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How to mix media?

Do I stack them on top of eachother(sphagnum on sand) or mix them evenly together?
 
You mix them together with water so get your hands dirty.
 
You should mix them evenly together. I like to wet the peat moss down (with pure water of course) first, before mixing my other media ingredients together. It seems to help everything stick together and there's less peat moss dust to deal with.
 
I put sand and peat in a collander, add water, and knead.
 
There are several ways I do it.

1) Put water and peat moss in a bucket, leave it out in the sun to heat up (the peat absorbs water better when the water's heated). Grab a stick and stir it up, mix in your sand simultaneously.
2) If it's cold, you can still get a stick and mix them all up, but it takes longer. Usually you will end up having to take and knead the moss like jimscott was saying. Make sure to squeeze the moss so that air comes out (basically it will feel dry and crumbly), and it will then suck up water better like a sponge. It also helps not to apply the mixture right away, but just leave it sitting out awhile to let even more water absorb. If water isn't throughly absorbed, your peat can float, and if it's that way in a bog setting you'll lose not only peat, but perhaps even plants (like I did with my first attempt) to a good rain.

The most important thing is to get the peat wet entirely (till it's very black and hardly brown at all). Also, if you're using sand it can often sink to the bottom and form a layer there, while the peat will float--just ensure you mix it thoroughly because if not you lose the benefit of aeration that the sand provides.

And plus, it's just plain fun to muck around in peat (except when it's cold... oh boy is that not fun) with your hands.
 
I use the shake-and-bake method without adding water to the peat:

Use a one gallon zip-lock bag and add your ingredients in your desired proportions. Then sake the bag until it’s evenly mixed. Dump the mixture in the pot and if you need more just repeat. I place the plant in the growing media, which is still dry. Top dress with wet sphagnum and then water the pot multiple times to get the media wet. Sometimes I leave the pot soaking in a tray full of water overnight.

Working with just-wet peat is a hassle (it sticks to everything!) and for me it’s too much work to pre-soak it before hand. :)
 
My method is similar to joossa's, 'cept I use a small trashbag. I use peat that is slightly moist to keep the dust to a minimum and so I don't have to mix water in later. The bag keeps the dust and mess of mixing inside the bag. If there's leftover mix, I store it in the trash bag until used up.
 
A 5 gallon paint bucket with a lid also works good for mixing and storing media.
 
So it would seem that media is a lot more durable indoors haha
 
  • #10
So how much sand to peat should be used. The book "A Savage Garden" says 1 to 1 ratio. Now is that 1 to 1 volume or weight?
 
  • #11
It's not that big a deal. Very few plants want it heavuly one way or the other. If you have let's say, pygmys sundews or B. liniflora, go with much more sand. Other than that, you can eyeball it.
 
  • #12
So how much sand to peat should be used. The book "A Savage Garden" says 1 to 1 ratio. Now is that 1 to 1 volume or weight?


I usually go by volume myself, of dry peat moss and coarse blasting sand (silica sand used for sandblasting, available at lots of home and garden stores, lumberyards, etc.). I loosen the peat moss from the compressed bale, then somewhat compress it into the measuring container to achieve the amount I want. I moisten the mixture with rain water (or reverse osmosis water) and mix it well before using it.

Here in arid eastern New Mexico I usually use slightly more peat moss than sand for Venus Flytraps, to retain water a little longer in this dry climate (I never leave Venus Flytraps soaking in trays of water; I believe it can promote root or crown rot).

For Venus Flytraps, I use:

  • 6 measures of slightly (re)compressed peat
  • 5 measures of coarse silica sand.

I sometimes substitute a measure or two of perlite for an equal amount (by volume) of sand.

Happy growing-- :grin:

Steve
 
  • #13
I mix mine in a 2:1 ratio peat: perlite. I dump the amount of peat moss I need into a mixing container. Add purified water. Scrunch it up with my hands to get it all hydrated. Add my perlite. Mix it all up. Pour it into your pot that you're planting your plants in. Make the proper depressions for the roots/bulbs. Hold plants over depressions and refill. Done. Pretty simple stuff. ;)

So how much sand to peat should be used. The book "A Savage Garden" says 1 to 1 ratio. Now is that 1 to 1 volume or weight?

Volume.
 
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