paulorph

Just wondered if there is a thread on good homemade banana soil. I searched but could not find. If not why not start one here. Please post your recipies,
Paulo

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Hi from cold Ann Arbor,Michigan! Go Blue!

sunfish

Potting soil

Info:Soil - Bananas Wiki

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Tony,Thanks

nullzero

A good cheap mix that works good for me is;

5 parts pine bark (make sure its the smaller particles)
1 part peat moss
1 part perlite
a little compost
dash of lime

paulorph

Thanks guys. Just wanted to see what people did to "homebrew" their soil. When I mean homebrew, it can be with a potting soil with your own special ingredients. Or totally from scratch. I do this with BBQ sauce myself lol. Thanks again,
Paulo

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Hi from cold Ann Arbor,Michigan! Go Blue!

Gabe15

I would avoid using pine bark or anything woody. As it breaks down, it will take away nitrogen which would otherwise go to the plant, so you will have to over fertilize to compensate. Since bananas are heavy feeders, it is tempting to feed a lot with sythetic fertilizers, but in a containerized situation they can easily accumulate and cause more problems than they are solving. For this reason, it is best to mix in most of the fertilizer ahead of time, and you can meet most of the nutrient requirements with a healthy portion of compost. You can also choose to mix in some slow release fertilizer too.


For long term growth in pots, I would use something like:

1/3 perlite
1/3 compost
1/3 peat or coconut coir

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The only hemp Im growing is Manila.

nullzero

I know what you mean, its better to use composted pine bark. However that nitrogen will become available again when it breaks down. I have not noticed any adverse effects using this mix on all my plants. I just compensate with fish emulsion fertilizer schedule and have been using kelp foliar sprays as well. Fruited bananas in containers with this mix, the mix works to counter the high PH water we have here in SoCal.