Hi, NuG. ;o) Thanks for the confidence & kindness. I appreciate both. I don't think anyone will laugh at you. If they do, we'll remind them that it wasn't long ago they weren't exactly experts either - and may not be now. ;-) Perlite is a silicaceous rock that contains water. When it id heated it pops like popcorn into a closed-cell particle that is useful for reducing the water retention in soils. The dust can be an irritant, but so can most other types of dust. I usually wear a paper mask like a painter or drywaller might use when handling any dusty materials, and that seems to work quite well. Essentially, when you make the 5:1:1 mix, you should be thinking, "I'm going to measure out this large bark fraction and then add enough peat and perlite to adjust the water retention to something that suits me. How much of either you add will depend mostly on the size of the bark particles you're using. The finer the bark the less peat (or compost) you'll need. For my purposes, I try to always limit the o/a % of fine particulates in the 5:1:1 mix to under 1/6 (17%) of the whole. IOW, anything fine, peat coir, compost, meals, manures ....... the SUM of all these products will be less than 1/6 of the whole. Turface can be used in place of perlite, but it holds a lot more moisture than perlite, so if you do use it, you can reduce the volume of fine particulates like peat/compost and still have the same amount of water retention while increasing aeration. I hope that helps, but if that's not all you need, there are a lot of growers familiar with the mixes you asked after to help. Do take good care. Al

Soluble fertilizers are synthesized, often from urea for the N source, but also from a wide variety of other chemicals that contain the essential nutrients plants get from the soil. They mix with water immediately, and plants start taking them up as soon as they are applied. The considerable advantage you realize is the control over what your plants get and when they get it. Fertilizers that supply their nutrients locked in organic molecules need to rely on soil organisms to cleave hydrocarbon chains and 'unlock' the nutrients by breaking them down into elemental forms. The problem with this is, the microorganism populations you must rely on are extremely variable in containers, being greatly affected by a number of factors, among them temperature, moisture and air volumes in the soil, pH, fertility, soil type ..... There is no way of telling if the N in the fertilizer that derives its N from feather or horn meal will give up its N today or a month from today. There is no need to fertilize every time you water when using soluble fertilizers. It's a good strategy if you have only a few plants, but not requisite. I fertilize (usually) weekly in the summer, and every time I water in the winter. Some granular fertilizers, like MG and FP, are soluble. Some granular fertilizers, like most granular lawn or garden fertilizers are 'slow-release' products because they are only marginally soluble. Most 'organic' fertilizers that get their N from organic sources are also slow-release because of the length of time it takes them to break down into elemental forms plants can assimilate. When it's all said & done, plants 'eat' salts as the building blocks they use to make their own food and keep their metabolism humming. The nutrients they take up are in the same form, whether they came from a dead fish, blood/hoof/horn meal, or from a plastic container of Miracle-Gro. They don't know and don't care where their nutrients come from, as long as they get them. Finally, I believe strongly in the adage "feed the soil not the plant ....... in my garden - but when it comes to container culture, what works best in the garden is often best left there. Container culture is much closer to hydroponics than growing in the earth, so it's not a big stretch to allow that it might take a different set of tools to achieve the best results. There is a LOT of disagreement about what is and isn't acceptable insofar as fertilizers are concerned if you wish to be considered an 'organic' grower. I don't get involved with the politics because I don't care too much about it (bigger things to worry about), and I'm much closer to being a slave to results than ideology. You could probably get recommendations from the crowd at the organic gardening forum, but it's rare that there is ever much of a consensus when it comes to fertilizing containerized plants. Maybe fish emulsion would suit the application? AL

Hi sonaliagrawal- I am using this mix as well. The recommendation is to fertilize weakly, weekly. I believe at about 1/3 - 1/4 strength fertilizer. There is a thread in the container forum specifically about fertilizing in this mix. There is A LOT of discussion about organic vs non organic fertilizing in containers, so you'll have to read up and decide what is right for you. The amount above references using a fertilizer such as MG. I just put a post up about trying to get better in-ground tomato plants, as all of my plants in this mix in containers are doing very well, and my in-ground plants aren't nearly as happy. Oh, and don't forget to add the dolomitic lime!! :o) Check the recipe to get an idea of what is appropriate for your container size and volume of mix. I ended up with about 8 Tbsp. per container, and I have 15 gallon containers. (not 18 gallons...made a mistake in my other post) If justaguy is around in this forum, I believe that he grows tomatoes in this mix and may be able to comment on it. Good luck!! Here is a link that might be useful: Fertilization thread re: container plants

Yes, and using mixes specifically for 'potted' plants can be quite tricky to say the least. A balancing act too that is one does not master, your growing experience can be quite limited or very rewarding. For me it's all about sacrifice's, sacrifices made in order to attain the best possible growing experience possible without sacrificing the integrity of the mix and the vitality of my trees and their root systems. One has to be able to foresee any potential issues before deciding what to use. What might do a great job in the 'summer' might be the death of your trees in the 'winter' months. For instance: One could use a mix that hold much more water for the summer while in the end could kill your trees holding too much water come the winter and shorter days. One could use a mix that holds PWT that can be used to your advantage and disadvantage if it rains too much, stays cold for long periods of time, or gets worst as the mix break down. One could use a mix that dried out very rapidly, almost too fast for the summer and in the winter and then in summer loose their trees to not enough moisture. One could also use a mix in which you have to check the moisture levels quite often in each and every pot, for some hundreds, or use a mix that you can water every time you water for all at once without fear of root rot without having to check to see if they need water. The 511 to me is a good balance. You can add just enough smaller particles to keep the soil mix moist longer in summer while reasonably dry out in the winter in a good amount of time. You can use it on all your plants and water all your plants at the same time whether they are still moist or not. The 511 also allows you to store your trees at very cold temps, even though the pots are still moist without fear of rot. The 511 also dries out evenly and holds its structure much longer than peat or fine particle based mixes.. So If I were to match up the 'pros' with the 'cons'. I'd say the 'pros' far outweigh using a 511 mix or the like in my favor. It might be a great idea for each of us to decide what you are willing to sacrifice in the winter or the summer and find a happy medium that will work for ALL seasons to save yourself a lot of headache and certain trees their demise. What is forgiving in the summer time or in a nice warm brightly lit greenhouse structure might not bode so well for trees in less than ideal conditions come shorter colder wintery days indoors. MIke