Best organic potting soil in Canada?

[PARADOX]

IM inclined to recommend promix HP over sunshine anything. You can drive by the sunshine soil place outside of Vancouver. Its a giant heap of soil right off the highway. With all the super bugs out here in BC having the soil just sit out like that and having local workers in contact with said soil freaks me out. Pretty sure Promix comes from out east. So chances are lower of receiving a infected bale of peat mix. I'm likely just paranoid..

Just my 2 cents..

Thanks I'll get it going this week. Planting mid september.

I'll see which base soil the local shops have.

I already have alfalfa and kelp meal. I don't want to buy too many different "ingredients" but what else would be essential?

Going to be running the GO box but I'd like a solid easy to make base soil as well.

 

[shuswap]

would freezing the bale of soil for a few days in a deep freeze kill off a lot bad shit ?

 

[PARADOX]

i think so. I do that all the time in the winter.

 

[c-ray]

Premier Horticulture Inc.

World demand for horticultural peat moss from Carrot River continues to grow. The very high quality of the material makes it a unique resource. The main bog where the peat moss is harvested is 40 kms north of Carrot River. The summer of 2009, Premier opened another bog 40 kms south of Carrot River in the Peesane area. The material is vacuumed up and loaded into trucks to be delivered to the processing plant in Carrot River. The processing includes drying the material, and compressing it into 3.8 cubic feet bags. Premier Horticulture Inc. is now packaging and shipping nearly 2 million bales each year to markets throughout Canada, the United States and Asia. Forestry nurseries in British Columbia, mushroom growers on the West Coast and thousands of mix plant and greenhouse operations across North America use Carrot River's sphagnum peat moss.

The increase in production has also meant a corresponding increase in employment, nearly doubling in recent years. Approximately 70 people are employed by this industry. Premier Horticultural Inc. peat moss is another value-added Saskatchewan product, which provides both direct and indirect economic benefits.

Through 2009 and 2011, the Town of Carrot River has been actively involved as a partner with Premier Horticulture Inc. to develop an access route to a 5,000 acre sphagnum peat moss bog site located 30 kilometres north of the Town of Hudson Bay. This new resource site could provide 70-100 years of peat resource to the processing plant located in Carrot River. Getting the new resource site online will have many benefits including: increased employment in harvesting, processing and trucking; allow Premier to expand and diversify product lines; provide very long-term industry stability which sustains population and tax base for local governments.

Between March 2009 and December 2011, $6.6 Million was spent to design and build a 22 kilometre roadway between Hwy 9 and the new bog site. Enterprise Saskatchewan and Western Economic Diversification have funded the project. Premier Tech Horticulture is now planning the final phase of the project to gain access to the new peat bog resource site. A small bridge over the Pasquia River will complete the access route project. Premier Tech Horticulture anticipates site development on the new site in 2013 and potential harvesting operation to begin in 2014.

Premier Tech Horticulture expanded its processing plant in Carrot River in 2010 with a $2.2 Million expansion. The company is now able to package bales 4'x4'x8', suitable for more efficient container shipping. The expansion created new employment at the processing facility.

..

 

[PARADOX]

Pretty sure Promix comes out peat bogs in Manitoba and the company is from Quebec. NOt %100 sure tho. The Premier brand of Peat I never like. It always messes with my PH and I get dampening off on my seedlings. I do use it in my outdoor garden as its the cheapest by far

 

[Dr. Buddington]

The Sunshine #4 which I use is made in Seba Beach, Alberta.
Edit: I'm unsure which province the peat comes from. It's processed and baled there.

 

[Highcountry]

I presume you're using bottled nutrients? Because sterilized soil sounds quite unappealing to me as an organic gardener.

Sea soil is excellent humus for a supersoil mix - not as good as your own compost done right mind you, but good anyway.

Curious about what your guys are offering though.

The sterilizing kills bugs, eggs, etc found in the soil. This product is great for the indoor grower. Zero fungus knats.... I've used sea soil. It's alright.... This stuff went a lot further and I had better results. I'd use it outdoors but I can get chicken shit a little cheaper.

 

[Buddha1]

Am I understanding properly..."Promix HP" has organic fertilizers in it???

I like it and use it because its sterilized(no unwanted bugs or bad bacteria) and I don't have to mix in any peat or perlite. All I add is the beneficial bacteria and use my regular salts for growing as usual. I had no idea it had any fertilizers in it, at best I thought it might have a wetting agent and some dolomite lime for PH buffering.

I thought it was a clean, non-soil growing medium.

Could someone please clarify this as "True or False"...Thank-You.

Peace...B

 

[diffusing]

http://www.pthorticulture.com/en/products/pro-mix-hp-mycorrhizae/

only contains
SPHAGNUM PEAT MOSS (65-75%) ?
PERLITE ?
LIMESTONE ?
WETTING AGENT ?
MYCORRHIZAE™ PREMIER TECH ?

there is a version that has no mycorrhizae as well as a couple other HP's as well

so I will vote FALSE. but the site is very informative and lists ingredients of all products.

interestingly (to me anyway) it seems they now have an MP 'ORGANIK' brand blended with coir.. http://www.pthorticulture.com/en/products/pro-mix-mp-mycorrhizae-organik/#tab:product-specification

 

[catalyte]

Alot of Canadian Pro-Mix bales are from Riviere De Loup, QC.... i wasn't aware of the Sask. Site till now....

 

[intotheunknown]

Source out some amendments and build you own.

 

[clp]

Ended up going with the Promix BX and will be running General Organic line of nuts.

Does anyone know if I need dolomite lime/perlite in the BX version? Lady at the grow store said I did not but I've heard otherwise..

I wanted to build a really solid soil but I'm leaving this place in less than a year and won't be able to bring the soil/amendments so I didn't think it was worth the up front costs.

Thanks for all the tips everyone!

 

[catalyte]

Pro-Mix BX is already amended with dolomite lime... no need... it could however use some extra perlite for more aeration to the rootzone, but the stuff is nasty to handle. Very bad to breathe perlite dust... just a thought

 

[Highcountry]

Promix hp has more perlite in it than bx. For anyone's information.