I am slowly adding new plants to my small container garden . This time around instead going the old way I wanted to try out some new ways of doing things. Hence I decided to say bye bye to garden soil and went for Soilless medium instead.
Unlike foreign countries, getting a commercial potting mix here is not an easy task and so i decided to make my own potting mix.
The raw materials I use for my potting mix are given below.
1. Coco Coir
Coco Coir is the dust that binds the coconut fibre and is also called coco pith. This was once a waste product but now is exported to many countries. I was able to find a company that exports this as Discs. I ordered some 10 discs from them. Its a compressed disc and on soaking in water becomes loose and fluffy. This increases Water retention and aeration. This is used as an alternative to depleting Peat moss.
2 . Vermiculite:
This is another miracle substance that improves the water holding capacity of the soil and is responsible for storing nutrients and releasing them slowly to the plants. Vermiculite is manufactured by heating a mineral very similar to mica to a very high temperature and it pops up into flakes like corn, resulting in a golden flaky substance. Vermiculite has to be handled gently in order to not compress those flakes.
Finding this in Bangalore, India was very difficult and all you get when you ask for this in a garden shop/nursery is a cold stare. But after a week of searching I found a company in panruti, Tamilnadu, who were kind enough to give me a free sample of 5Kg.
3. Perlite:
Perlite is another light weight substance, made by heating a volcanic glass to a high temperature which pops up to a porous substance that is very good in aeration and improves drainage. This makes an excellent medium to grow plants. Getting this in bangalore, india was very very very difficult and I almost gave up searching for it until there was one shop who was selling it for Rs 60 a Kg. Couple of Kgs was ok for my needs.
To the above three substances, I add well composted manure and some vermi compost.
I have been able start seeds well with this mixture.However, a mixture of the above three doesn’t have really any nutrients in them since coir, vermiculite and perlite all of them are inert. The nutrients supply is mainly from the compost. So a regular feeding of nutrients is necessary to get the plants growing.
more later.
nutan said,
February 20, 2008 at 4:54 am
Hi there, was pleased to find your posts on cocopeat and vermiculite. I have been struggling to buy these since they seem to be exported with no retail supplises. Can you suggest sources for them in Bangalore?
thanks
Nutan
geekgardener said,
February 20, 2008 at 8:08 am
Hi Nutan,
Good to hear that you found my blog useful. There are not many places in bangalore for vermiculite. There is this shop called “Varsha Enterprises” in K.R Road (Brigade MM Annexe building). They sell vermiculite @20/Kg which is very expensive. BTW what is the quantity of vermiculite you are looking for?
If you want cocopeat you can get it in many places. Lalbagh has cocopeat and Varsha enterprises i mentioned above also carries the same.
Its good to know another person with similar interests.. May I know a little more about you?.
Arundati Ganesh said,
March 6, 2008 at 7:18 am
Hi,
Found your notes very interesting. I am a fellow gardener in Chennai -limited space around my house so have mostly potted plants. Am crazy about hibiscus and have about 20 varieties- thats not to say all of them flower all the time or even survive!!!!!!!1
Please let me know where to procure panchakavyam and how to use it.
Thanks,
Arundati
Preethi said,
February 14, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Hello,
Found your blog interesting. I have been searching for vermiculite and perlite in all nurseries I have been to in bangalore. Does varsha enterprises sell perlite too ? Could you also send me the address of the company at panruti, tamil nadu.
regards,
preethi
Preethi said,
February 14, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Hello gg,
Great !!!! thanks…
Please post the full address of Varsha enterprises in bangalore. Or any landmarks which could help… thank you.
Regards,
Preethi.
JR Beltman said,
July 3, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Hi,
very interesting read about replacing peat moss with coco coir. We are sampling the square foot gardening method and if it works we’ll implement it at our foundation in Sri Lanka… somewhere I’m certain coco coir shouldn’t be too hard to find!
Rupa said,
September 11, 2009 at 11:03 am
Hi,
bumped into ur blog today and what a pleasure!! I m also a enthusiast gardener like u and my balocy thrives in greenery! Recently I ‘m bitten by the orchid bug, I have got some baby moth orchid from a flower show but unfortunately not finding a proper media to grow them. I am looking for Sphagnum(newzealand) moss & coco husk , any idea where in Bangalore do I get them. Do u know any nursery or shop in B’lore where ochid growing materials r used?
Thanks for ur time!
Sangita said,
September 11, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Hi,
Could you tell me where you got the perlite from? I live in Bangalore too and just dabble in a bit of gardening in my restricted balcony. I would be grateful of any help. Also, is vermaculite not available here?
Thanks in advance. And a thumbs up on this very well organised and informative blog!
Regards,
Sangita
geekgardener said,
February 14, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Hi Preethi,
Glad you found it interesting. Varsha Enterprises sell perlite too. The address of the company in panruti
M/S KUMARASWAMY CHEMICALS
360/A, Chennai Main Road
L. N. Puram
PANRUTI (TK) – 607106
CUDDALORE (DT), INDIA
gg
geekgardener said,
February 15, 2009 at 9:49 am
Hi,
I dont have full address handy but i can tell you the landmark.
Its in K.R.Road .if you go from Banashankari. On your right you will see a building called M.M Brigade Annexe building. Its in the groundfloor. On the way on your left you will also find Pooja Garden products..
Hey I got their phone number handy.. its 08026764471.
I get lots of queries for places that sell garden products. I will plan on writing a post just for this .. to my fellow gardeners..
gg
geekgardener said,
July 4, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Hello,
Coco coir has been widely used in many countries for horticulture. I have heard Srilanka is the #1 producer of coco coir in the world hence I don’t think find coir is gonna be hard!!..
gg
geekgardener said,
September 11, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Hello Rupa,
Happy to hear from another enthusiast. There are many places in bangalore you will find orchid related stuff. You might know this already ‘Indo american Hybird seeds’ are big time into orchids. A bit on the pricey side though. You will also get sphagnum moss or simply called moss here locally. This you will get in Varsha enterprice in K.R road(Annexe building MM brigade). You also get Irish peat moss mixed with perlite in KELTech.
Let me know if you need help finding them
gg
geekgardener said,
September 11, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Opps forgot about the husk part. You get coco chips/pith in varsha. BTW where are you located?
gg
geekgardener said,
September 11, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Hi Sangita,
Welcome to my blog. I used to get perlite from Varsha Enterprise in K.R road. They have vermiculite too. You can do well without these actually. I don’t use them nowadays. If you are taking cuttings or germination many times, then they are useful.
Thanks for the compliments
gg