For those growers on the smaller side looking to make life a little easier, STILT.PRO recently introduced the GROUND GRINDER mini – a semi-automatic, bale breaker, soil mixer and flat/pot filler designed with the small grower and garden center in mind.
Load your DIY potting mix in the front through the integrated soil return grate and automatically return unused potting mix. This soil mixing machine will provide an effortless job and a clean workspace.
Change WHO can do the job of filling pots and flats. Normally, you would find the strongest person and let them suffer through breaking up and properly mixing the soil, and then scooping the material into containers. Not anymore, with the GROUND GRINDER mini, all that is needed is to load the bale, add ingredients and turn on the potting soil mixer.
Rick Player, Business Development Manager for STILT.PRO expects this machine to be a staple for small growers. Measuring at 36” wide, and a relatively shallow depth, it’s size allows it to be pushed up against a wall or corner of the greenhouse and work right where the work is. Saving even more space, the material is loaded through the return inlet of the hopper without requiring access two sides of the machine, further saving on floor space and versatility.
With a chain and mixer system, you can break up 3.8 cu ft compressed bales, add water, fertilizer, soil amendments and any other secret ingredients to your soil mix. There is additional cost savings by moving from the smaller loose fill bags up to the less expensive 3.8 cu ft compressed bales.
Even with its small size, it carries all these features at an inexpensive price (list of $5,999), not much of a risk there.
Looking at standard potting machines, the space needed, manpower required, training, and the high price point; it is easy to see how this garden soil mixer machine could be right at home in your greenhouse. There are a lot of important jobs to do, this machine can save your back and free up your team to focus on growing those great plants.
For more information, or to get in touch with us, head over to our product page: Greenhouse Soil Mixer
If you are interested in a larger machine, check out the 1 cubic yard soil mixing machines: Soil mixers
Here are some common batch mixer sizes and the number of common containers / pots / trays that they can fill each batch. Typical batch mixing time is 3 to 5 minutes to fully mix media.
| Mixer Volume (Cubic Feet) | 0.25 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Container Type | Containers / Trays | Containers / Trays | Containers / Trays | Containers / Trays | Containers / Trays | Containers / Trays |
| T.O. Plastics PL-50 | 34 | 68 | 137 | 275 | 551 | 1102 |
| T.O. Plastics PL-72 | 64 | 129 | 259 | 518 | 1036 | 2073 |
| T.O. Plastics PL-128 | 59 | 119 | 238 | 476 | 952 | 1905 |
| T.O. Plastics LIN-32 | 31 | 62 | 125 | 251 | 503 | 1006 |
| Summit Plastic Company Round Janor Pots 3.5″ (9 cm H) | 530 | 1061 | 2123 | 4247 | 8494 | 16988 |
| Summit Plastic Company Round Janor Pots 6″ (15 cm T) | 154 | 308 | 616 | 1232 | 2465 | 4930 |
| Nursery Supply PF250 #1 | 80 | 160 | 320 | 641 | 1282 | 2564 |
| Nursery Supply PF400 True #1 | 50 | 100 | 201 | 403 | 807 | 1615 |
| Nursery Supply PF800 True #2 | 25 | 50 | 100 | 201 | 403 | 807 |
| Nursery Supply PF1200 True #3 | 16 | 33 | 67 | 134 | 269 | 538 |
| Nursery Supply C2000 #5 | 13 | 26 | 52 | 105 | 210 | 420 |
| Nursery Supply C2800 #7 | 8 | 16 | 33 | 66 | 132 | 265 |
*reference info taken from these manufacturers: http://www.nurserysupplies.com/ | https://www.toplastics.com/horticulture | http://www.summitplastic.com/
