My solution to pine bark fines for Al's (Tapla) 5-1-1 mix
Robert
9 years ago
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Robert
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Reptibark for fir bark fines for 5-1-1 mix
Comments (35)I just took a look, now below is what Al had posted above the pic. I think he is calling the real dark stuff "mulch" and in another thread, I think he refered to it as composted pine bark for short term plantings. Is mulch and fines the same thing, then theres the chunky stuff which is the bark? Pine bark and fir, which is on each side of the picture. Jodi, the stuff in my pic. of my mix came from a mulch at the home depot, and I sifted out the dusty, and crumbs, and such, kinda like al refers to in this , that I copied and pasted. """Pine bark doesn't shred. Look for things like pine bark 'soil conditioner,'clay buster', 'mulch', etc. It's sold under a variety of names. I've found fines at Home Depot several times, so it might be worth another look. What you see at the top is ideal for the 5:1:1 mix. The other two bark components would be just right in the gritty mix.""" JoJo...See MoreAl's 5-1-1 Mix - Is this Pine Bark ok?
Comments (48)I would have to say that it took time but well worth the effort. Chopping that up took a lot out of me but it was a work out. I am kind of in shape but have ankle, knee and hip problems from an old highschool injury many years ago so I have to sit down to do a lot of the work. I am approaching 40 now and trying to get back in shape and by doing that and how good my body felt after the sorness went away I would do it again next year. However there may not be a need to because I bought the Agway Pine Bark which is near perfect. The price is also excellent I think they have a deal where you can buy 3 to for 4 (3 cubic ft bags) for around $20. The price keeps lowering the more bags you buy. Also I love the cheap cost of Peatmoss. $10 for 3-4 Cubic ft. The perlite is the problem with expense though. Now I would use a commercial mix but the cost would be far too high. I had to fill 9 (20) gallon containers and 15 (5-7) Gallon containers. So as a safe estimate I filled about 250+ gallons which would work out to about 16 (2 Cubic ft ) bags of a commercial mix. If I did my math right I estimate that 15 gallons is about equal to 2 cubic Ft. I estimate that I have spent $20 for about 6-7 Cubic Ft of Peat moss, $50-$60 for Perlite, $10 for 40lbs of Garden Lime, and about $50 in Pine bark. So Let's say I spent around $140 for 16 bags (2 cubic Ft) of mix then the total price per 2 cubic Ft would be about $8-9. This is also not to mention that I have plenty of Peat moss (about 2 cu ft) and a bunch of lime along with more perlite left over. So technically I saved over $100 if I were to buy a commercial 2 CU Ft. Mix bag at about $15. Now if only had to make a small amount I would totally buy commercial and I almost did but the cost was way to high. I also forgot to mention that I did not use control release Ferts, instead I used MG liquid soluable tomato food. This was because it was cheap at the time and I was on a limited budget, but next year I will do it after this crazy weather. Here in Philly area we just got about 7+ inches of rain in one day a few days back and another inch yesterday. It has been very tricky to plan the fertilization days. Edit: I forgot that I had 4 (5) gallon Bell peppers in the front growing and my Yellow Kellogs in 2 (16 Gal) containers so that would make it 300 Gallons of Mix I made which would bring the price down to about $7 per (2 Cu Ft). Also the production is doing great. This post was edited by thebutcher on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 14:19...See MoreAl's 5-1-1/Gritty Mix - Colorants in the Pine Bark ?
Comments (7)Hi acg85 ...Welcome ! I am also a newbie when it comes to container growing. Because I am planning to do some container/pots planting , I have been educating myself in this forum. ABOUT COLORANTS: I think you are talking about colored mulch which may or may not be mad of pine. I have used them as landscaping mulch. If it is made of pine, it is shredded and made from pine branches and trunk that probably was not suitable for making lumber. Or can be made from the next layer under the bark. It can also be made similarly from cedar or other wood. They usually come in red and black color. Pine or fir BARKS are mostly bagged and sold uncolored. That is what they are using in 5: 1:1:and orchid potting mix ; ALL NATURAL PINE BARK (NUGGETS,)...See MoreDo you screen out fines from pine bark mulch for 5-1-1?
Comments (7)I will tell you my experience with 5-1-1 mix, which I changed for a 6-1 mix (I will explain it). Until one year now, I used a commercial mix of compost and peat for citrus containers, with very good results in the short term (several months), but with further problems due to organic matter decomposition with lake of air and and the resulting problems. Then, I decided to move to 5-1-1 mix, but it is difficult to find pine bark of 3/8" size. Repti bark and Orchid mixes are very expensive. I buy 1 inch size bark mulch in 6 gallon bags at a very good price. Later, using a pruning woods chopper, I triturate the bark mulches and screen out pieces bigger than 3/8" size. What I get is a family of bark particles from fines to 3/8" size. I tested by myself several mixes in a container of 25 Oz volume and 6 inch high and I got the following results: 5-1-1 mix (chopped and 3/8" screened bark+perlite+peat): Total pore volume: 300 ml Aeration pore volume: 130 ml Total porosity: 40 % Aeration porosity: 17.3 % Water-holding porosity: 22.7 % 6-1 mix (chopped and 3/8" screened bark+perlite): Total pore volume: 400 ml Aeration pore volume: 250 ml Total porosity: 53.3 % Aeration porosity: 33.3 % Water-holding porosity: 20 % As you can see, I got better results, by far, from 6-1 mix, without peat. I decided to try without peat, following a Josh (Greenman28) advice in an old post. He said that sometimes he didn't use peat in 5-1-1 mix with good results. Peat decomposes faster than bark, and you know that decomposed particles penalises aeration. Well, after one year of use of 6-1 mix, I bare rooted the past week a healthy Tango mandarin grafted on Poncirus trifoliata in a 12 gal container, for planting in ground, and I can tell you that the mix was in a very similar condition to the original, and I don't remember so well developed and healthy roots in a container citrus plant. I am very satisfied with this mix. Just one additional care with it, you have to monitor more closely the fertilization, because minerals leach out easier than in a traditional peat mix. In any case, it remains for an acceptable time. And, coming back to your question, I don't remove fines. If you removed fines, in my opinion, it would be imperative to use peat....See MoreRobert
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