Be patient. I helped a friend find PBFs in Houston a couple of years ago, but even if that's too far to travel, it's possible that the place we found has an outlet near you. I forgot the name of the place (no reason for me to remember). I know she's a member here because I've asked her to help other Texans. The only way I can contact her is via the email system at another forum site. I'll ask her to look in on this thread and hope she can help.

Al

You should not have difficulty finding pine bark in Austin. It is January, however, and many stores are just beginning to stock up for gardening season. I usually buy landscape mix (either Scotsman's Choice or Hapi-Gro). This and a lot of the stuff labeled soil conditioner usually has smaller pieces of pine bark. Bags labled pine bark mulch vary widely--some with bark fines, some with very large nuggets.

Independent nurseries are more likely to have things in stock now. Soil, compost & mulch yards will be cheaper if you need a very large amount. If you're not in a hurry, just relax and the stores should have what you want before March.

Jason

Hi,Gwrace!
I'm Al's friend, Linda, from his world of pine bark fines and soil mixes.

The name of my local supplier in Houston is:
Timber Solutions
Jimmy Quinn, Mgr.
14022 S. Gessner
Missouri City, Texas 77479
281-208-2373 (south of town)
936-321-8111 (near Conroe on the north side of town)

He's open 7-3p Saturdays; $30/yard. I had 1.5 yards delivered for $88.00. It was worth every penny, too.

The thing about the pine bark fines is that you're look for something that looks almost like Miracle Grow potting mix. It's gonna have a fair amount of particles from dust to 1/2 dollar size SLICES. And "slices" is very critical here. You do NOT want chunky nuggets. You want slivers and slices that you could snap in your fingers. Or, even if you had what looks like a chunky nuggets in a batch of the right stuff, you could hit it with the edge of your shovel and it would break up into slivers. Get the picture?

Your pine bark fines should look fairly moist, even when it's dry, cause it does hold water. If someone tells me how to post a picture, I can show you several pictures of "the right stuff!"

Linda

Al, Linda

Thanks so much for the follow-up posts. I'd like to start our seeds in these earthtainers asap. We have a 10x17 Riga greenhouse that will house these containers until spring/summer temps get to hot. I'll continue to watch the stores and nursery's to see what turns up.

I'll check out the products you mentioned.

David

David

You might want to try your local Home Depot store

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Depot's Suwannee Lumber Company Pine Mulch