Well, I posted a very long blog post about my mistakes making the 5-1-1 mix and how it all turned out. In the end, after sifting out all the big chunks, I actually ended up with something that looks a lot like Miracle Grow, so it should at least work well enough with some TLC! Here is a link that might be useful: blog post on the 5-1-1 project

I have this question too. It seems to me that the best recommendation I've seen here - iirc - would actually be to use the bark between the 1/4" and insect screen (which is easy to find). I might be wrong though. Maybe that was just for the gritty only? Maybe the just-under-half inch - or, what goes through a 1/2" screen - is just fine for 5-1-1. I see that some people here have had good results with the 1/2 inch screen - and that's good news - yet given that it is prime repot season in North Am now, I am hoping for more people to chime in. (I'd love for 1/2" screen to work.) I've read a bunch of the threads and somehow I don't seem to get a fix on this yet. Sorry if it is rude to re-ask, or if I am hijacking. Like so much else, my internet etiquette is not always ideal.

I have seen where the Pine Bark Fines is referred to as 'soil conditioner' as well as the Turface being referred to as 'soil conditioner'. What exactly is Turface, They are both "soil conditioners" Pine Bark fines are organic. Turface is calcined Montmorillonite clay. Check your area for John Deere Landscape suppliers. If you can't find that then check your Tractor supply for "Oil Dry" in 40# bags. It will need to have the fines removed with an 1/8th inch screen. I've also read that it was like kitty litter, isn't that the same as the grit? So confused! :S the kitty litter is a clay product. The chicken grit is often a crushed granite product. It is a volume and aeration additive (?) that does not soak up water like the clay or the bark. I plan on buying the Reptibark for my Gritty so I won't have to screen and not for sure what I will need to get for the 5-1-1 bark fines. For the 5-1-1 mix check out the pine bark soil conditioners. See if it is ground to a fairly small size and is 100% pine. I have seen some that have other items like ground forest products whick are of questionable background. Locally I have Lowes, Tractor Supply, and Atwoods. I called Tractor Supply and they carry the Manapro grit for $4.99 and Atwoods has a 5lb bag of grit for $2.87 (they didn't know what brand). Then do I need to get the Lime and Gypsum for both (which for which mix?) or can I get just one of the two to use on both mixes? If I understand it correctly the lime is added to the 5-1-1 mix at the rate of 1 tablespoon per gaollon of mix. Seems that the ph of the 1-1-1 mix warrants the use of gypsum in the mix and then epsom salts are added to the water to help free up Ca and Mg. I don't have to make very much so I really don't want to have to buy 50 lb bags of all this! lol Also, what exactly to do for both on the fertilizer that's listed? you can add a Controlled release fertilizer or it is recommended to water with a weak fertilizer solution. Tapla has written on this and is worth the read Thank you so much for the help and sorry for all the q's! Thanks Al for all the help you are giving everyone!

Yeah, I can relate. Container drainage staining decks can be a problem. Fortunately my deck is not new so it's not a big problem. Although my wife wants me to redo our deck this year in a blue stain :-/ I'm already thinking about the container drainage. I guess necessity is the mother of invention.