By Sep, it will prolly be difficult to over-water tomatoes unless you work hard at it. Your weather sounds just like mine. I live on the Bay & we get humidity and dry winds. I don't know how you feel about fungicides like Daconil, but with all that humidity you might wish to consider it's positive effect on blight, graymold, and other diseases that are prevalent when humidity is high. Do avoid spraying foliage if you can - the practice often provides the incubation period many species of fungi need to get a hold. I grow tomatoes in the 5:1:1 mix. My vines are always lush; but still, I never need to water more than once daily. My plants are usually in 18 gallon containers. Part of a mid-July experiment on behalf of the UpsaDaisy Company - just getting started: Al

'Organic' means carbon-based...so, yes, pine bark is organic. I use powdered Dolomitic Lime. You sprinkle it in with the ingredients, then mix it together. The lime phase reaction takes anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks to complete, which is why it is often recommended to make your mix ahead of time. However, there is no danger in mixing and potting the same day. I've done it many, many times. In a large volume of 5-1-1, where moisture and temperature is moderated, I imagine that some innoculants might work....but I do not use any, and I only know one guy who does - and his results are far too variable to draw meaningful conclusions. Instead of a moisture meter, just stick a kabob skewer or other stick into the container to check for moisture. It's the easiest way. I germinate seeds directly in the 5-1-1, but I start most seeds in a Gritty Mix. Josh

Mcreader, let me put it this way. I live in north GA. Pine trees are grown commercially all over this state and I struggle to find pine bark the past few years! Mulches are now dyed or colored. Some of the pine bark I've used was toxic because the trees were likely injected and killed standing.. here I was making soil mixes that contained powerful herbicides. (that was truly a very bad mix!) The best source I found is to get Lowes or Home Depot to order the product with a purple label sold as 'pine bark mulch'. Some bags have a lot of good size bark bits and others have a lot of wood and cambium or are too decayed. It's really become a hassle to find a good bark bit. Our local Home Depot said I could prepay and they could order some bags of the product I like to use so you might want to ask and see if that's available. I've used aggregate suppliers, landscape suppliers and places like that who had huge stacks of bark but you have to be careful and sort the sizes. Its a far better price but if you're willing to go through the trouble its a fraction of the cost of pre bagged products. I made this video a few summers ago explaining and showing the product I've had the most luck with. Maybe it will be helpful 511 explained

Hi everyone! I just thought I'd resurrect this thread as I am playing with some very similar ideas at the moment. I'd love to hear how some of these recipes have worked for people over the years. I'm particularly interested in how the 5:2 mix of bark and turface worked for everyone. I have been growing in the 511 and gritty mixes for 2 years and am constantly tweaking the recipes to suit my conditions, and also because I absolutely love experimenting. So here's where I'm at: I have noticed that watering my plants in the gritty mix is VERY easy; in less than 15 seconds, the entire root ball is wet. While this does need to happen more often than my plants in 511, the actual watering process is very simple and quick. Also, when I go away from home for any length of time, I can simply tell my gf to water on a schedule. There is no guesswork involved for plants in gritty mix. For my plants in 511, I often need to soak them for some length of time, or use both top and bottom watering methods to fully saturate the soil. This is very tedious and time-consuming. Since I am now in quarantine, (along with the rest of the planet), I recently removed all of the dust (smaller than 1/8") from the bark I have on hand and I'm itching to throw some turface into my next batch of 511. I was planning to use: 5 parts bark (no dust) 1 part turface 1 part lava I don't like perlite because it just floats to the top. I have no problem with the weight of lava. Now I am wondering, should I just use 5 parts bark and 2 parts turface instead? Or maybe the "classic" 511 recipe will be easier to water now that I have removed the dust? I'll likely make a small batch with turface and lava today to use on a single plant, but I really hope to hear from some of you! Gardening is making this whole ordeal bearable. I hope you all are well. Cheers!