I have a bag of the "fine" bark in the trunk of my car right now...haven't unloaded yet. I'll screen some tomorrow and see how it performs. It doesn't look composted, but I think it could be used in the 5-1-1.

It costs $9 for a bag, so I hope there isn't much waste.

Josh

Awesome! I'll be checking in for an update. Thanks!

I haven't forgotten...just haven't had time to screen yet.

Josh

Well, I'm back...still trying to figure out the new photobucket format.....

E.B. Stone "fine" Orchid Bark is a nice product, but it is not cost-effective for mixing large batches of 5-1-1 (or Gritty Mix). I recommend the Greenall Micro Bark, which is the same fir bark, but in twice the volume and for the same price. Greenall is just a different packaging for E.B. Stone.

That said, for the 5-1-1, most of the material will pass through a 1/2 inch screen. However, a lot of these pieces are narrow but long, and so you'll need to manually remove the pieces that "spear" through the screen longwise. Also, I notice a good deal of sapwood ("matchsticks"), and that, too, must be sorted out by hand. The sapwood is well under 10 percent, but I find it visually jarring in a nice planting.

The product under review:

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A piece of 1/2-inch hardware cloth over a large pond-basket for collecting screened material. My plastic nursery plant-carrier with 1/4-inch grid sitting to the left.

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A couple handfuls of bark on the 1/4-inch screen:

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And the pieces that did not pass the 1/4-inch screen:

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Josh

HI Josh, I know this is an old thread, but wanted to ask you some questions. I hope you can help me. I live in Southern California and I 'm trying to prepare Gritty Mix.

1. Is Greenall Micro Bark the best product you've found?

2. Approximately, how much percentage of the bag would end up being usable for the Gritty Mix?

3. What kind of screens would I have to use to achieve the size I need?

Thank you so much in advance.
P.

Hey....
I don't know/remember how much of the bag is useable, but it's enough to be worth the trouble. For Gritty Screening, you'll want a 1/4 inch screen and a 1/16 or 1/8 inch screen.

Josh

The Greenall Microbark will work OK for Gritty. It does seem to be the same material as EB Stone Small Orchid Mix at lower cost. The best I've found is Professional Gardeners Seedling Orchid Mix but I can't find it anywhere nearby. The lower amount of waste wouldn't pay to make the trip to get it. Seems amazing since it is a Kellogg Garden product, who is 10 miles from me.

I save the larger material and use it for topping pots and planters. In my hot/dry inland SoCal climate, I'm no longer screening out the dust as I want something that holds a bit more water than Gritty Mix. I do eliminate much of the dust by mixing back and forth between buckets in the afternoon breeze.

Yes, Greenall remains my preferred bark - larger volume, lower cost, minimal sapwood. When using Greenall for 5-1-1, virtually all of the material is useable - if not for the mix directly, then certainly as mulching material as Greg affirmed.

Josh

hello josh, i came across this thread while searching for the best bark for the gritty mix. i see you use the micro bark for the 5-1-1, may i ask which bark you recommend for the gritty mix? i'm having trouble finding bark small enough to be the same size as the turface. thank you for your help.

Micro Bark is the only bark that I currently use. I just screen it to 1/4 inch, according to the instructions for the gritty mix.

Josh

thanks for the quick response :-)

Hello, question on this old thread (Josh, are you there?). Is sapwood <10% considered to be OK for 5-1-1 mix? I think Josh is saying this and that he picks out the sapwood mainly for aesthetic reasons. If the Greenall micro is below 10% and I don't have to go crazy picking out pieces of sapwood, that would be very helpful for me. I need to mix up a lot of 5-1-1 very soon to replace my old containers, and I just don't have enough time for all the picking I did when I first made my mix. Thanks for your help,

Sheba

I'm not Josh...but I mix a 35 gallon barrel of 5-1-1 at a time, and there is no way I'm picking all that sapwood!

I haven't picked "matchsticks" in a long time and hadn't had any issues. I use the larger than 1/2 inch pieces to top dress, so I don't see the matchsticks.

It should be fine if it's only about 10%.

Thank you so much for the response, "NotJosh"! ;0

That was very helpful to hear. I was able to pick up a few bags of the GreenAll micro bark and mixed up @12 gallons of 5-1-1. I think the GreenAll is better than what I'd used before and I think there's much less sapwood. I picked out some of the more obvious pieces, but I didn't obsess and spend hours as I had in the past, which was a huge relief! I got a number of plants re-potted, finally--what a great feeling! They look so much happier right away. I have quite a few more still to do, and I'll have to mix up a lot more 5-1-1 to get through it all, but it's not nearly so daunting now. Thanks again for your post--I've benefited from your experience.

Hi, Josh, thank you! I've mixed up 3 8-gallon batches of 5-1-1 now, using the GreenAll bark, and have up-potted some 13 roses of varying sizes. I have about 6 more to go. The GreenAll micro bark is great, and the whole process is a lot easier/faster than before when I used a different bark. I've screened out some larger pieces and just picked out any really noticeable/large pieces of sapwood and called it a day.

Most of all, I'm really impressed with how HEALTHY my plants are after about 1.5 years in the 5-1-1 mix--re-potting was fast and easy, no rotted/mushy roots, just healthy roots, and no muddy mess. And quite amazing to me, the re-potted plants haven't shown any signs of shock or wilt--they just look happy to be in fresh mix and to have more space. I don't totally bare-root my roses, but nearly, and several of these plants were budding and blooming. They have just kept on after being re-potted.

Very grateful to AL for sharing his expertise and knowledge with so much patience on this forum, and to you as well, and others. I've spent a LOT of time over the past 2 years reading threads on the Container and Soil forums. Using 5-1-1 for my containers has truly been a giant step for my gardening experience and my plants. Hugely liberating for me to mix my own medium and to great to see the results.

Thanks again.

Sheba

Hi, reviving an old thread. I managed to find the GreenAll MicroBark is a local hardware store. Does this need to go through a 1/2 inch screening to remove any big pieces or its fine to use it straight out of the bag (handpicking any obvious big pieces)?

@vikkyrk, if I'm making a smaller batch of 511 for a smaller container (for a display plant, or a rooted Citrus cutting in a 1-gallon pot), I definitely screen the bark. But when I make large batches (for seasonal peppers for example), I just do a visual screening where I pick out the overly large pieces and the sapwood ("matchsticks"). In volume, I think the average of the particle sizes makes those few larger pieces less critical/influential on the overall drainage/aeration of the mix.

I've been using the Greenall MicroBark product for 12 years now, and the product has remained consistent, which is pretty amazing for a natural product.

Josh

Thanks Josh, I did the same for a larger batch (removed larges pieces and sapwood). Here is how my first batch of mix looks. It's not as dark as in your video since I used peat moss instead of the potting soil.

Unfortunately, I had to settle for Vigoro Perlite from HD, which is not coarse at all. I need to find a better source.

Looks pretty good, but the coarse perlite certainly makes a difference.

You might consider adding another part of perlite, so a 5-1-2, depending upon what and where you're growing.

Thanks. That Perlite looks great! I tried the local hydrophonic stores but they didn't have it. Any recommendations for ordering it online?

Ah I see that you responded in the other thread, thanks