A WARNING about gritty mixes
kwie2011
8 years ago
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Nil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Question about gritty mix
Comments (7)In very small containers with small drainage holes it is very easy to overload the drainage hole and basically fill up the pot with water. When youdo this, you can get perlite or dry bark floating pretty easily. If the pot has gritty, the water should just pour out the bottom after you stop watering and drain the pot. It's only a problem if you get a lot of rain. I don't mind this so much as the tiny pots get really dry and flooding them helps wet the medium. 0 The paper towel is a bad idea. You most likely don't even need screen with small drainage holes especially once the roots fill in....See MoreQuestions about gritty mix
Comments (0)Hi folks, I am a long time gardener but new to the world of gritty mixes, and I have a couple of questions: 1) I've read that Al suggests using 5-1-1 mix if the plant will be in a pot for a short period of time, but the gritty mix if the plant will be in the pot longer. The rational I've seen given most often is that the 5-1-1 mix is less expensive. However, I have some young plants that I expect will put on a lot of growth and that I will probably repot within a year or two. If the gritty mix is a BETTER mix, shouldn't I start in gritty mix and then just reuse the mix (plus some) when I repot in a better mix? Or is there some other reason why I would want to use 5-1-1? 2) I also read in a few places that you can pot up into a larger pot when you use gritty mix that you would with a soil mix. How much larger should I pot up? For example, if I had a plant in a 6" pot, I would generally pot up to 8". Should I go 10" or even larger with the gritty mix? 3) I have a large number of plants and plan to transition all/most of them over to the gritty mix. I've read that Al recommends putting scilla in 5-1-1, but I can't find information on other plants. I know that people advise putting succulents and citrus in gritty for sure. Would you recommend putting any of the following in 5-1-1 or a different mix other than gritty? List: snake plants, many varieties of ficus (including edible), cactus, christmas cactus, pilea, pitcher plants (esp with humidity concerns), and ferns. (I have a big staghorn in moss right now so wouldn't move that, but I have several smaller ferns such as rabbit's foot fern and birds nest fern that I could repot). Thanks for all the help and sorry for the super specific questions!! Also, if anyone is in the Boston area and wants to swap or go on a run for gritty mix ingredients, I'd be super up for it!...See MoreGritty Mix question about bark
Comments (13)Oh, no problem... happy to help! :-) I remember when I first switched from bagged, peat based potting soil that every store sells to a more porous way of keeping the roots of my container plants healthy, and how nervous I was. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for, where to find it, how to use it... if it hadn't been for Al, Mike, Josh, Laura, plantgal, and a few others here, I might have given up. But I'm sure glad I didn't! They answered all my questions, no matter how dumb I thought I sounded, and they helped me every step of the way. I just kept reading this forum with my coffee every morning, and I kept learning. Just take your time... use winter to locate some sources, do some internet research, and some reading of back-threads here in the forum... I did a lot of Googling, using key words like Gritty Mix, bonsai culture and soils, porous mediums for plants, orchid barks, etc... and I really learned. It all fell into place. Knowledge is key, I think. When spring rolls around, you'll have your stuff ready, and you'll have a little more confidence in the concepts you're about to use. That's the important part... understanding how the concept works, and why you're using it. The science is solid, and Al explains it in his article in layman's terms, so it was easy for me to grasp. I finally understood the workings under the soil, and without healthy roots, a plant can't be happy and healthy. I must have read Al's article - the one I linked above in my previous post - over a dozen times, just to make certain I got what he meant. I copied and pasted it to a text file and left it in a folder on my desktop so I could refer to it whenever I needed. My husband built me a screening system using various sizes of hardware cloth attached to the tops of 5 gallon buckets so I could screen my ingredients to the size I needed. I also thought a lot about what I was planting, where it would be positioned for the season (indoor or out), and I kept following these guys, here... reading about what they were doing, following the questions others asked and the answers Al was giving them. Now, when I need to re-pot my bulbs... my plants of choice are Amaryllis bulbs... I already know exactly where to get what I need, or I already have a batch mixed. I just make sure the bark and other ingredients are saturated well before potting. And when I water, I know the water will run out quickly because of how porous and free-draining the mix is, and I already have them either at my kitchen sink, in my shower stall, or outside where it won't matter if water drains out. I water, wait a little bit for it to drain, then water again to ensure there's adequate moisture down at the root zone. Al can probably tell you more about feeding, but I use what I have available which is MG liquid 12-4-8. I mix a weak solution... probably somewhere around 1/4 or less of the recommended strength... and I feed every time I water to make certain my plants have a steady supply of nutrition. Every once in a while, I flush with clear water. When autumn rolls around I back off a bit to let them have their natural resting period, when growth slows naturally. I'd actually use Foliage Pro plant food if I could afford to buy it, but since I already have this plant food, I'm kinda stuck with it. :-) The beauty of using a medium that doesn't hold perched water is that it's almost impossible to over-water. And with bulbs, rot is a real problem when they're grown in containers. That, in fact, is what brought me here. I was searching for a way to keep my bulb collection from continually rotting. It was so frustrating! When you think about it, we just take for granted that the gardening industry has what we need. We don't really stop to think that like every other industry, they're in it to make profit. The more replacement plants you buy, and the more bags of soil you use, the more money they make. But we keep losing our plants to conditions under the soil surface that we never really think about. So, anyway... don't be nervous... take your time, do some reading... gather what you'll need... make sure you understand how and why the concepts work, and go for it in spring. And we'll be here to answer any questions, or help you if you run into a problem... once you adjust to the slight difference, you'll love it. You'll see the difference in how happy and healthy your plants are. Another tip... once you re-pot, keep your freshly potted plants out of direct sunlight so they can acclimate to their new situation. Gradually work them back into full sun or direct light, depending on indoor or outdoor conditions. Al also has a couple of other articles floating around the forum... one on feeding and plant nutrition, I believe... and one on growing trees in pots and root pruning. Those are worth a read, too. Happy Growing... and remember, there's always someone here to help if you need it. :-) Have a nice day!...See MoreConflicting info about screen sizes for 511 and gritty mix
Comments (7)When I have to deal with a new brand of pine bark I divide it into four parts: below 1/8, above 1/2, between 1/8 and 1/4 and between 1/4 and 1/2. This gives me an idea as to the relative composition of the bark. If I end up with 1/2 a bag of the pieces between 1/8 and 1/4, I consider it to be reasonable. Ideally, there will be less of the small and the big ones. If there is too much of the small ones then the 511 mix will too water retentive. If there is too much between 1/4 and 1/2 then the 511 mix will be too airy. 511 mix asks for dust to 3/8 and since I do not have a 3/8 screen I do the above procedure for a new brand to judge whether I can just screen above 1/2 and get away with it. If not I will mix the different parts to approximate it. For this I generally go by the feel. I usually do not do the above for annuals. Only for potted plants that are in for the long haul....See MoreNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
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