Re: Fwd: Metro Mix (Was:Re: Pro-mix (Was: Re: baking dirt))



RBRSSR@aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 01/05/2000 6:35:03 AM Central Standard Time,
> jlanier@yancey.main.nc.us writes:
> 
> << Hello Ray. just to add my 2 cents worth etc. I have used Fafard #2 Mix >>
> 
> Your thoughts are very much appreciated.  Part of my problem is it seems that
> when people recommend certain products, they are not always available in
> everyone's area.  If they are, it isn't always known where to purchase them.
> Where do you buy the Fafard products from? 

Hi Ray, I get it from a local nursery; I only need a relatively few bag,
and they buy it by the tractor trailer load etc. I think my  point would
be this, however. This brand, or that brand is not relevant. I think
that almost anything you can get at even a Mall Garden Center (we have
Lowe's and Home Depot here for example) will work fine; always has for
me. I buy from this local nursery only because the guy is welling to
sell it to me for the price he pays for it. I actually haven't checked
to see if it's that much cheaper than the mall. Just look a the
"contents" on the bag. If the contents are not listed, then call somebody.

 Is that a company name or brand
> name? 

I know it is at least a product name, because that's what is on the
label. As with most of these types of products, at least in North
Carolina, this one is "distributed" by a company, far removed from the
manufacturer. If you would like for me to, I will go to a bit of trouble
and find out exactly what you want to know.  

I can search, but are you aware if they have an internet site?

Don't know.  JML

> Ray Rodgers, Bartonville, IL, CIHS, Zone 5
> 
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Subject: Re: Metro Mix (Was:Re: Pro-mix (Was: Re: baking dirt))
> Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 07:31:52 -0500
> From: John Lanier <jlanier@yancey.main.nc.us>
> Reply-To: hosta-open@mallorn.com
> Organization: MissVitro Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory
> To: hosta-open@mallorn.com
> References: <0.c6215033.25a42051@aol.com>
> 
> Hello Ray. just to add my 2 cents worth etc. I have used Fafard #2 Mix
> (Jim Anderson mentioned Fafard 3B earlier) for many years both for seed
> starting, and as a medium for growing TC liners just out of culture.
> Fafard #2 contains Peat, pearlite and vermiculite (possibly other
> things, but no nutrients as far as I know). It does not contain ground
> pine bark. While I truly don't want to come across as being
> argumentative regarding Jim's earlier advice about the advisability of
> using a mix with pine bark to promote drainage (it definitely does do
> that), I don't use it in my TC operation because my liner plants don't
> do as well in it as they do in the mixes without pine bark. I believe
> this is due to the fact that the mix drains TOO effectively, and thus
> the plants, even though they are well rooted, don't establish as quickly
> as they do in a mix that retains more moisture. I know from experience
> working part time (just after retirement from the FDA) one summer in a
> perennial plant nursery that ground pine bark was always an additive
> they used in their commercial bagged mixes. They did this to PROMOTE
> drainage, but they also had extensive, timed watering systems that kept
> their plants  in the greenhouses (many kinds of seedlings and all kinds
> of cuttings being rooted) constantly misted. If you don't have such a
> misting system (I don't) I believe the wetter mixes should work as well
> for  you as they do for me. In fact, to promote an even MORE moist
> condition, I cover the flats on my light racks with a clear plastic
> dome. The dome comes off the TC liner flats after about 2 weeks when the
> liners are transferred to the greenhouse (where the humidity is higher
> than where the light racks are), and thus the plants don't show stress
> from that move. The domes stay on the seedling flats for up to a month
> (have left them on for 2 months with no ill effects). When I tried the
> pine bark mixes I was constantly watering trying to keep the mix wet so
> the seedlings wouldn't wilt here and there in the liner. This constant
> watering also leached out the nutrients I had begun to use on the
> seedlings. I felt all this extra effort was too time consuming. Aeration
> is, of course, important, even critical, especially in a greenhouse
> situation, but I have not found it to be a problem here. On occasion I
> have had "moss" start to grow (due to too much nutrient and too little
> light), but no significant damping off. You don't have to buy domes,
> flats, plug trays etc. at a Mall retail outlet (VERY EXPENSIVE). Just go
> to a local nursery and ask them to sell you a few. In the case of domes
> (which they don't ordinarily use etc.) they may ask you to pay for a
> case, but they aren't terribly expensive that way, and you will have a
> supply for many years to come. This is just my experience, based on my
> lab etc. Hope I am not confusing everyone with the differing opinions of
> soil less mixes.  John Lanier
> --
> MissVitro Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory
> John and Laura Lanier
> Route 9  Box 908
> Burnsville, NC  28714
> (828) 682-4174
> j*@yancey.main.nc.us
> http://www.gardensights.com/MissVitro/
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