags into the shredder. After I (and probably several other customers) complained, the manager of the composting facility agreed to be much more careful about requiring their workers to empty the leaves and throw away the bags. Since then, their compost has greatly improved.
I would like to see a video about tannins. Very little to be found on RUclips about it.
Oh interesting!? Really. I’ll put it on the list
good info I have seen pro-mix in the stores. I just use peat and perlite I also add some vermiculite. I did notice a lot of wood in my peat this year.
It must be a supply issue then. Everyone is in a rush
Oh wow... I'll know not to buy ProMix anymore! Thanks for the video!!
Glad you enjoyed!
Yes, it is normal. I recently got into gardening and found whole bunch of sticks, huge ones too.
I worked at a greenhouse many years and sticks are normal for greenhouse premixed dirt, sad.
I use to spend hundreds of dollars on bagged soil each year with average results every time. Since switching to my own sifted compost, vermiculite, worm castings and perlite. My plant life has doubled and at fraction of the cost.
I completely believe that!
Got so tired of those problems I started making my own. Zero problems now. Even adding your own amendments is still way cheaper in the long run. And to me it's actually fun. I can make them different for indoor, outdoor, cloth, plastics etc... . Biggest advantage is no more headaches with sticks, plastics etc... . Very basic and simple video but great topic for us all. Keep up the great work. ❤
Yup very very true.
If I spend more money on a mix I expect to not have to spend time picking out sticks and rocks. Cheap soil? Then I'm more willing to work, haha. 😆
I was looking at your potting mix recipe page (super cool!) but I couldn't find one for container tomatoes (this could very well be because I'm just having a hard time, haha).
Thanks for sharing! 👍
I don’t think I actually have one for tomatoes! But I’ll throw that in great idea.
Thank you! I've dabbled in creating my own mix but would love your expert advice. 👍
Absolutely!
Great topic right now let the gardening begin
Well it's already going but ya know summer is in sight
We just got snow 🤣😂
@@GardeningInCanada lol I heard it was coming
It's been 30is here and 15C at night and sooo dry we need rain but you can keep the snow lol we cool back down the weather man says so I'm watching
HAHAH don’t want to share?! 🥺
@@GardeningInCanada not really but you can throw snow balls lol I threw them all winter at Australia lol
HAHA
Hi Doc.
You should sieve from each bag a porcion enough to fill a pot or a vase and compare with one it is best(less chuncks)
Haha doc ❤️ thanks. And yea absolutely you can
Where can we find your blog post @4:17 ?
For Canadians gaia green living soil has so much big chunks of wood and sizeable rocks. Their ammendments are some of the best here, their soil needs ❤
Don’t buy the living soil just make it with the Gaia greens dry amendments, peat moss, worm compost, manure and perlite
Yea that’s a good idea
I have ahad continuing mold issues while using pro mix. It came so highly recommend, I bought the really big bags, and mold mold mold 😡
Oh man... that not good.
I’m debating if I should get sunshine mix 4 or promix or Gary’s best top pot
Sunshine is my favourite
@@GardeningInCanada do you suggest anything for dragonfruit ? It’s been a big debate in the community for the longest
What about using soil "activators" to promote the bacteria and fungal communities in your soil? Do they work?
Last spring I used Pro mix to top off my stock tank raised beds and to fill my 18 gal totes. Most of my Pro Mix was purchased by the bale, not by the bag. All did well except the last bag. I did not find twigs, chunks of wood or chunks of clay In any of them. Last bag was also topped with fertilizer . My helper may have put too much fertilizer in. My plants struggled and were very yellow. I was disappointed to see how much the soil shrunk over winter. My daughter has a landscaping company and a degree in Landscape Contracting and has not had problems with Pro Mix. Could there be a difference according to geographic area? We are in NE Ohio.
I just got some expert gardener potting mix for winter sowing and it literally looks like mulch!
That is upsetting
I feel covid really F’ed up the quality of bagged potting soil. Most of the influx new gardeners in the market don’t know any better regarding what quality “soil” is, so company’s don’t care lol.
I ended just buying Ocean Forest cause I’m lazy and healing from an injury, so guess I’ll pay for the convenience for now. Maybe add some perlite to the ocean forest.
But yeah you can’t go wrong with $12 3cbft spag moss, perlite, and compost
It’s true… I feel the same
I purchased quite a few bags of top soil last year from Walmart to top up some of my raised beds. I added peat moss and fertilizer to it before adding it to the bed. When I was mixing it in my wheelbarrow I noticed small flecks of color. Went through the soil and discovered not small pieces of very hard plastic of different colours. It looked like it had been ground and intentionally added to the soil. I planted onions in this bed after a few weeks and none of them survived. I left this bed empty for this growing season but would like to put some carrot seeds in it to see if they grow. Is there any way to check soil to see if there is something wrong with it?
Is it HP Promix?
Or is there another “Promix?” Thanks for the helpful info.
nursery i go to grows everything in pro mix and every single plant in the operation looks perfect
yea it works great. I am just commenting on the sticks, but its not an issue in the tight bales just the smaller bags.
Got 3, 112L bags of the promix from costco. Still many small and a few large pieces of wood in there. 2023
Pro-Mix Moisture Soil in a compressed 2 cubic ft carry bag with handle at ~ $20 each from Wal*Mart is beautiful stuff. No sticks, no clay, fairly large perlite pieces and some moisture so it doesn't fly everywhere but not soggy. Perhaps the compressed packs CAN'T have sticks because that would tear the plastic bag.
Well, there is always a bit of little sticks but not like those! I’ve tried a few kinds not this premium pro mix. It is weird as I don’t think the huge pro mix mycor. bags I love have even this many sticks. I hated the miraclegro as it was full of fungus gnats eggs. Didn’t like Fafard…..
i purchase PROMIX peat moss by the bail, i add my own compost to it and pearlite and GAIA GREEN ORGANIC AMENDMENTS I have tried all the major brands of potting soil and find the home mix to be better and 1/4 the price. I use fungi inoculants and add nemotobin. I use air prune 10 gallons and 15-gallon pots on risers and saucers I use 20 gallons for indoor pepper and tomato.
that sounds like a good mix
@@GardeningInCanada it seems to work well
looks like it's normal, you should see their seedling starter mix...the amount of crap i pulled out was insane...the mid range price was amazing..never again that expensive stuff. Thanks so much for your videos..
Really? Someone on Instagram said their started mix had so much clay it was a mat
I have been using pro mix veg and herb however I add a lot of ammendments
what do you typically add?
Holy moly...the Walmart 1.00 bag i got at the end of the season beats both those...
Lazy dog nursery swears by promix...i forget what mixture..
I opened a bag of Promix Seed Starter earlier this year. It was a bag that I bought last year. It was totally white with some kind of fungus all through it. Mycelium???
Yea that’s exactly it. I’m assuming it looks like spider webs?
@@GardeningInCanada Yes, but it was also kind of furry.
Yea that’s it
Obviously more expensive is not always better. So many love and swear by promix so I bought a bag and ended up returning it.... the amount of sticks in it was a joke! Being tech challenged I need to ask if you have a video on blossom end rot and if you do can you direct me to it? Thank you! 😊
You ended up with a stick mess too? And can do one, haven’t yet.
@@GardeningInCanada Yes the sticks/logs😁 were awful on top couple inches... didn't dig into it so I could return it. I know watering can cause BER but I am not sure if the soil can be a problem. It's always my Romas so I quit growing them but this year I am trying again with Martino romas. It would be awesome if you get around to making a video on it. After 25 years in the garden BER is one of my few achilles heels. Thank you again for all the great content.
Yea absolutely I can. It is a common issue.
Just curious. Have you ever been to a peat bog? About how far away would one be from you? None around here in south central IN. Thanks! Good video!
I have been yea. Honestly the only way to explain it is to explain it as the moon. It’s a big spongy thing, and you step on it and you sink till you hit water. And then it’s like a big springboard. They are about 3 hrs ish North of where I am.
@@GardeningInCanada Very interesting! Thanks for the info explanation.
Anytime!
Sounds like the Walmart brand is better! Promix is so expensive! The one time I bought it, it was fine, but still a lot of money. I usually make my own as well, but was starting seeds and wanted to try it. Thanks for the information!
Great point!
Hi, Ashley! A friend who's moving gave me 8 bags of BeyondPeat soil mix. I opened one, seems almost like there's coco bark, as well as other bark'y looking bits & maybe some really fine other bits (soil-soil?), not a lot of info in the bag. I'm just wondering if this is a good mix to add to my indoor potting mix? Last year I had a terrible gnat infestation & I'm hoping to avoid it this winter. I don't know if you have, or even know of, etc: BeyondPeat soil mix (potting soil, in my case), like what's the word on it? (If you've made a video about it or addressed it before, apologies)
if you fungus gnats you should check out the article i did on this. You wont have issues gardeningincanada.net/how-to-get-rid-of-fungus-gnats-in-soil/
@@GardeningInCanada Thank you so much, Ashley! I'm ordering today.
Which fungi and where to get it?
Well... Can u tell me which PeatMoss Medium would be the Best for Outdoor Cannabis... I usually get GreenWorld Pro Mix VPW 420 or VPW 20 wth 80% Peat, 10% perlite, & 10% vermiculite... My Well water is roughly 8 ph... And YeaH.., they aLL have them DaM Wood Chunks...! haa
sounds like what you have works nicely. Are you trying to grow organically or conventional? If organic you may want too add aged composts.
When you mentioned adding amendments to increase biological activity, could you expand on that? What amendments would those be? Or is there a video where you go into more detail about that? I would love to learn more about that!
Yea absolutely that’s a great idea. Would want that for containers or ground soil or both?
@@GardeningInCanada I’m only a container gardener for indoor plants and some veggies on my balcony but I’m sure others might be interested in both? Always looking to learn about making the best soil I can!
@@SL-pr1lw have you tried recharge ? Its suppose to be beneficial microbe's. I also add a little molasses to my water to feed the microbes
Try the Fox Farm Ocean Forest for certain plaints you really like that need super hot nitrogen with many other nutrients and watch it moon.. ..
I’ve seen that soil before it’s wicked expensive so that makes sens e
If you don't live in California ,it is too expensive and I don't live there either ,I think it is a organic product still unless they changed up but it does the best I have seen so far ...I transplanted some small bell peppers in a mix of it and it grew them like nothing I had seen before ....
I just bought the same bag yesterday (I was in a pinch) and it was terrible. Compacted, dry, like *overly* dry, and full of sticks. I typically buy the bale of Promix in the blue & orange bag, same brand, and it is somewhat better.
so its not just me
Ha! I recently had a very similar experience with a bag of Black Kow. The first bag was perfect, the next 2 seemed to be mainly clay and sand, then a good one, then one had so many huge chunks of wood that I was able to mulch both of my strawberry planters. 😲🤦🏼♀️ I thought that was supposed to be one of the better ones, which is why I paid >$5 a bag, rather than the cheap-o $1.25 stuff, but I'm truly unimpressed. Perhaps their Quality Control team was on covid furlough. 🙄
And somewhere in there I lost the game of persistent herbicide roulette. Never again will I use a bagged compost product!
And now that I've seen this video, I'll definitely not be seduced by the Promix hype, either. If I wanted a bag of sticks, I could get that myself for free. Thank you for revealing this to us shoestring gardeners!!
Ah! That’s so sad... these companies have gone wild
I've never gotten pro mix like in this video and no it wasn't bailed but every cannabis farmer will recommend promix so I think you got a bad batch but I'm getting better results with pro mix!
I agree I’ve been using pro mix for several years and I’ve had excellent results. Now I am putting in other amendments to it for nutrition and aeration, etc..
The clay could be put in to raise the CEC of the mix
Possibly I thought maybe as a vector for the mycelium but I’m unsure
my soil mix is 70%peat 30% perlite.....I then use it as a substrate for my worm bins. 6 moths later I pick out the worms and then plant in my super soil. Also keep an eye out at the end of the season, I cleaned out walmart's fertilizers at the end of the season last year. I have been top dressing with Expert Gardner Organic 5-4-4 that I grabbed for $2.25 off the clearance rack......it even has Bacillus.
Sounds perfect
I have purchased many bags of potting mix, and I have never found a stick. mebbe I was lucky.
Where did you get that awesome hat?
Hi dear,
I like your hard work mam i have a general Question.
I have done my B.Sc in agriculture specialization in Soil science can i apply and get canada visa and work in agriculture sector ?
sure apply to different companies
Some twigs are actually fine and beneficial to the soil but there are a lot of them and big in that bag right there.
Haha yes there was
I grow a lot of annuals outside in pot's. I usually use miracle gro or just buy the walmart or store brand. This year the walmart brand seemed different. I bought a couple different batches. The second batch all my plants started to die off within 2-3days. I decided to pull the plants to salvage what I could. In doing so the amonia smell was so bad. I have never had that happen before. My only guess is there was a lot of non composted material because this happened way to fast.
Oh that’s sounds like anerobic soil
@@GardeningInCanada i actually mentioned it to the walmart garden center turns out they had bags from most likely the same batch break open in parking lot. The guy who knew nothing about gardening said he had to get his boss to ask if that was normal. They told him no and sent him home to shower 🤣. Unfortunately it killed 90% of my fancy petunias I had been collecting since April
Oh no! That’s so sad
I planted a grow bag with pro mix and pea seed. I went to move some plants around and the weirdest thing was the pro mix grow bags shook like jello . WTH. I also noticed the strawberry plants are sickly and small seeds that are sown on top of the soil had bad or no germination. If I kept pro mix moist, algae got bad. Letting it dry out a bit left a white crusty residue on top of the “ soil “! I won’t buy pro mix again.
Yikes! I don't remember it being that bad when I was still buying it. Got a couple of bags of Vigoro (? Home Depot brand) last year and it was truly awful. So heavy and dense. Must have been loaded with clay. Even mixed half and half with composted manure it was still dense.
I’ll have to grab that bag because multiple have mentioned the Vigoro now.
Awesome green house !🌴👍🤠👍🌴
We make our own here to , it's a Mainer
thing . ☘️☘️☘️☘️🌹☘️☘️☘️☘️
Edit , is that an African Violet tat ??
Orchids! 😎
@@GardeningInCanada ah🤠
Sweet channel , thank you for bringing
normalcy to a world out of wak !
Our new Queen of the green 👍☘️👍
Hahaha wak love it ❤️
@@GardeningInCanada 🤠✌️
I’m just not sold on organic growing in containers. I know a bunch of folks do it and it works for them. I find organic fertilizers to be inconsistent and kind of a bag of mysteries. What exactly is in it? Does anyone really know? I know what’s in FLAVUH.
You definitely got a bad bag. I use about 20 bags of 112 litre (super cheap at Costco in Spring - Ontario) and have had virtually zero problems for years. I also bought a bag of premium soil for very well known brand (who uses white pots) two years ago and it contained sticks, stones and broken glass from something like a windshield. Yes I contacted the company. I think sometimes their local suppliers go way off track and quality control misses it.
Aside from this love your science based videos and I don’t always have to agree with you or you with me. ; )
Obviously the Pro's grow plants in factory floor sweepings from a beef jerky factory! The nitrate content is through the roof!
Haha maybe!
Pro-mix... more like pro-stix. Best to diy that potting mix!
Hahaha pro stix love that
I think the sticks are inoculated ,
Snow snow go away come back in December
Lol it’s snowing here again 🤣😂
@@GardeningInCanada I swear it wasn't me throwing them it's hot and dry here man
I planted some seeds out but didn't water or I would have to water at least once a day maybe more so hopefully we get rain tomorrow to get these seeds germinating
Hahah Ontario I assumev
@@GardeningInCanada ;) I'm wild edibles hubby:) much love xoxox
guy went to penn state for growing so he must know that pro mix is the way to go
Wow, not what i expected from pro-mix.
I use promix 😂 they always have sticks in them. But I don't really mind it's organic matter itll help the soil. I will however just use promix for my flowers I plant outside for now on bc I want the organic matter in my soil. The clay pieces I have not noticed. My flowers honestly do really well with promix. But I can try a cheaper soil I add perlite to even my outside soil so I can get a cheaper one and add perlite.
Yea absolutely
My experience is its best to mix your own. The bags just dont provide the quality for what you pay.
Yea ❤️
Are you sure you even got real pro mix? Or did someone repackage other soil. My plants thrive in pro mix and I’ll never use anything else indoor or outdoor. Never gotten sticks. I just went through 3 bricks of premium organic pro mix.
I mean it was sealed bag so I’m assuming yea
I think the sticks make the drainage better so that the little balls of clay don't stay wet too long. 😅
The wood is filler to I seriously doubt it and the peat have the same origins.
No I think it just isn’t sifted properly because the sticks will naturally pccur
This is why I make my own potting mix.
never a bad choice
What do you use to make your own?
💚💚
❤️❤️❤️
I use premix for almost all of my plants and I’ve never seen twigs or clay in my soil
So I’m pretty sure you got a bad bag
Okay! Good too know
I think pro mix is mostly jell !
ProSticks!
And if you reuse/compost your used container soil I can imagine a build-up of clay becoming something one might eventually need to consider.
Hahah love that
Yea forsure. It’s not a bad thing but it’s how they tossed it in that’s an issue
Ive gone through many bails and bags of pro-mix for beds, starting, microgreens and never experienced this. She starts to open the bag then theres an edit lol. She's just using the name Promix for views and put those sticks in.
I’ve been using it for several years and I’ve also never found a stick or anything like that in mine ever and I bought dozens of bags over the last 17 years of gardening.
Thank you 😊
Promix is good but not worth the money in my opinion. You can easily make your own mix for way less.
It is expensive i completely agree
@@GardeningInCanada not to slander promix...it's convenient but we all know that comes at a price. For small scale gardening it's ok but large scale you'd go broke. I employ your method of buying components separately...it works for my wallet. Housing in Toronto is also too expensive so being frugal for myself is a way of life.
I totally agree with that