Al's 5-1-1 or Gritty Mix for Citrus/tropical plants? I have big pots!
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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Al's Gritty 5.1.1 or 1.1.1. Which is best for 10b zone
Comments (52)Anurag - the thread about container soils and water retention was written with the hope that those reading it would come away with an understanding of how water behaves in soils, & particularly how particle size and other physical characteristics impact perched water retention and o/a water retention. It's up to the grower to decide what he/she wants to do - how diligently they want to work at reducing the amount of excess water their soils hold. 1:1:1, screened bark:screened Turface:grit is the most productive soil I've used, but I don't use it for everything. Veggies & plants I know are only going to live a year of go 1 year between repots, usually go in the 5:1:1 mix. All of my woody plants, housep0lants including succulents, and other plants I know will be in the same soil for 2 growth cycles or longer, go in the gritty 1:1:1 mix. The 1:1:1 and 5:1:1 ratios are guidelines, but they're good ones. They minimize the amount of perched water a soil holds, and the gritty mix makes a good run at maximizing the volume of water held inside soil particles while still offering additional adjustability. If you live in a rainy climate and you're using the gritty mix, you might want to increase the amount of grit and decrease the amount of Turface commensurately. If it's dry where you live, increase the Turface and decrease the grit - but make sure that the soil holds enough water to carry you through the dry days, but not so much your plant suffers during periods of prolonged rain. Shading the pots when it's hot is very helpful. High soil/root temps is one of the primary limiting factors for container growers. I like soluble synthetic fertilizers. There is no more efficient way to ensure your plants get what they need, when they need it, at the right ratio, and in a favorable o/a concentration. How you fertilize is up to you, but soluble synthetics make fertilizing almost foolproof, as long as the grower holds up his/her end of the deal. When you root prune, the object is to eliminate large roots that aren't attached to the trunk and are in unfavorable positions to make room for and increase the number of fine roots, which do all the work except anchoring and transport. You'll need to develop a feel for root pruning because all plants don't get the same treatment. Reread the thread about water movement in soil, and the one about trees in containers. Make sure you understand what's in those threads. If you do gain that understanding, it should make a significant difference in what you get back for your efforts. Best luck. Al...See Morewhere to buy Al's 5-1-1 and gritty mix ingredients in PR ?
Comments (9)hello mike glad ur around : ) , well yes indeed the grit would'nt be no prob : ) , but the turface was or maybe still is the prob : ( , upon what said looked up and called PEP BOYS , WESTERN AUTO and AUTOZONE , all auto part stores here and this is what i found thrifty sorb: http://moltan.com/Products/Flyers/Thrifity_Clay_flyers_10.pdf http://moltan.com/msds/MSDS%20pdf/MSDS_Clay_Thrifty-Sorb.pdf ********************* oil dry : http://oildri.net/Downloads/OD%20Granular.pdf http://oildri.net/Downloads/MSDS_1003000Aug11.pdf *************** and this oil absorbent found at AUTOZONE , its only name was OIL ABSOBENT ( didnt take a pic of the front of bag , but took this pic of the ingredients ) http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k542/tecnico5/Photo0056.jpg please check them did not put in the link section cause they were 4 links : ( , so have any one used this options instead of turface , which by the way the only company that has it here only works the GREEN and the PRO LEAGUE , which have read and Al also says is to small for the gritty mix , and called the company TURFACE where they make the product and told me they could send me a single MVP bag but the cost would be tooooo muchhh pricey :'( , they gave me the price but with that cost price of only the shipping it would be various $$$$$$ so not an option buy the 50 lb bag via them : ( , so woul appreciate if any have used this products as turface subsitute , and could tell me which could be a better option : / , hope Al also checks them : )...See Moremodified Al's Gritty Mix and 5.1.1 mix
Comments (12)Around here the pine bark mix at Home Depot that works is the #302 Golden Trophy bags. I've been using this for the last 4 or 5 years. The only problem is that the #302 bags vary significantly from pallet to pallet. You need to check an open bag and make sure. If the chunks are small then the entire pallet is probably OK. If not the bags in the entire pallet is not usable. I got burned this year in my first buy and had to unload all the bags to someone's in ground garden (after a harsh winter I wasn't thinking straight :-). The bags were wet and the chunks seemed small after a quick inspection but after getting them home they stunk (which I heard was not good) and had a lot of sticks and bigger chunks hidden in them. A week later I went to a different Home Depot and found a pallet of perfect #302 pine bark and loaded up as many bags that will fit into the van. A couple of years ago the good pallet of #302 was behind a bad pallet which required me to climb over the bad pallet to get to the good pallet. The employees at Home Depot must have thought I was nuts. Last year I found #302 Golden Trophy at Menards with the same pallet to pallet differences but this year Menards doesn't seem to carry it....See MoreAl's 5:1:1 Mix vs. Al's Gritty Mix for Tropical Fruit
Comments (5)Yes you can, and in the short run 5-1-1 in may actually perfom better than the Gritty mix. But it will wear out quicker (break down) than the gritty mix. I tend to think of annuals going in the 5-1-1 mix, and perinnials in gritty mix. If you are going to be up-potting in a couple of years go with what you have. Either are a better choice than most anything you can find in most garden centers. Gritty mix makes future repots a dream, tip the pot over and you have bare roots.. Grading the pine bark is not fun, I hate it! A major concept of the gritty mix is based on particle size, larger particles have less surface area (by volume) and thus less water retention. 1/4 to 1/8 inch seems to be the optimal size, although due the screening process of pine bark and the thin strips I will let most 1/2 and under get in the mix (under 1/8 is not good either). If you are looking for Turface MVP check a local irrigation supply house, the stuff was designed for baseball diamonds so look in that direction. The dust is not good for the mix (particle size) The gran-i-grit is intended for chickens to help them digest grains. There are many other products other than gran-i-grit that will perform just as well. Look to a local farm supply house for the rock. Rock dust is not good for the mix (particle size) Gypsum is available at the big box home improvements stores. Gritty does dry out quicker than potting soil so you do need to water a bit more often. It is extremely difficult to overwater with gritty mix, that includes mother nature overwatering. Root rot is probably the number one killer of potted plants. After water, air is the most important thing you can give roots (most plants), more important than fertilizer. Gritty mix excels at this without drying out the root system. Gritty mix is heavy stuff, an advantage of heavy is the pot is less likely to tip from heavy winds. Al is a smart guy, it is such a simple concept....See MoreRelated Professionals
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