5-1-1 mix recipe --- a couple questions
12 years ago
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al's 5-1-1 mix questions
Comments (3)Yes, but using too much negates the benefits of the large particles. Imagine: You have a quart of marbles in a quart jar, so the jar is full of marbles - right? You can still add a pint of sand to that jar of marbles though - right? So how do you get a quart and a half in a quart jar? ;o) You know that drainage and aeration was awesome when it was just that quart of marbles - yes? Yet, by restructuring the 'mix' so only 1/3 of the o/a volume of the mix is comprised of fine particulates, you can see in your mind's eye that the entire mix took on the exact drainage characteristics of the sand only. The marbles have no effect on drainage (flow-through rates) OR on the ht of the PWT. After the sand is added, the ONLY thing the marbles do is take up space that MIGHT otherwise be occupied by sand + water, thus it simply reduces water retention w/o adding aeration or lowering the ht of the PWT, both of which would be remedied if the soil was more than about 85% larger particulates. This also explains why those suggesting that you can simply take a peat-based bagged soil and simply add more perlite and some bark to improve it. It won't .... for the same reason the marbles were ineffectual at improving drainage and aeration. In that practice, the bark does very little or nothing to improve aeration (just like the marbles) and it is very ineffective at reducing water retention because it holds almost as much water as the peat. The only significant benefit comes from the fact that the perlite reduces the soils ability to hold water. Going totally technical, the only perlite that is effective is that which is occupying space WITHIN the PWT because all the soil above the PWT would be sufficiently aerated and wouldn't need the perlite. The benefit from bark and perlite comes not from the materials themselves, but from the air spaces between the particles. If your amendments aren't increasing aeration, they serve little purpose & you may as well stick with a bagged soil because you're not changing anything of significance until, again, the large particulates are more than 80% of the mix. Al...See MoreLooking for Al's 5-1-1 gritty mix recipe
Comments (1)I have linked to the recipe for both gritty mix and 5-1-1 below. I really think your tomatoes will do much better in 5-1-1 than gritty mix in containers. The gritty is best for long term container plants. But the 5-1-1 mix is excellent for annuals, including vegetables, that complete their growth in one season. Its also cheaper and easier to find ingredients for. Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils recipes & discussion...See More5:1:1 Mix Watering Questions
Comments (6)Ed, Thanks so much for taking the time to confirm. I actually couldn't believe my luck at finding it - I bought 4 bags immediately and then got to 2nd guessing, thinking that maybe it was too small. It really is comforting to have someone in the know give their opinion. I did also come across a bag of ground pine bark mulch at Home Depot that is perfect for the gritty mix, which I am going to try for starting some seeds. I was so thrilled:) For the 5-1-1, I did get sphagnum peat moss, too (and garden lime) but do you think it would be better to go with the 1 part of the finer 4'oclock stuff from the fines rather than the sphagnum? Laura...See Moremaking al's 5-1-1 mix questions..
Comments (25)Jamey: I'm not very knowledgeable about growing cacti so I can't give you any specific advice on that. I do agree with Rina, I think that in general cacti like fairly dry soil so the gritty mix is probably a good choice for them. The 5-1-1 is probably going to be too wet for most of them. You might want to do a search on this forum for "cactus soil" and see what you can find. I'm sure other members use gritty mix recipes to grow them. Yes that Miracle Gro peat-based soil holds a LOT of water, as you just described. It starts out nice a fluffy and plants like it, but the more you water it the more it compresses down into a soggy swamp. As you experienced, the bottom half of the container turns into a mess. It's not just the MG brand but most peat-based soils from the big box stores are similar. They are cheap, but they break down in a hurry. You can buy some very good bagged soils, like Fafards brand, but I understand they are very expensive and hard to find. I'm attaching a link for the perlite at Menard's. I think the pieces in the Schultz brand are actually a bit larger than the Miracle Gro perlite. It's not the super coarse perlite you can find at hydroponic stores but if you screen out the dusty material the remaining pieces are very good, especially if you only need small batches of soil. Hope that helps. TYG Here is a link that might be useful: Perlite...See MoreRelated Professionals
Carlisle Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Washington Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Arlington Landscape Contractors · Andover Landscape Contractors · Kaysville Landscape Contractors · Kerman Landscape Contractors · McLean Landscape Contractors · Methuen Landscape Contractors · Middletown Landscape Contractors · Morrisville Landscape Contractors · Natick Landscape Contractors · Plymouth Landscape Contractors · Southbury Landscape Contractors · West Chester Landscape Contractors · Woodbury Landscape Contractors- 12 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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