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I had some left over peat moss so I decided to use it on some new divisions. I washed part or all of the dirt surrounding the roots. I put abt 2 to 3 inches of peat moss in the bottom of the pot, put the plant in, then surrounded the roots with peat moss. Lastly, I filled the pot with a mix of soil & peat moss. I depotted a few plants last weekend and was surprised to see the number of new feeder roots on the plants that developed in such a short period of time. Rgds

Peat moss definitely needs to be one of the main ingredients, as it is one of the best for holding water. I am not really satisfied with the results of commercial potting soil or the price either so I've been mixing my own for the last few years on all my potted plants, which works especially for potted hot peppers, or tomatoes since it turns the whole pot into a mass of roots within a couple weeks. I'm not sure on the exact percentages, but I use peat moss, mushroom compost, pine mulch, horse manure, home compost, fresh worm castings, ironite and milorganite to make potting soil. Soil mixing helps out a lot especially having a pretty big garden.

I've also used juicy roots cloning gel to start cuttings and it is almost night and day seeing the results of the ones that have the stuff added and the ones without. I did it with regular tomato plant cuttings and this stuff makes almost instant rooting.

Too complex for me. I don't have the time for something that complex to gather & mix. I'm happy with the recyle garden fines that I get from the dump at 12 bucks a sq yard. I'm looking for max results with min effort and cost. I've used mushroom compost on veggies with good results but don't expect a positive inpact on bamboo because of it's high salt content. I like to see base line vs experiments to measure results. I've been surprised to see how minimal most extra stuff/effort adds to the growing process. I can see the fun in experimenting however, so keep it up. Rgds

next time try using sphagnum moss instead of the peat. I soaked the sphagnum moss overnight in water and rooting hormone. Worked great!