How To Make Your Own Mix
It doesn't start out to be one of your favorite chores in caring for your violets, but if you are successful at growing them you will become a repotting champ sooner or later. All violets need to be repotted at least every year but they will tell you when it's time. Usually when they outgrow their pot, it's time to repot them into a size larger pot.
When you first start growing violets, you are afraid to even lift the plant out of the pot. But you're going to have to get over that. The first time you have a problem, you need to lift that plant out and take a good look at the soil and roots.
I've learned that it's really best to repot every new violet you get while at the same time start preventative treatment for potential bugs and isolation before adding it to your collection. The best way to learn how to repot is by just doing it. A lot of it.
Not so long ago I had to repot over 80 violets in my collection to change their mix to a wick watering solution. But before that, I used to hate pulling them out of their pots and getting all the dirt off their roots for repotting. Now I don't mind because I can actually see them improving after repotting and I've developed a system that gives me success. I've figured out how to remove all the dirt without damaging the roots.
Plants you buy from someone else is grown in their mix, in their growing conditions and you really need to acclimate all your new plants to your environment as soon as possible. That means every plant you buy, especially the ones in the big box stores, all need to be repotted ASAP.
Repotting gives your plants a fresh start and can rejuvenate them so you might as well get used to it. If you grow more than just a few violets, you are going to become a repotting expert! Your violets will love you for it! All violets grow bigger and faster on wick watering. They bloom better too!
You can mix your own professional violet mix! The ingredients can easily be found at your local hardware and big box stores. If you can get it, use the horticultural grade (coarse) perlite and vermiculite. It makes all the difference in the quality of the mix.
THE RECIPES
I have two recipes for bottom/top watering in trays and both of them are good:
Recipe #1 = 3 parts sphagnum peat + 2 parts coarse perlite + 1 part coarse vermiculite (basic potting mix)
Recipe #2 = 6 parts Jiffy starter + 2 parts coarse perlite + 2 parts sphagnum peat (basic with additives)
My "not so secret" soilless recipe for wick watered plants:
Recipe #1 = 4 parts sphagnum peat + 6 parts coarse perlite + 1 parts Jiffy starter
You may not think the ratio matters so much for wick watered plants, but it does. It determines how much water your mix holds and how aerated it is. About 60% perlite is a good starting point for wick watering. The roots have to have air pockets in a constantly wet mix. Too much water and not enough aeration, the plant will rot. I use Jiffy Starter organic potting mix because although it is mostly sphagnum peat it already contains small amounts of vermiculite (which holds water) dolomite lime (adjusts the ph of the soil) and coconut coir (for aeration). It is pre-mixed. Or you could buy all that stuff separately and mix it yourself if you want but it's easier to get it pre-mixed.
I usually mix 8 to 10 quarts at a time. I also add into my mixes preventative granular imidacloprid (Bonide), food grade diatomaceous earth (not the pool filter kind) and occasionally I will add a little of this or that to try to improve it. Some people also add horticultural charcoal, fertilizer of some kind like worm castings, rabbit poo, compost tea, bloom boosters, microorganisms, kelp, ectomycorrhizae, dolomite lime, fish emulsion, bone meal, seaweed extracts, etc... be careful with fertilizers so that so you don't burn your roots with too much. My wick mix recipe works great for continuous feed violet plant food in the water at 1/4 strength. And the best thing is that you can adjust it for your own growing conditions!
Feel free to experiment with the recipes to make your own unique mix but be careful to only test it on one or two throw away plants at a time just in case they rot. Your humidity and growing conditions will effect your mix too. More vermiculite means more water retention. More perlite in the mix gives you more aeration. If it seems too wet - add more perlite to the mix and re-pot. Adjust it for your growing environment. If you have more humidity, you need less vermiculite.
The mix in wick watering will feel wet on the top and that's O.K. It will stay wetter than bottom watered soil. Don't worry, if your mix is porous enough, your plant won't rot. That's why you test it out on a few of your non-favorite plants first. You will know when you have the recipe right because your plants will look puffier and start putting out more blooms in just a few days. Don't skip this important adjustment period to get your wick mix just right for your growing conditions.
Happy violeting!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 9, 2018 - All my plants from my massive re-potting for wick are still doing great! They are blooming their heads off now since I've increased their light to 12 hours a day. It may have helped to get them closer to the light because they are sitting on reservoirs now about 1-1/2" closer to the light than they were before. All these little changes have really made a big difference. My water and my fertilizer are still the same.
July 19, 2018 - A few of my plants have become real flowering show stoppers. Don't know if it's the mix, the wick watering or the additional lighting - maybe a combination of all, but they have just busted out in bloom since I repotted. Ones that were sparse are now busting out all over with blooms! My Kentucky Gooseberries is just going crazy!
November 11, 2018 - I learned a little trick from someone else in a violet group. You can line your reservoirs with plastic baggies and just pop them out and a new one in when they get too algaed up. I tried it for a while but my baggies were too snug and it was a struggle just to get them in. So I went back to bagless containers. The good news is that my containers have the plastic number 5 on them and they are dishwasher safe. No more hand washing!
When you first start growing violets, you are afraid to even lift the plant out of the pot. But you're going to have to get over that. The first time you have a problem, you need to lift that plant out and take a good look at the soil and roots.
I've learned that it's really best to repot every new violet you get while at the same time start preventative treatment for potential bugs and isolation before adding it to your collection. The best way to learn how to repot is by just doing it. A lot of it.
Not so long ago I had to repot over 80 violets in my collection to change their mix to a wick watering solution. But before that, I used to hate pulling them out of their pots and getting all the dirt off their roots for repotting. Now I don't mind because I can actually see them improving after repotting and I've developed a system that gives me success. I've figured out how to remove all the dirt without damaging the roots.
Plants you buy from someone else is grown in their mix, in their growing conditions and you really need to acclimate all your new plants to your environment as soon as possible. That means every plant you buy, especially the ones in the big box stores, all need to be repotted ASAP.
mix into the soil
Repotting gives your plants a fresh start and can rejuvenate them so you might as well get used to it. If you grow more than just a few violets, you are going to become a repotting expert! Your violets will love you for it! All violets grow bigger and faster on wick watering. They bloom better too!
You can mix your own professional violet mix! The ingredients can easily be found at your local hardware and big box stores. If you can get it, use the horticultural grade (coarse) perlite and vermiculite. It makes all the difference in the quality of the mix.
excellent pest control
THE RECIPES
I have two recipes for bottom/top watering in trays and both of them are good:
Recipe #1 = 3 parts sphagnum peat + 2 parts coarse perlite + 1 part coarse vermiculite (basic potting mix)
Recipe #2 = 6 parts Jiffy starter + 2 parts coarse perlite + 2 parts sphagnum peat (basic with additives)
My "not so secret" soilless recipe for wick watered plants:
Recipe #1 = 4 parts sphagnum peat + 6 parts coarse perlite + 1 parts Jiffy starter
You may not think the ratio matters so much for wick watered plants, but it does. It determines how much water your mix holds and how aerated it is. About 60% perlite is a good starting point for wick watering. The roots have to have air pockets in a constantly wet mix. Too much water and not enough aeration, the plant will rot. I use Jiffy Starter organic potting mix because although it is mostly sphagnum peat it already contains small amounts of vermiculite (which holds water) dolomite lime (adjusts the ph of the soil) and coconut coir (for aeration). It is pre-mixed. Or you could buy all that stuff separately and mix it yourself if you want but it's easier to get it pre-mixed.
I usually mix 8 to 10 quarts at a time. I also add into my mixes preventative granular imidacloprid (Bonide), food grade diatomaceous earth (not the pool filter kind) and occasionally I will add a little of this or that to try to improve it. Some people also add horticultural charcoal, fertilizer of some kind like worm castings, rabbit poo, compost tea, bloom boosters, microorganisms, kelp, ectomycorrhizae, dolomite lime, fish emulsion, bone meal, seaweed extracts, etc... be careful with fertilizers so that so you don't burn your roots with too much. My wick mix recipe works great for continuous feed violet plant food in the water at 1/4 strength. And the best thing is that you can adjust it for your own growing conditions!
Feel free to experiment with the recipes to make your own unique mix but be careful to only test it on one or two throw away plants at a time just in case they rot. Your humidity and growing conditions will effect your mix too. More vermiculite means more water retention. More perlite in the mix gives you more aeration. If it seems too wet - add more perlite to the mix and re-pot. Adjust it for your growing environment. If you have more humidity, you need less vermiculite.
The mix in wick watering will feel wet on the top and that's O.K. It will stay wetter than bottom watered soil. Don't worry, if your mix is porous enough, your plant won't rot. That's why you test it out on a few of your non-favorite plants first. You will know when you have the recipe right because your plants will look puffier and start putting out more blooms in just a few days. Don't skip this important adjustment period to get your wick mix just right for your growing conditions.
Happy violeting!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTES
July 9, 2018 - All my plants from my massive re-potting for wick are still doing great! They are blooming their heads off now since I've increased their light to 12 hours a day. It may have helped to get them closer to the light because they are sitting on reservoirs now about 1-1/2" closer to the light than they were before. All these little changes have really made a big difference. My water and my fertilizer are still the same.
July 19, 2018 - A few of my plants have become real flowering show stoppers. Don't know if it's the mix, the wick watering or the additional lighting - maybe a combination of all, but they have just busted out in bloom since I repotted. Ones that were sparse are now busting out all over with blooms! My Kentucky Gooseberries is just going crazy!
November 11, 2018 - I learned a little trick from someone else in a violet group. You can line your reservoirs with plastic baggies and just pop them out and a new one in when they get too algaed up. I tried it for a while but my baggies were too snug and it was a struggle just to get them in. So I went back to bagless containers. The good news is that my containers have the plastic number 5 on them and they are dishwasher safe. No more hand washing!
great tips; I'm ready to try wick watering with my own mix per your recipes. can I use my own wick material? what do you suggest?
ReplyDeleteJust found your post on wicking with Caron acrylic yarn. I'll give it a try. Thanks too for your great photography.
DeleteAfter a number of my violets getting root rot, I read this and mixed up a batch of soil using your wicking recipe and repotted my violets. All my violets are thriving now. Your blog has saved me a lot of money and heartache. Thank you.
ReplyDelete