Nectar for the Gods 1.5cf Potting Soil Blend #8 (60/PL)

Nectar for the Gods Potting Soil Blend #8 is a 1.5 cu ft high-drainage container mix built on the same ingredient foundation as Blend #4, with the perlite content raised to 50% to support daily watering and feeding schedules. Mixed in small batches in Oregon and left to cure for up to 30 days before shipment, this soil arrives stabilized and ready to plant — not hot. Available as a 60-bag pallet for commercial growers who need consistent, batch-controlled media across multiple runs.

Nectar for the Gods Blend #8 Specifications

Blend #8 is a variation on Nectar’s Blend #4 with an elevated perlite ratio. The specification table below is drawn from the manufacturer description and supplier data.

Specification	Value
Brand	Nectar for the Gods
SKU	NFGS8
Blend Number	#8
Volume Per Bag	1.5 cu ft
Pallet Quantity	60 bags
Perlite Content	50%
Recommended Feeding	Daily feeding suitable
Coir Fiber Source	Rinsed on-site with Oregon rainwater; buffered with limestone
Post-Blend Curing	Up to 30 days (unwrapped and covered to activate, compost, and go dormant)
Batch Size	Small batches
Ingredients	Sphagnum peat moss, perlite, coir fiber, pumice, mycorrhizal fungi, yucca meal, kelp meal, bone meal, diatomaceous earth, clay, basalt, oyster shell, humus, lime

Why Choose Nectar for the Gods Blend #8

Blend #8 occupies a specific position in Nectar’s soil lineup: it shares the same ingredient profile as the popular Blend #4, but the perlite fraction is raised to 50%. That single change shifts how the mix behaves in the container — it drains faster, dries down more quickly between waterings, and handles higher watering frequency without becoming waterlogged. For growers running daily feeding programs, or anyone whose environment and container size tend to keep media wetter for longer, Blend #8 provides structural drainage that most ready-made potting soils do not.

The coir fiber in Blend #8 is rinsed on-site with Oregon rainwater and buffered with limestone before it enters the blend. This reduces the residual salt content that can be present in coir sourced from coconut processing operations. Coir that has not been properly rinsed and buffered can introduce chloride and sodium to the root zone; Nectar’s on-site processing step addresses this before the soil is bagged.

After blending and bagging, the soil is left unwrapped and covered for up to 30 days. During this period, the compost and biological components activate and then go dormant. Nectar describes this as a step to avoid shipping hot soil — media that is still in an active composting phase when it reaches the grower. Freshly blended soils that skip this step can generate enough heat or nitrogen flux to stress seedlings and cuttings. Blend #8 arrives stabilized.

Blend #8 is sold in 60-bag pallets. This pallet format suits commercial operations that need a consistent baseline media across a large number of containers, and where spot-purchasing individual bags from a retail shelf introduces batch variation. Receiving a full pallet from a single production run keeps the media specification consistent across a room or facility.

Best Uses for Nectar for the Gods Blend #8

Blend #8 is best matched to growing situations where drainage and drydown speed are priorities:

• Daily feeding programs: The 50% perlite content allows growers to feed on a daily or near-daily schedule without the risk of chronically wet media. The mix drains through containers efficiently and the root zone dries back between feeds, which is the cycle most daily-feed programs require.
• Warm, high-transpiration environments: Grow rooms and greenhouses running higher temperatures see faster transpiration, which means plants use water faster. A faster-draining mix like Blend #8 is better matched to these conditions than a denser, more moisture-retentive soil.
• Larger containers with frequent irrigation: In larger fabric or plastic pots — such as a 20-gallon fabric pot — a high-perlite mix prevents the center of the rootball from staying wet while the perimeter dries, a common problem with denser soils in big containers.
• Commercial container grows requiring batch consistency: Operators filling a large number of containers at once benefit from a pallet-format product where every bag comes from the same cured batch, rather than mixing bags from different production runs.
• Growers on Nectar for the Gods nutrient programs: Blend #8 is formulated to pair with Nectar’s own calcium- and mineral-based nutrient lines, where media pH buffering from the oyster shell and lime components complements the nutrient inputs.

Blend #8 vs Blend #4

Nectar’s own product description identifies Blend #8 as a variation on Blend #4, with the same ingredient list but a higher perlite content. The practical difference comes down to drainage rate and how quickly the media dries between waterings.

Blend #4 is a general-purpose formulation suitable for a range of feeding frequencies. Blend #8 tips the balance toward drainage: the 50% perlite fraction means water moves through the mix faster, the volume of moisture-retentive peat and coir relative to total mix volume is lower, and the air-to-water ratio in the root zone leans toward air. Growers who find that a standard potting soil stays wet too long for their feeding schedule — or who have noticed poor root development in dense media — are the target user for Blend #8 rather than Blend #4.

If your grow environment, container size, and irrigation frequency already keep your media cycling through wet-dry cycles without issue, Blend #4 is the simpler choice. If you are deliberately engineering a faster drydown — because you feed daily, because your room runs warm, or because you are growing in a container size that tends to hold moisture in the center — Blend #8 is the appropriate pick within the Nectar lineup.

Compatibility

Blend #8 is a container potting mix intended for use in standard nursery pots, fabric pots, and similar above-ground containers. It is not formulated for in-ground planting, raised beds, or hydroponic systems without growing media (DWC, NFT). The high perlite fraction means it does not compact or seal under irrigation the way a denser soil would, which also makes it compatible with drip irrigation and top-feed systems where water needs to move freely through the medium.

The ingredients include pH-adjusting components — oyster shell and lime — which provide some buffering capacity against pH drift in the root zone. This makes Blend #8 more forgiving in systems where feed-water pH is not precisely controlled, though growers should still aim to deliver water and nutrients within an appropriate pH range for soil (typically 6.0–7.0).

Blend #8 works with 3-gallon fabric pots through large containers. Fabric pots in particular complement the high-perlite formulation: the air-pruning effect of fabric walls combines with the fast-draining media to create a well-oxygenated root environment. Growers pairing this soil with a structured mix such as Pro-Mix HP with Mycorrhizae in separate containers can compare the two media types side by side to dial in their preferred drydown speed.

The mycorrhizal fungi in the ingredient list are included to support root colonization at transplant. No additional inoculant is required, though growers already using a separate mycorrhizal product will not cause harm by continuing to do so.

Usage Guidelines

Blend #8 is a pre-amended, pre-cured potting mix. It does not require conditioning or additional nutrient amendments before planting. The following guidelines apply to typical container use:

1. Open and inspect: Bags that have been in transit or storage may have settled. Loosen the mix by hand before filling containers to restore the aeration structure. Do not compress the media when filling — pack lightly to maintain pore space.
2. Pre-water before transplanting (optional): Some growers lightly pre-water the media to field capacity before transplanting rooted cuttings or seedlings. This ensures the root zone is moist at first contact without requiring a heavy initial watering that could stress a fresh transplant.
3. Establish a watering schedule based on container drydown: Because Blend #8 is formulated for daily feeding, the starting point for irrigation frequency is once per day with a feed solution. Adjust based on how quickly the container weight drops between waterings — a container that is still heavy (wet) at the next scheduled feed should be skipped until it dries to an appropriate level.
4. Monitor runoff EC and pH: The pH-buffering components in the mix (oyster shell and lime) will influence the runoff pH initially. Check runoff EC and pH through the first several feedings to understand how the media is interacting with your nutrient solution before locking in a dosing schedule.
5. Feeding compatibility: Blend #8 is suitable for use with Nectar for the Gods liquid nutrient lines and with most commercially available soil-compatible nutrient programs. Because the soil includes organic amendments (kelp meal, bone meal, yucca meal), it provides a base level of slow-release nutrition in addition to whatever is delivered in the feed solution.
6. Reuse and disposal: Like most amended potting soils, Blend #8 is generally used for a single crop cycle in commercial settings and then composted or disposed of in accordance with local regulations. The biological and organic components break down through the grow cycle and may not provide the same structure in subsequent runs.

Sources & Further Reading