Soup er Mix

I dont know about you, but Im very much in the mood to do some preserving! This recipe comes to us courtesy of one of our all-time favorite canning books, The River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin. So. Many. Good. Recipes. And this former-professional-canner-turned-cookbook-author knows her stuff, imparting knowledge while also turning food preserving into a pleasurable activity, rather than inducing a mild sense of terror that youll mess up in some subtle way and kill everyone you love. Not that I ever have that fear when reading American canning books. Ahem.

Anyway, as with most of her recipes, Corbin allows for substitutions; in this case her variations might include young turnips, shallots, celery, rutabagas, beets, or peppers, as well as many herbs. But the ingredients listed below form her suggested, go-to soup base (and just in case youre wondering, its filed under celery because we substitute celery root for actual celery). She also notes that youll want to use veggies and herbs that have the strongest taste and scent you can find.

Souper Mix

 

Makes three to four 8 oz. jars

 

9 oz. leeks

7 oz. fennel

7 oz. carrot

9 oz. celery root (or celery)

2 oz. sun-dried tomatoes

2 or 3 garlic cloves

3.5 oz. parsley

3.5 oz. cilantro

3/4 c. plus 1T salt

 

Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend together. The result will be a moist, granular paste. Spoon into sterilized jars and seal with vinegar-proof lids. Keep one jar of the mix in the fridge for everyday use, while the rest can be stored in a cool, dark, and dry place. Use within 6 months.

 

To use the souper mix, just stir about 1 teaspoon of it into 1 cup of hot water.

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A Miracle grow called Organic Potting Soil The best soilless potting Mix

Potting mix or potting soil refers to the media people use to grow vegetables, plants etc in containers. It is generally used as an substitute to soil for growing plants.

What are the components: 

The life of the potted plant depends on a large extent to the quality of its potting soil. So choosing right kind of potting mix is essential. There are various ingredients which are generally used as potting soil. To prepare the best potting soil you need to know the ingredients well. Here are some of the popular ones:

Coconut coir: It is generally marketed in the form of compressed bales. Prior to using it you need to add some water.It is made of coconut husk. More on this in this article.

Peat moss: It used to be the most common type of potting soil but due to problems like environmental issues now-a-days its use got reduced a bit. There can be different types of peat moss, the most common is sphagnum peat. Peat moss is not very good for re wetting. More on peat moss is here.

Soil: Now a days most people avoid this media to prepare any potting mix. Though it has more inbuilt organic nutrients than most of other media, the problem is endless. Using soil can increase the total weight of the mix, and make it prone to water logging. Also normal soil contains weed seeds and pathogens which need to be removed first.

Vermiculite: It is a very efficient product for using in smaller containers. It is prepared by treating mica. Vermiculite is very light in weight and has a very good water absorption capability. More on vermiculite is here in this article.

Perlite: it is basically volcanic ash. Finer the grain larger its capacity to hold the water. It is neutral to slightly alkaline in nature and is a good way to reduce acidity of the potting mix. Perlite is dangerous to handle as its dust is highly irritating to lungs. Use proper precaution before handling . Interested in Perlite? Find out more in this article.

Sand: It is generally used to increase the porosity of the mix. It also increases the weight of the mix. It is a great ingredient in case you are planning to grow cactus and other succulents.

Wood chips: Sometimes wood chips, pine bark etc are also used as ingredient to potting mix.

Characteristics of a good potting soil:

1. good porosity: the best potting soil general has AFP or air filled porosity range between 10 to 20.
   

   
2. Fast absorption of water: It should absorb water pretty fast.
3. light weight: Potting mix is used for planting in containers. So it should be light weight so that the shifting of pots can be done very easily. For this purpose in most cases people use soilless potting mix.
4. You should select the ingredients which are readily available to you and are not very expensive.
5. Potting mix needs to be weed and Pest free. In most of the cases it is sterilized. It should also not contain any toxic substances or extra nutrients or salts.
6. The ingredients should be such that you can easily store them. For example you can store coconut coir in bales form easily for a few years.

There are various types of potting mix available in the market. Some of these are:

Potting mix for every plant: This type of organic potting soil can go with most of the plants and vegetables. The pH of the mixture is slightly acidic to neutral. Mix coconut coir with perlite or vermiculite in the ratio of 3:1 for this.

Acidic potting mix: These type of mix is generally for the plants which love acidic medium. Ideal mixture would be to add organic matter such as peat moss and perlite or vermiculite in 4:1 ratio.

Cactus friendly mix: Cactus and other succulents require very good drainage. Due to this reason the potting mix needs to be with extra drainage facility. Add a little bit of sand along with coconut coir and perlite to make a proper mix.

Seed starters mix: For seed starters add coconut coir and perlite or vermiculite in 2:1 ratio. Many people prefer peat moss in place of coir. In case of peat moss the ratio would be much lower.

What is your experience with potting mix? Would you like to share some of your ideal mixes? Feel free to use the comment box below:

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Ethics

Ok,so I have no intention of preaching but at the moment I work for a nursery that buy in all their stock, mostly from abroad and so generally from plant warehouses rather than nurseries and I do not get how that can be good for the environment. Lots of the Dutch/Belgian plant dealers buy in stock that has often originated in the far east,opening up risk of all sorts of pests and diseases appearing that would otherwise never survive the swim from their place of origin. Why do people do this,I ask myself,when there are so many nurseries in the UK that produce beautiful plants that are well grown with care and attention?

The answer,as I see it is this. Proper nursery people are in it for the plants, and lets face it, its really exciting to grow something stunning and never fails to bring a grin on!! But to some plants are merely a commodity to make money and this is so sad I cant even put it into words.So the answer-dont go to places that are plant warehouses, seek out your local nurseries,who will be able to give you more advice than you could ever need, and ask where plants have been bought from. If you dont like the answer then go elsewhere and tell them why!!!!And look out plant fairs where the really small nurseries, including hopefully us at some of them this year,where you can talk plants to your hearts content with lots of different nurserymen. And if you find us there come say hi.

Ok-Im off the soapbox now and would like to share with all that the Chillis are looking good and at the weekend the sowing bonanza will continue with .......well Ill tell you next time and produce some photos of whats growing now.

In the meantime Im off to order more seeds, this time from Jungle Seeds who are really worth a look at online @jungleseeds.co.uk. I will try to be restrained but really.......no chance!!

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