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Container Gardening

pine bark fines vs. hardwood fines

15 years ago

I KNOW I saw a post related to this...I think it was in one of the really lengthy container soil threads. I just don't recall what the answer was.

I still have stores to window shop looking for ingredients...hopefully this weekend, but I found a mulch manufacturer/wholesaler reasonably local that sells an Ultra Fines. Unfortunately it is hardwood (mostly oak he says) no pine. They only sell by cu. yd, although can go down to 1/2 cu. yd. Of course their price broken down to per cu ft is higher than what I found in bags of Hardwood Fines Mulch at Lowes, so I don't know if its even worth considering the trip.

What difference will the type of wood bark make? Will it affect water retention? Will it break down faster?

Oh and if anyone in the central Indiana area has a good lead on where to find pine bark fines I'd love to have the info. Might save me a lot of time and effort, both of which are a real premium for me at the moment.

Thanks,

Suz

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Comments (6)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
Hi, Suz. The gist of the post was that hardwood bark will have a very high pH as it breaks down and will likely cause N immobilization (makes nitrogen unavailable) as it breaks down quickly, making it unsuitable for container soils for both reasons, unless it's gone through a specialized composting process.

Al
sudimari
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Al!I thought that hardwood fines were a no-go, but wanted to be sure.

I think I might have actually found something that will work. It's called shredded pine mulch and I found it at a locally owned hardware store/garden center. The man even took time to look up the DynaGro Foilage Pro online since he didn't know anything about it! Turns out only one place in Indiana sells it...so I guess I'll be ordering it online...that way I won't have to figure out micro-nutrients, proper ratios, etc!
{{gwi:19379}}

This second picture shows their mini pine bark nuggets.
{{gwi:19380}}

Both samples were set out yesterday, it rained last night and they were overcast then sun today. I was amazed how much more moisture was in the first one, but it wasn't wet.

So does that look like the right stuff?

Thanks,
Suz
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Raybo, That is the same stuff I tried to grow in and make the 511 mix with last year. When I bought the stuff I asked for the oldest bags they had. Plus I let it age for another month or two. I think that this stuff has too much 'sap wood' in it if you will to be effective as a main ingredient in the 511. I called Earth Gro a few days ago and they couldn't tell me exactly what was in the Earth Grow bark fines stuff. However I'm pretty excited about some stuff that I found at Summer Winds thats called bark mulch made by Redi Grow who is out of Sacra-tomato. They were able to confirm when I talked to them a few days ago that it is 100% fir bark which is as good as pine bark. The only set back about this product is that it is 1/4"+ in size. I opened a couple bags yesterday and it seems to be very close to the size of the stuff from Earth Gro. Anyway I'm gonna give a few bags of this stuff a go in some pots and go from there. Wish me luck! Damon
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Thanks guys for the replies. I'm going to try the Pine Bark soil conditioner. Since I'm going to do the 3:2:1 ratio of potting mix, Pine Bark and Perlite, I'll mix 1, 3cu/ft bag of Sta-Green potting mix, 1, 2cu/ft bag of Pine Bark and 3 of the 8qt bags of Perlite. I found another Landscape company that carries 3cu/ft bags of "coarse" Perlite for $13. I was paying almost $4 per bag for the 8qt bags of Perlite. Will the "coarse" Perlite work?
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A raised bed? Raised beds are very forgiving, and the physics and biology are very different from that of containers. There are other forums that will help you out a lot more than this one. Is the horse manure / cow manure fresh? Most kinds of manure, and especially horse manure, needs to be composted with "brown" material before it can be used by plants.. otherwise it will burn them. You can get away with small amounts mixed in. The compost and pine bark fines are great soil amendments for raised beds, but you may want to get some cheap topsoil to form the bulk of the mix if you don't have enough to mix into. There is an approach to raised bed gardening that uses completely new material - like mel's mix - but that will require yearly replacement and inorganic components like vermiculite. I think its kind of silly to be honest, but it obviously works in certain situations.
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I have a friend who grows a wide variety of plant material, including many citrus, in 2:1 - composted redwood bark:Turface with good results. For your hibiscus: try to avoid the fertilizers that say they promote bloom production through a high % of P. In organic soils, an approximate blend in the ratio of 2-1-2 or 1.5-1-2 is best. In case you're confused 20-10-20 is the same ratio as 2-1-2, and 15-10-20 is the same ratio as 1.5-1-2. 24-8-12 MG all-purpose blend is a suitable mix, though it may tend to produce a little more lushness of foliage than preferred when all other cultural conditions are favorable. Al
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
I think the first one will work best for the 5:1:1 mix. Keep us posted!!

Al
kevin_mcl
15 years ago
Al,

If you find the correct grade of bark fines, can you stockpile them in their bags without them becoming unusable after a certain length of time?
Kevin
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
I do. I bought a whole pallet - 40some bags - a ton, year before last. (+, I put 1-1/2 tons on my gardens as mulch last year.) Keep them dry & they'll last indefinitely.

Al
kevin_mcl
15 years ago
Thanks Al,

Came across bark chips today which seem to be graded very close to the right size. Good to know you can put them to one side. Sure as eggs - the next time I go looking they will be out of stock.
Kevin

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