Hi fellow lamma gardeners,

I recently moved to lamma and had a plan to use the rooftop for some container gardening.

I haven't been able to find any potting mix at any gardening supplies shops in Hong Kong. I have found plenty of places that will sell potting "soil", but not potting "mix". Additionally, I haven't found any places that sell mulch (wood chip, bark etc.) that I would normally find in a garden shop.

I have tried many of the shops listed in this site, such as the ones located on connaught road near western market.

If anyone can point me to a store that will sell soiless potting mix and mulch, I would be much obliged.

Cheers

Check the hard wear shop on Main street they might have it...otherwise there
is a nusary in Pok Fu Lam.... good luck

There's no easy source for this sort of stuff in HK. I suppose you have tried FLower Market Road/Prince Edward Road?
I'm thinking of arranging a plant and supplies trawl around some of the wholesale nurseries in the northern NT in a couple of months.
And maybe another trip to the Plant/Garden-supplies wholesale market in Shenzhen where they seem to have everything a gardener never knew he or she had to have.
Let me know anyone who is interested in either or both of these ideas.

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Member of Hong Kong Gardening Society

Jane, please let me know if you manage to get a supply of decent soil for growing vegetables in large planters...I'd love to take part in the order. My compost pile is almost ready

Hi Jane, any news?

Hi All,

Thought I would let you know that they do indeed sell some soilless potting mix on Lamma. I found one type of potting mix on main street, there are two stores that sell it. It has quite a bit of coconut coir in it, some perlite, vermiculite and some compost which is actually not that bad for container gardening. The exact quantities of each are not posted. Unfortunately, it also contains quite a bit of peat moss, but oh well.

There are also at least 2 types of compost for sale, they look like german brands. I am experimenting using these products, as well as some additional vermiculite and perlite purchased from seed shops near western market, with some beach sand added for drainage. I have been trying to grow things for 4 weeks with this mix so far, will post some pics of results soon.

I don't know much about growing plants, but I want to learn. I understand about potting soil, and why you want sand, & vermiculite in it.

But you know we have Basil, Thai Basil, Lemongrass, and a BUNCH of other plants, vines, trees etc that came with our new place, and they are all just planted in this apparently horrible, hard dirt. And they look pretty good to me.

Should I go thru the trouble of repotting with and adding sand, vermiculite and organic matter to the dirt. Or just stay with what appears to be working?

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Kris Moa

If you are happy with how your plants are doing, just leave well alone. If your lemon grass looks tired, consider repotting it as it is a perennial.Likewise your vines if you really like them.
But bear in mind that herbs will not last for ever, so be ready with a few replacements. You can try taking cuttings of different types of Basil. Keep a few tough stems in water and within a couple of weeks they should produce enough roots to plant in potting mix. Or you can try sowing seeds of your existing basil in a pot of fresh mix. or even use commercial seed -- Yates seed from Australia is packaged to withstand HK's humidity for a while at least and the germination success rate is phenomenal.

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Member of Hong Kong Gardening Society