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Container Gardening

How fine can pine bark fines be before they are too fine?

12 years ago

How fine can pine bark fines be before they are too fine?

How large can pine bark fines be before they are too large?

Thanks

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Comments (6)

edweather USDA 9a, HZ 9, Sunset 28
12 years ago
If you are making a 511 mix, anything from dust up to 3/8" is ok.
jojosplants
12 years ago
For the girtty mix (1-1-1) It's no less than 1/8", and up to 3/8" if using pine, up to 1/4" if using fir bark.

JoJo
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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! This second picture shows their mini pine bark nuggets. 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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One tip in finding a suitable PBF is do not get hung up on the term "Fines" I asked everywhere and all said no, a few looked at me as if I sprouted an eyestalk out of the top of my head! even when I described what I was using it for! I actually found suitable material at all most every one of those places (except the big box stores) that said they didn't have it or know any place to get it! Get to know what you are looking for, and look for it yourself instead of asking the store or garden center! Look for "Pine Bark Mulch" (NOT nuggets or mini muggets) flip the bag over and read the small print on the back or side of the bag. If it says "can be used as a soil conditioner" or particle size "1/2 inch to dust" or "100% pine bark" it is probably at least 65% useable product. My current source, AGWAY Pine Bark Mulch, is approaches 90% usable material, and nowhere on the bag will you find the term "fines"
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I believe Al's recipe is 3-5 parts bark fines, 1 part turface or perlite and 1 part peat (would have to go look to be certain). What I am using this year is 2 parts bark fines, 1 part turface or perlite and 1 part peat. I do like this mix (certainly more than the mostly peat mixes from the store) and it retains water quite well (drying too quickly was my main concern since I grow a lot of water hungry plants), but overall I think the next time I make a mix I will reduce the peat as I can already see how the peat is mucking up the drainage. The bark fines actually hold a lot more water than I thought they would and the Turface is also quite good at retaining water. The peat is as well, of course, but it breaks down to muck inside one season whereas the Turface (or perlite) never will and the bark will take a couple/few years to do so. I do like the current ratio in self watering containers though. Probably would keep the mix the same with those.
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esox07: Just went on the computer and read your posting. I hope that you found what you need. Please let us know if this bark product can be used to make the quick-draining, gritty-planting medium....the '"bark-fines" part. I guess the price is not that high considering the Repti-Bark is $20.00 a bag... and you can always use the leftovers in the future if you make too much potting mix. Just a bit more information....There's a product called: "Micro Bark" made by GreenAll but it's mainly found only on the West-Coast, and a few other states. This might help others who live in these locations. No distributors/retailers in NYC area! Why???? Who knows? Bruce,...Good luck with the peppers. I hope I helped you and others. In addition: Some posters on this thread chose to misquote and misrepresent some of the information which I posted ... especially about the subject regarding the gritty-mix, potting mediums. The purpose of these forums is to openly exchange opinions, information, and ideas... and to do so without invective, and snide recommendations, if you happen to disagree with that posted information.
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joeworm
Original Author
12 years ago
JoJo is the (1-1-1) a typo? Don't think I've seen mention of 1-1-1 before.

It looks like the mixes can have either very fine pine bark dust or nothing less than 1/8".

What's the difference?

Thanks
jojosplants
12 years ago
Joe,
the 1-1-1 is another way of saying the Gritty mix.
It means equal parts of Grit, turface, bark.

Which mix are you planning to make? And what kind of plants ? That will help narrow down what you need.

The 5-1-1 is used for short term plantings/annuals for the most part. It's usually used for about a year.

And the gritty/1-1-1 is for long term plantings. it can be used for several years.

JoJo
joeworm
Original Author
12 years ago
I'm trying to come up with a mix for a raised bed garden. The affordable ingredients that I have available are pine bark fines, composted yard waste from the county that has some wood chips in it, horse manure that has a lot of sand mixed in it (sand is used for the bedding)and cow manure. Any ideas on how to mix this all together and what portions to make a good soil for the raised bed?

Thanks
greentiger87
12 years ago
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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