onafaerieswings

Hi everybody,
I am new here and I really need some advice on my new cavendish banana tree. I just bought it about a week ago at a local nursery. I live in houston texas, so my zone is 9a. We are experiencing below freezing weather right now, so my tree is warming up inside. I was wondering what kind of potting soil I could use. Any good recipes I should try?

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from the sea

I use peat, pearlite, and soil or compost at a 1 to 1 to 1 ratio.

kubali

Welcome aboard,
pull up a chair and have some fun learning.

siege2050

I just use plain Miracle grow, but I would advise against moisture control potting mixes.

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heal1079

Hello everyone, I am new here.

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Organic Trace Minerals

Snarkie

Welcome to the forum!

I potted mine in cactus/citrus mix from the Home Depot, and I've been using Miracle Gro.

Heal1079, welcome aboard as well! Why don't you post a separate thread for yourself so that everyone can give you a proper welcome?

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

merce3

here's a good reference for mediums:
Pacific Bulb Society | Growing Medium

i recently switched from using peat to coconut coir and would highly recommend it. you have to rinse it first to remove the salt and amend with calcium and iron. but it already contains potassium, it readily absorbs water, it holds its structure, and it has a pH of 5-6 which is perfect for most plants.

peat is acidic (pH 3-4) so you have to amend it with lime or mix with another medium to make it more neutral. it also takes some effort to soak and then if it gets too wet it turns into muck.

i also use pumice to make it the soil more airy. it doesn't float to the top when you water like perlite and they sell it as horse bedding at local feed stores for dirt cheap.

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Richard

pH is largely dictated by irrigation water. Soil mediums with a given pH are only a temporary solution. In my opinion, fertigation is the only means of controlling media pH in the long term.

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Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

merce3

do you use a reservoir in fertigation and control the pH there?

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Richard

I use Dosatron injectors that draw out of tanks of concentrate. Specifically I have one network for fruiting plants, vegetables, and herbs (receiving fruit fuel); a second network for ornamental flowering plants and vacciniums that do not tolerate nitrate nitrogen (receiving Grow More SeaGrow); and a third network for potatoes, onions, artichokes, and other tuberous plants that receive a very different fertilization regime (Acidic 21-7-7 + tuber bulker).

All of the above fertilizers are buffered and shift my municipal water at pH 7.05 to 6.3ish.

Also indoors, I have similar setups for orchids and indoor hydroponics.

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Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

Snarkie

Another note on using peat is that it has a tendency to absorb water and hold it, leaving the soil wet. My advice would be to stay away from peat, sawdust and other media that might contribute to root rot. Great for redwoods but horrible for bananas.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Rzmanjr

Welcome!! I have been using cactus mix as well and the plants seem to be thriving well. This is my first year with bananas and other tropical plants (gingers, helinconias and passion fruit) all of them in the cactus mix with added perlite.
Good luck and have fun!!