Potting soil and fertilizer

Hi again,

It is really amazing to be here and got a lot of answers and help, i appreciate all the effort and the knowledge everyone can give and share, so i hope this site can be my favorite reference for my garden, and later in the future you will see the results if successful of fail, and with failure i can always try again or start over to have success again.

So now i have to ask about the important thing i need to use in my garden, the soil and the fertilizer, i didn't know in which section to ask, so i chose here is it is like a general section for questions.

Here are the photos of the potting soil i use, but i am trying to mix it with sand and fertilizer to have a better mix, but what do you think as a potting soil only, is it good or enough or must needed to mix it with something else?

As you can see from the front side of the package and the back side, in front side it says Potting Soil, in back side it says Potting Mix, this confusing me about it, what do you think?

Continue my thread, and now about Fertilizer

I have or bought 2 types of fertilizer, as many ask about what kind of fertilizer i have from my posts about plants ID, so here are my 2 types, hope to have more idea about what i am using.

First, with a sewage treated fertilizer, what do you think about it?!!!

Second, that cow manure, also same details as of that sewage one, making me feeling that both are almost the same regardless how both were made.

What is written in Arabic for the compositions of NPK are the following:

N: 1.5 - 3% [or 2? it isn't clear from that scratch on the number]
P: 1.5%
K: 1 - 1.5%
Ca: 0.5 - 0.8%

And they wrote about another materials as iron, zinc, copper,...etc, but without amount or percentage.

And what do you think about this one?

I didn't take photos of the sand, red or say orange-light brown normal sand, it is well known.

This message was edited Dec 10, 2015 12:04 AM

Hi Tareq-
First of all, DG website has just had a major 'upgrade' which appears to have a LOT of bugs. These things do get fixed but it takes time so don't worry if you get few responses right away-my settings should have alerted me to this new thread but they did not. If you don't get many responses maybe 'bump' it up in a week or two so it is noticed. Also, in this part of the world we are in early winter and it is the holidays, so many people take a break from DG.

Anyway, about your bags:
1- I think the potting soil is great for filling up pots for plants. However, since you live in such a hot climate you might be using some desert plants that like very good drainage, like cactus, for them you might want to mix in some of the sand. Most of the potting soil/mix like that sold here have enough nutrients in them to get plants going, just fertilize on an ongoing basis. You are smart to have noticed the soil/mix question. These bagged potting mixes are not really soil, which was made by mother nature. They just say that on the bag so people know what it is to be used for. It is usually better to put the bagged mix in your pots. Of course before there were bags of potting mix people used soil, and have successfully gardened in pots for over a thousand years.

2- I think you are right that the cow manure and the sewage waste are similar products. Unless they smell like sewage or fresh manure, we can assume they have been 'composted' which means they were left to rot and change composition. Once that has happened they can be spread around in the soil. People call that 'top dressing' or if you put enough on that you can't see the soil anymore it would be called mulching. I would spread it around now as you said this is the rainy season. This will help wash the nutrients into the soil. Here, bagged products like this have been composted enough there are few surviving weed seeds, so we don't worry about it. Probably yours is similar.

Hi,

I noticed what happened to this site, i tried to post a new thread about plant ID but i was unable to upload any photo as if they took out this option.

About that potting soil, i think i added little sand to make it little sticky and better drainage, and to make the plants more steady in the pots or containers, i felt it is lack of any sand or soil needed so i mix a little percent with sand and very little of sewage fertilizer so i can have a ready complete mix for growing plants.

The sewage fertilizer has that smell as the sewage or closer to it, and that manure has the usual smell of the farms manure, so i have 2 fertilizers and i will use each to amount to help the growth.

I think this year is just a test year, what is there from the past of what the person planted i will keep what i need or like and remove what i don't like, in the same time i am growing some plants from seeds, but i feel they grow to a certain height and then died or not grow anymore, because maybe the pots or containers are small or the water is too much or the mix soil isn't good enough for growing better, the seeds germinates even in cotton, and when placed in the pots they grow, but not for long time.

Ok, i forgot that i bought a package of fertilizer that is a granular one, not sure how do you rate this fertilizer and when to use it, or if you will use it if you have it.

Hello Tareq,
The numbers on the first two bags (1-3 for any number) are normal for organic fertilizers and there is less risk of hurting plants with too much at one time.
The numbers on this last one (16-8-8-) are in the range of inorganic fertilizer (even thought the bag says Organic). You will use less of this. Follow bag directions and use this when plants are actively growing in early to middle of growing season.

Hello,

Thanks!

I think i will keep this last fertilizer as you said for something grown high enough or healthy, i will keep using the first organic fertilizers for anything else.

I don't know anything about #s on fertilizer being an indication of organic or not but 16-8-8 is the same as 2-1-1. It's simply a ratio. This one has twice as much Nitrogan as phosphorous and potassium.