Al's 5:1:1 Mix vs. Al's Gritty Mix for Tropical Fruit

11 years ago

Dear all,

I have spent the last two days reading this forum. It's addictive. I am very excited. Even when I not reading, my mind keep thinking about soil mix all the time. Last year, I bought a mango tree and emperor lychee. However, they didn't do very well since I put them in the containers. After reading Al's posts, I believed I don't have the right soil mix for them. According to Al's and many people in this forum, Al's Gritty Mix is great for Tropical Fruit. Unfortunately, after spending a day today shopping for the ingredients, I realized that it is hard to find Screened Turface and Gran-I-Grit in my area. Therefore, making Al's Gritty Mix will be a challenge for me. However, I found fine Pine Bark, sphagnum peat, perlite, garden lime, which are the right ingredients to make Al's 5:1:1 mix.
My question is:
Can I use Al's 5:1:1 for my Mango Tree and Lychee?
Please share if you have any experience growing tropical fruit tree with Al's 5:1:1 mix.

Thank you very much.

Anthan

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Comments (5)

Doglips
11 years ago
Yes you can, and in the short run 5-1-1 in may actually perfom better than the Gritty mix. But it will wear out quicker (break down) than the gritty mix. I tend to think of annuals going in the 5-1-1 mix, and perinnials in gritty mix. If you are going to be up-potting in a couple of years go with what you have.

Either are a better choice than most anything you can find in most garden centers. Gritty mix makes future repots a dream, tip the pot over and you have bare roots..
Grading the pine bark is not fun, I hate it!
A major concept of the gritty mix is based on particle size, larger particles have less surface area (by volume) and thus less water retention. 1/4 to 1/8 inch seems to be the optimal size, although due the screening process of pine bark and the thin strips I will let most 1/2 and under get in the mix (under 1/8 is not good either).
If you are looking for Turface MVP check a local irrigation supply house, the stuff was designed for baseball diamonds so look in that direction. The dust is not good for the mix (particle size)

The gran-i-grit is intended for chickens to help them digest grains. There are many other products other than gran-i-grit that will perform just as well. Look to a local farm supply house for the rock. Rock dust is not good for the mix (particle size)

Gypsum is available at the big box home improvements stores.

Gritty does dry out quicker than potting soil so you do need to water a bit more often. It is extremely difficult to overwater with gritty mix, that includes mother nature overwatering. Root rot is probably the number one killer of potted plants.
After water, air is the most important thing you can give roots (most plants), more important than fertilizer. Gritty mix excels at this without drying out the root system.
Gritty mix is heavy stuff, an advantage of heavy is the pot is less likely to tip from heavy winds.
Al is a smart guy, it is such a simple concept.
anthantropical
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you very much Doglips for a quick response. I will definitely continue looking for the Turface and Gran-i-grit to make my Al's Gritty Mix. For Gritty Mix, I not only water it more often, but also fertilize more often too right, because the Mix does not hold much nutrient for the plants?

Thanks
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hello mike glad ur around : ) , well yes indeed the grit would'nt be no prob : ) , but the turface was or maybe still is the prob : ( , upon what said looked up and called PEP BOYS , WESTERN AUTO and AUTOZONE , all auto part stores here and this is what i found thrifty sorb: http://moltan.com/Products/Flyers/Thrifity_Clay_flyers_10.pdf http://moltan.com/msds/MSDS%20pdf/MSDS_Clay_Thrifty-Sorb.pdf ********************* oil dry : http://oildri.net/Downloads/OD%20Granular.pdf http://oildri.net/Downloads/MSDS_1003000Aug11.pdf *************** and this oil absorbent found at AUTOZONE , its only name was OIL ABSOBENT ( didnt take a pic of the front of bag , but took this pic of the ingredients ) http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k542/tecnico5/Photo0056.jpg please check them did not put in the link section cause they were 4 links : ( , so have any one used this options instead of turface , which by the way the only company that has it here only works the GREEN and the PRO LEAGUE , which have read and Al also says is to small for the gritty mix , and called the company TURFACE where they make the product and told me they could send me a single MVP bag but the cost would be tooooo muchhh pricey :'( , they gave me the price but with that cost price of only the shipping it would be various $$$$$$ so not an option buy the 50 lb bag via them : ( , so woul appreciate if any have used this products as turface subsitute , and could tell me which could be a better option : / , hope Al also checks them : )
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Let me make a suggestion, please? Follow the link I left below to gain a better understanding of the difference between the gritty mix and the 5:1:1 mix, and a better understanding of how water behaves in container soils. I think gaining an understanding of that (the water:air relationship in soils) is probably the largest step forward a container gardener can take at any one time. Al Here is a link that might be useful: C'mon - I'll take you to what he's talking about.
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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
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For the brambles, I'd use the 5:1:1 mix - and the gritty mix for the trees. No tweaking should be required. I think you'll find your concern for 'how long the mix will last' will be outweighed by how congested the roots are. You'll probably need to divide & repot before either soil has outlived its serviceable life. Al
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Doglips
11 years ago
Yes to more fertilizer. Gritty mix doesn't have the organic matter that breaks down over time and releases nutrients.
Plants die quicker from being over-loved than under, use moderation with any fertilzation schedule until you know for sure how it is doing. Time released fertilzer with gritty is a great combo. Osmocote Plus is timed released and it has micros.

I have my first lychee inbound (along with another mango),it is my understanding that lychees take less fertization than mangos.
anthantropical
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you so much. I am ready to spend more time to find the ingredients for my Gritty Mix.

Anthan
queensinfo
11 years ago
What is the better of the two for bananas?

Al's 5:1:1 Mix vs. Al's Gritty Mix for Tropical Fruit

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Al's 5:1:1 Mix vs. Al's Gritty Mix for Tropical Fruit

Comments (5)

Doglips

anthantropicalOriginal Author

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Doglips

anthantropicalOriginal Author

queensinfo

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anthantropical
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anthantropical
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