are my 5-1-1- pines fines a bit too fine?
njitgrad
10 years ago
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oxboy555
10 years agonjitgrad
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Pine bark too fine for 5-1-1?
Comments (3)Yes, it came in 2 cu. ft. plastic bags that were fairly wet inside. The bottom picture was taken yesterday just after screening, the top was taken this morning after it had aired out a bit. I'm glad to hear it looks decent, I was worried it might be too much on the dust end of the 5-1-1 spectrum. Now I have about 15 cu. ft. of the stuff, just need to mix it up and figure out what to plant in it this time of year. On a side note, huge thanks to you, Al (and all the other amazing folks here who have created such a wealth of stored gardening knowledge). I had never grown anything before I started reading these forums, but in the last month or so I've put together about 20 containers of herbs and other edibles, and they're all thriving because of what I've learned here. Add one more to your long list of grateful students :)....See MoreMy solution to pine bark fines for Al's (Tapla) 5-1-1 mix
Comments (18)Great post. I tried this method this past weekend. Relative to the lawn mower method of chopping up large pine bark chunks, I found this method to be cleaner (it doesn't shoot pine chunks out the sides like a mower will), a bit slower than the mower, and produced a lot more fine particles. I have a high speed Toro leaf blower/mulcher with a metal impeller. A large percentage of the particles coming out felt like fine compost, and a large number of chunks went through looking unscathed, so I didn't get the mix of particle sizes that I was hoping for. I suppose if I had a 1/8" screen, I could have sifted out some of the fine stuff. As it was, I got about 3 gallons of material, and made a side batch of 5-1-1 to try with some peppers, but I didn't mix it in with the rest of my 5-1-1....See MorePine mulch/fines available on Amazon for 5-1-1 mix?
Comments (13)HD and Lowes have a few things worth buying and if your local HD has Dr Earth that is a big step up from what I've seen in mine around here at the east end of LA county and just beyond. It could be worse, I can't imagine anyone being desperate enough to try to build something out of the garbage they call lumber or hardware! It is hit or miss but they usually eventually replace anything decent with cheaper junk while driving the regular suppliers out of business. I now have to pass a half dozen HD/Lowes to go 8 miles to a real hardware store. GreenAll Micro Bark is about twice the price of that Dr. Earth product but twice as useful for 5-1-1 based upon the Earthgo I've seen. Maybe they've changed it since I've seen it. Most of it was too big for 5-1-1 with a lot of dust also. OF Wolfinbarger, who is near me and 5 miles west of Kellogg Garden, has much better for $40 a yard, which is 27 cubic feet. The major source of Kellogg's bagged products for planting is recycled sewage. I think it is tough for anyone trying to learn how to make a proper 5-1-1 when you can't rely on a specific brand and item number to always be the same. I've seen total consistency over years in the GreenAll Microbark from Armstrong Garden and the same from the Reptile Bark widely available at pet stores and on Amazon. Getting at least one bag of the right product will help someone trying to learn. They should then be very careful to look at each bag they buy somewhere else to make sure it is the right product. Dust can be screened out if you are patient. Sapwood chips can be picked out if you are patient and there isn't too much. If someone has reached the point where they want 5-1-1 for container gardening, they are going to have it tough at the places that cater to the uninformed....See MoreAbsolute beginner - Need help with pine bark fines for 5-1-1 mix
Comments (9)I thought I'd hit the jackpot when I found stuff that was specifically sold as "pine bark fines" from a landscape supply co. It just looks different from what I've seen other people post so I'm not sure if it's right. I'm pretty sure there's an orchid club around here so I'll try that. Thank you so much for the suggestions! I definitely saw a couple people comment that they had used a thrift store food processor for bark. I think they said they didn't use the kitchen one because of contamination or something. There was also someone who suggested repeatedly driving over a bag of the larger pine bark nuggets to break the pieces up. I'll probably try this if the one I have isn't good. I tried to take some better mix of the stuff I found. These are 2 different handfuls with a quarter for size reference. I'm picking out the sapwood slowly :) Does it look any more suitable for the 5-1-1 mix now?...See Morelunar_owl
10 years agogreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
10 years agoseysonn
10 years agoLoveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
10 years agonjitgrad
10 years agogreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
10 years agoseysonn
10 years agogreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
10 years agoCEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years agoNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
8 years agoCEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years agoJohn
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoCEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
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8 years agoCEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years ago
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a