I figured I'd start this thread to show these products to the community as well as get feedback from you folks on it's quality and suitability. And last but not least to say a huge Thanks to the GW forum at large and of course Al. :)
Here goes:
First a picture of most of the ingredients (Missing is the Espoma Garden Lime):

Next is the picture of what I used for Bark. It is Earthgro Groundcover Bark, and it smells amazingly good :). Sorry I forgot to include an object for reference :

Next is the Perlite. I was pretty happy to find this product from NorCal as all others seemed much much smaller/finer grained.

I used MiracleGrow Organic Soil mix (not the Container mix). The soil mix is finer and resembles peat moss more. Couldn't find any other organic brand.

And last is the finished mix. I did no screening or sifting. Just measured out 5 parts bark, 1.5 parts Perlite and 1 part garden soil. Once the mix was in the container I sprinkled the called for portion of Garden Lime on top.

Thanks again to all of you great folks on all the forums of GW.

Rudy

Great job getting the mix together. I think you'll be very pleased over the Summer....especially
down south where you're growing.

My only advice would be to incorporate the Lime throughout the media, although I don't think you'll
have problems necessarily. I just prefer to distribute the Lime evenly.

A good set of kabob skewers or chop-sticks to leave in the containers will be the best way to tell
if the mix needs to be watered.

Josh

Hi Karly. I can absolutely share, since this was the primary reason I posted. :) As it took me a while to find all the ingredients. I got the Bark at Home Depot it's $4 for 2 sf. I also got the garden soil there it's $7 for 1.5 sf. The Espoma Garden Lime was purchased there as well for $4. The Perlite I bought at Anawalt Lumber it was $17 for 2 cf. If memory serves me correctly Anawalt also carries Pumice, but I think they were out of stock on that. I also saw the Peat Moss there but it was Alaskan one and not the Canadian. I'm not sure what the difference is.
Lastly Home Depot carries 2 types of Perlite one from Miracle Grow in small packages like 8quarts for I think $4 and another one in a light green plastic bag that claims OMRI certification that's $16 for 2cf, however, both had far far smaller granules that the one I found at Anawalt.

Let me know if you have further questions.
HTH
Rudy

FWIW - if I had my druthers, I would have chosen either peat or a peat-based potting soil as a replacement for the 1 part peat in the 5:1:1 ratio. Not trying to be critical - just helpful. ;-)

Al

Josh

"For those in California you can get Perlite at OSH for about $11 for 2 cf. They have the Earthgro there also."

"Rudy - the lime serves both to raise pH and to act as a source of Ca & Mg. It acts somewhat 'locally' because of its insolubility, and for that reason is best when incorporated thoroughly throughout the root zone."

"FWIW - if I had my druthers, I would have chosen either peat or a peat-based potting soil as a replacement for the 1 part peat in the 5:1:1 ratio. Not trying to be critical - just helpful. ;-) "

"Thanks, Al!
Hey, Rudy, Al nailed it. I try to mix the Lime as thoroughly as possible....
I sort of dust and stir, dust and stir, until it looks as though the Lime has lightly
coated all the bark. "

The 'prilled lime you bought is actually the came lime Josh is using .... except: a slurry of pulverized lime and a binding agent is mixed with water and shot from tall 'prilling' towers. It forms small spheres on the way down and hardens. This is done to make the pulverized lime easier to broadcast in fertilizer spreaders, but it also makes it easier to incorporate in our soils. When the lime gets wet, the prills quickly break down into pulverized form, so the 'prills' are much more soluble than unpulverized limestone of the same size would be.

Al

Thanks,

Josh

I have a new questions that I've been wanting to ask for a while and haven't seen it covered yet in this forum. Maybe, I didn't look right. In any case, I live about 3 miles form the beach and theoretically I could go there in the morning and gather up the Kelp that washes up on shore. What do you guys think about its use in the containers? And if it is advisable in what form? As in cut up in pieces? Used as tea? Pulverized with water and added as a mush?

I appreciate the photos, worth a million words! Now if anybody can point out where to obtain the ingredients for the gritty mix (I like it more due to it lasting longer before I have to repot).

Thanks to Rudy, I purchased all my ingredients at Home Depot last night. I want to know how much of the Lime mixture to add. Somewhere I read 1/2 cup dolomite lime per 15 gallons. Is that correct

Rudy

The kelp will best serve in the yard or raised beds, but not so much in the containers.
The fine particles/mush will impede drainage and aeration, which is what you've carefully
built into your container mixes. Composted kelp would be excellent for in-ground gardening.
You might want to rinse the kelp, though - I'm not sure what the actual salt content is.

Lastly, I'm in Northern California ;-)

Josh

Hey, Rudy! A joyous Passover to you, sir!

The kelp will best serve in the yard or raised beds, but not so much in the containers.
The fine particles/mush will impede drainage and aeration, which is what you've carefully
built into your container mixes. Composted kelp would be excellent for in-ground gardening.
You might want to rinse the kelp, though - I'm not sure what the actual salt content is.

Lastly, I'm in Northern California ;-)

Thanks.
Rudy