Hie all. I am wanting to grow some trees in pots a few figs and a grafted plum. As premium mix is expensive, i was thinking of whether mixing cheaper potting mix (no fertilizer/water crystals) and the more expensive mix which has the added fertilizer for 4 months and water crystals. i will be adding organic chicken pellet slow release ("complete") fertilizer to compensate for the lack of nutrients in the cheap mix. The mix ratio is a 1:1 ratio.

What do you think? the containers are self watering as well. Mixing due to funds.

thanks

Welcome to the forum.

I am not a fan of the potting mixes that have fertilizer and crystals that retain moisture.  While cost is one of the reasons, I had rather have control over fertilizing and watering.  I do not believe that a potting mix can be all things to all plants and I have worked out a mix that works for me and is a lot cheaper.  I have also developed my own fertilizer mix and schedule.  

I would urge you to use the SEARCH function here in the forum and you will be amazed at the amount of great information contained there.  I know there are recipes for potting mixes there and that was where I got the information to develop my own mix.

Thanks a lot. I'll do some searching. Another problem is that in Australia the ingredients to make your own potting mix are usually more expensive than buying a bag of potting mix. especially perlite. a 5L bag of perlite costs as much as a 25L bag of premium mix

This might not help you out in the short term, but if you can start a compost pile. Compost is cheaper than bagged soil, has a large amount of nutrients and in addition has really great water retaining properties. Your plants will likely love your free compost way more than any expensive potting mix you throw at them.

Hi Figcolts, I am thinking to pot my fig trees in big 25 gallon pots, I like those promix soils, they are really good but too expensive for big pots, I need inexpensive potting mix.

- Peat moss" = $9.5Cnd of 3.2CF = 35KG(Dry) = 140KG (wet)
- Composted leaves/bark mulch $20Cnd per Yard = 800L
- Manure = $5 ( DIY load up your own truck)
- Promix potting soil 19.2KG = $16Cad
- Lime = $4 (7KG)
- Fertilizer = NPK is 20/20/20 20KG = $25

I think that you need to tell us what cheap material your have in your area.

In my area, Premium soil is 3 times cost more than cheap potting soil, I think that your idea of cheaper mix with chicken pellet are good idea, those chicken pellet are very good fertilizer.

I have grate luck with bark that holds no water for big pots. Water retention is very bad. Get something that doesn't hold water then add yellow cow if available. Its a brand of composted manure. Any brand will work. Remember you want fast drainage with a little water retention

Thanks everyone for your input. the premium mix costs about $10.90 a bag about 25L. while the cheap costs $2.97 for a 25L bag. i already have the pellet fertilizer sitting in the garage. I may as well go for the cheap mix and mix it with the cheap mix and add the chicken pellet fertilizer. My pepino plants have gone nuts with the cheap mix with a bit of compost and chicken pellet fertilizer.

Hi,
If your looking for a price, the bigger the bag the better the price.
Don't shoot at 25L but rather at 80Liters bags .
Than you can take the cheapest and one decent and mix them one to one.
What is a decent one ? Well buy one bag and try it.
I bought once a bag where I still could see branches - not mature enough.
So look for one where you only see dirt and no longer the veggies detritus.
In the next month add the fertilizer then. Remember that loam naturally has nutrients, so watch out for fertilize burn especially in a pot and even more in a self watering one (look for salt buildup).
Put the loam in the pot, and water it. It well settle down. Then act accordingly to have the plant at the depth you want.
Here the 80Liters bags I buy are 10€ . I use that for the seedlings too (tomatoes ...) . If you live in a rainy region, you may want to add pine bark fines.
Once more, the bigger the bag, the better the price. Pine bark is expensive here too, and I seldom use it for that reason. But I had to test . Here I end up with insects feeding on the rotting bark ... and I don't want that .
I have good results with loam here. My region is rainy but not the whole year (just having 2 weeks of good rain, the garden is now SlugTown) . So I want some water retention in the pots .
Don't use the crystal stuff... they are chemicals ... you don't want that in a tree producing edible fruits. By the way, are you sure that they are labeled for edible crops ?
Just use standard loam... one with some fertilizer is good too ... but no other stuff in there ( for me of course. You're free to do as you want ... LOL )
What size of pots are you using ? The size of the pot is important.

In my experience, the cheap potting soils are mostly incompletely composted bark fines and peat moss.  It can work but not great straight out of the bag. 

unfortunately the largest bags we can get where i live are 50L bags. A price comparison:

Cheap Mix Receipe:

1. 50L potting mix = $5.80

2. Organic Fertilizer 20kg  bag = already have

3. Seaweed solution (for fortnightly feedings )= $6.50
4. Organic Liquid fertilizer (fortnightly feedings) = $10
5. Coir  = already already have
6. peatmoss  = already have
Total: $22.40

Expensive mix 
1. 50L premium mix = 19.85
2. Fertilizer= pre added chemical fertilizer, available for 6 months will need more
3. Coir, peat = pre added
4.  Seaweed solution (for fortnightly feedings )= $6.50
5. Organic Liquid fertilizer (fortnightly feedings) = $10
Total: 36.35

As you can see, its cheaper with the cheap mix and i can customize it and even have money left over to buy a fig tree or a container. the premium will lose its (premium) effectiveness after 4 months. and these trees i will be growing for years in pots. I might as well go for the cheap mix and add amendments i mostly have. Thank you all for your kind words and wisdom

If you have any large plant nurseries in your area, chances are they pot up their own plants. I have 3 sources in my area that I can buy potting mix by the yard. It is perfect for figs. I'm trying to remember but I think it's $125 per yard. It sounds expensive until you look at the price of something like ProMix. I mixed up my own recipe last year with a custom blend of potting mix, 2 year old left over pine bark fines, compost rich topsoil, and a large bag of perlite. Made about 2.5 yards total. I put everything in my pickup truck in layers and as I potted my figs up I just mixed it as I needed it. I potted well over 100 3 gallon pots and still have a yard left over. FYI Home Depot rents pick up trucks.