How big a pot you are going to use? Gritty mix is superior but with increasing pot size it becomes pretty heavy. I am assuming you need to move it into some sort of shelter during winter and weight may be a problem.

It's in a 7 gal nursery pot now, I plan to find something slightly larger like a 10+ gal. I don't want to over pot it but I also want room for it to grow. I move it under my covered porch just a few feet away for the winter to protect it from rain. I did it last year and it seemed happy with it and I didn't have any PLC. With doing a large pot full of gritty what type of pot would hold up to the weight? I use plastic for all my citrus in pots now but I don't think they would stand up to that much weight.

A 10G plastic resin pot (also any black plastic nursery grade pot) will easily hold that sort of weight. And you also do not need to move under cover for the winter.......all my hardy containerized plants stay out in the full weather exposure all year long except for a couple of succulents.

btw, gritty mix is not as heavy as you think :-)

That's good to know about the pots, I won't worry about it or the weight anymore. What do you use as your gritty ingredients/what is easier to find in our area? I am not sure where to look to find these, I also know that people swap out stuff for lava rock, pumice etc. but don't know what can swap for what.

Equal parts by volume:

Pine or fir bark in 1/8 - 3/8" size (no fines)
Screened Turface MVP
Crushed granite (Gran-I-Grit, in grower size) or #2 cherrystone
2-3 teaspoons/gallon gypsum

Al

Do you have experience with peaches? I've read that one of the biggest threats to peaches in the PNW is Peach Leaf Curl and that gets spread more easily in damp/wet conditions, which is all we have for 7+ months. I spray with copper 2-3 times, during leaf drop at 50% or 75% and 100% and once again in the spring if I can catch it before it starts budding out. Thankfully I didn't have any issue with it but I am certainly very cautious of it. I figure its not difficult to put it under the porch and if that helps keep it dry and the spores from infecting the tree as easily why not? its in a pot which gives me more options than in ground grower but if you (or anyone else) grows them with out all the hassle than I might reconsider my strict approach.

Thank you for your help and input, it really makes it easier on me and others that are learning this for the first time. I helps save time/money/plant not having to make all the mistakes before we get it right.

The only peach I would consider growing in the PNW is 'Frost', which was developed here in WA state and is resistant to leaf curl. FWIW, I consider both Bonanza and Bonfire more as ornamental plants rather than a productive fruit tree.

That's good to know, I haven't developed any obsession with peaches and got it from Portland Nursery as a recommendation from one of the people there, it was a really pretty tree and I don't mind if its not very productive. If I do decide to be more serious about it I will certainly get a Frost. Either way I want this little bonanza to do well even if its just a nice tree to look at.

It will produce full size peaches and by all accounts, they are pretty tasty. I just have no time for plants that require coddling or are inclined to various pest and disease issues. And fruit trees in particular have a lot of issues!!

I guess perception of weight is relative. Dry gritty mix is a around 7 pounds per gallon (wet is about 8 pounds per gallon) and moist 511 is about half of that (3.5 pounds per gallon). These are approximate numbers. 10 gallon of dry gritty mix alone would be at least 70 pounds. Wet mix will be a bit heavier. By itself I could lift that pot and move it a short distance. With a plant in it especially a tallish plant it is quite cumbersome without a cart/dolly.

From the gritty mix guru (Al) himself:

"Turface weighs 35 lbs/cu ft, granite about 50, and pine/fir bark about 10. Since you use them in equal volume a cu ft weighs the average of the three, or about 32 lbs. There are about 7.5 gallons in a cu ft, so it weighs about 4.25 lbs per gallon or a shade over 1 lb/qt, so 44 qts of dry gritty mix would weigh about 50 lbs. FWIW, the gritty mix when saturated weighs about 25% more than a saturated MG or other peat based soil."

My emphasis on the last statement but the one I find the most relevant and telling :-)) btw, that 10G pot would weigh about 42 pounds dry, give or take.

And to lighten the weight of the gritty mix if you wish, substitute perlite for the granite grit or cherrystone.

I made a similar statement on this same issue on another thread. I garden almost exclusively in containers. And a 10G container is one the smallest sizes I use. I also grow a lot of trees and in very large sized containers, many of which are glazed ceramic frost proof containers that weigh a ton even when empty!! I still manage to schlepp filled and planted containers around my garden as necessary, sometimes with a handtruck but often just by dragging if too big for me to lift. And I am an old lady and not overly strong!!

Hmm. Strange since I just measured both of them (gritty and 511) before posting. I guess I will measure again with a fresh batch and with individual components too. Except I am out of turface now.

Since this weight issue left me curious I had to go searching for the components in my various bins. Luckily found I had over a gallon of sifted turface left. Here are my measured numbers - checked twice. Sifted turface 5.6 lbs per gallon (42 lbs per cu ft.), Chicken grit (with some dust) 10.8 lbs per gallon (81 lbs per cu ft) and sifted bark 2.3 lbs per gallon (17 lbs per cu ft). So that should result in about 6.2 lbs per gallon. However, if I make the mix (1:1:1) then a gallon of the mix weighs 7 lbs !!. When mix the resulting volume of soil is less than the individual volumes. So it must be that the individual components somewhat pack closer using up some of the air spaces.

So gardengal you may be doing better than you thought pushing those pots around :))

Question about the gritty mix, I think I am able to find Turface from Ewing (I have a call in but haven't heard back yet) But am not sure about where to find the Granite, I have found #2 Cherry stone from walmart that is $35 for a 50lb bag. That seems a bit high in cost, I am also calling around to local feed stores to see what they have. Any other suggestions of where to look?

Try Tractor Supply if you have one there. In these parts they carry Manna Pro chicken grit. It is a bit larger than Granite Grit #2 on the average but will work too. I have not found a cherry stone place here so cannot comment on that. Gran-i-grit # grower size (I think #2) runs about $15 for a 50 pound bag here.