Oxboy, I agree, and wish (hope) that my local Lowes will carry something like this in the spring. Right now its still freezing cold here, with more snow and low temps on the way, so none of the big box stores have anything in their garden centers as of yet. Might be another month before they get any supplies in. I would like to make a batch of 5-1-1 before my shrubs and trees in containers come out of dormancy, but since bitter cold temps and snow keep hanging on I don't see that happening anytime soon. TYG

Almost any kind of undecayed organic material (shredded lawn waste, wood chips, leaves, bark) is good for mulch. In my experience. the cheaper bark product (less uniform, containing fines), acts faster to improve the soil than the more expensive nuggets. But the difference among various products is insignificant. Use something cheap and local to minimize the environmental impact. Regarding "nitrogen robbing" and "harboring fungus": In a natural environment such as woods or prairie. there is always a layer of undecayed organic matter at the soil surface. In other words, nature wants a mulch. The lower part of this layer is always decaying. In other words, nature wants active fungi and bacteria. Where active decay is occurring, there is always some temporary withdrawal of nitrogen within that layer--it is taken into the bodies of bacteria. This is good; it helps to discourage weed growth at the soil surface. It does not affect the root zone a few inches down. When the decay process in that layer is complete, the nitrogen will be released and will be taken up by plants. Meanwhile a new layer of mulch above is beginning to decay. "Nitrogen robbing" becomes a problem if fallen leaves, immature compost, or sawdust are tilled into the soil so they are decaying in the root zone rather than at the surface. In this case, one should add nitrogen fertilizer to compensate. Decay processes in the mulch have no effect on black spot or other rose diseases. The decay organisms are not disease organisms. However, if you cover infected, fallen rose leaves with fresh mulch, it would probably help a little. Don't pile mulch deep around the rose canes, as the dampness could encourage canker. If you are growing delphinium, parsley, or other plants susceptible to crown rot. then maybe you want to keep mulch well away from them, But roses don't get crown rot.

Thanks Mike! I will go re-plant right now! If it seems to be staying too wet, then what would I need more of in the mix? Perilite? Or something else? I have mixed for days, so I think it is mixed ok. I did notice that the perilite was falling to the bottom before adding the bailed peat, but once I added that, it seems to be holding up much better. I may add some extra drain holes in the pot though just as an extra precaution. You know, I was so worried about them being over watered and wet, that I was not watering them everyday. Now I think they got dried out in the heat! UGG! So I am on this. bigmario, I am new to the soil mixes obviously, but the 2 best mixes seem to be the cocohusk recipe and the 5:1:1, which have both been shared on this thread. The pictures I have up are the 5:1:1 mix I made, but I did mess it up at first with the wrong peat. But the wrong peat for the 5:1:1 is actually the right peat for the cocohusks. I will be also making the cocohusk recipe, I just have not found one of the ingredients for it yet. But when I make it, I will post it here. OK! Off to transplant! Be back with pictures of the re-plant! Christy

I will be guessing here but with 1/2 peat it should be fine. To me the second pic looks like it has very little dust. So go with full peat if that is the case. For annuals in 511 these days I just eyeball it. You may want to sift the bark and get an idea of its composition. For long term plants I use 1/8 and 1/2 screen to separate bark into three 3 parts. The large stuff goes in the yard. Then I add 1-2 parts of the fine stuff to 5 parts of the middle fraction. I skip the peat often. This mix is has little less water holding capacity than classic 511 mix.