I am also going to try a coarse perlit/peat mix.
75% extra-coarse perlite
25% peat

But I know the 5-1-1 is more economical and drains the same.

If the bark has a lot of particles over 1/2 inch, yes you'll want to remove those.

Josh

I don't understand what you are saying, sorry.

I live in the northeast myself and very HD, Lowes's and or Walmart and that I have been to has tons of pine bark, called mulch in my area.

I would take another ride back since I am not sure if you really know what you are looking for. I think Al has posted countless of pictures of the mulch you need at several threads.

In fact I see these piles of pine bark all over parking lots ready to decorate businesses garden beds and on peoples driveways.

They and the common people get piles by the yard full at every garden center I can think of.

Mike

Some industries to consider when looking for fir bark in the sizes we need are orchid growers, bonsai growers, reptile bedding, soil conditioners, certain mulches, and possibly even in the semi-hydroponic area of growing. You never know where the various ingredients will be found.

Locating the proper sized ingredients for the 511 and Gritty Mix can be quite the treasure hunt, and it can take a while to find the best sources. It took me a long time to come up with the ingredients I currently use, which are the small bags of ZooMed ReptiBark, Manna Pro granite chips, a coarse perlite, and turface.

A lot of commercial orchid growers offer bark in different grades. If you can get it in bulk quantities, the fine grade is usually nice, once screened.

Mike has some good suggestions for your area... and yes, it will probably be necessary to screen your ingredients to remove the too tiny, and/or the too large pieces.

The most important part of using a more durable, open medium is being familiar with the concept of each mix, and knowing what qualities each ingredient brings to the mix. This makes it easier to know when you're looking at a product that you can use, and it makes it easier to know what ratios to use if you need to tweak a mix for a certain plant type. Knowing the "how" and "why" of these mediums will get you pretty far!

There's a thread on the first page of the forum that deals with locating the various items we use... you may find store names and locations in your area by perusing the thread.

meyermike_1micha I think I may have found some at lowes so I will go check. maybe i just thought it could not work I would like to fine a bag that said "pine bark fines".

Thanks everyone.

Strange that products are so different in different areas.

I live in the northeast myself and very HD, Lowes's and or Walmart and that I have been to has tons of pine bark, called mulch in my area.

I would take another ride back since I am not sure if you really know what you are looking for. I think Al has posted countless of pictures of the mulch you need at several threads.

In fact I see these piles of pine bark all over parking lots ready to decorate businesses garden beds and on peoples driveways.

They and the common people get piles by the yard full at every garden center I can think of.

Mike"

I just looked every place....nothing unless I want to buy .25 cu ft of "orchid bark" for $7. I cant find mulch with out dye. Everything I se is MULTCH GRADE im not using that as a medium lol.

Anyone have a good mix for it?
Use it alone? Soak in fertilizer water then drain then plant? Or should I mix some perlite. Also I am used to reg peat should I add lime to this to get a 6.0 ph?

Anything would help.

It would be worth looking for similar type yards in other cities for the correct product, always cheaper than the bagged varieties. This is where landscapers go to buy soils, mulches, and compost.

http://www.foothillsoils.com/Products_Page.html

For my own uses, I don't need a dump truck sized load of fir bark. I only require enough to work with medium for my indoor plants. And since I don't usually re-pot everything all at once, I only need small amounts of fir bark, turface, and other items at a time.

For small amounts of medium, you just can't beat the small bags of ZooMed's ReptiBark reptile bedding. It's 100% natural fir bark, pre-screened so there's no work involved, and I find the small bags contain the perfect sized product, usable right out of the bag. To me, that's worth the price attached, which would seem high compared to some of what's available as bagged soils. I think I pay about $5, or thereabout.

It's come to my attention that the larger bags contain a larger product, though they aren't labeled as such. So, it's probably best to stick with the small bags where Gritty Mix is concerned.

Since the mediums we're talking about are more durable and last a lot longer than bagged peat based soils, the initial cost that might seem higher at the time, will not end up being higher in the long run. It will cost less because you'll be able to use the medium for twice, and sometimes three times longer! And, by the way... bagged soils aren't that cheap any longer... unless you're talking about generic garbage.

The search for fir bark and the other ingredients needed for the 511 or Gritty Mix can take a bit of time and take you into areas or industries you hadn't thought of... the different ingredients can be difficult to locate in some areas... but it's worth the effort to find the items needed. Don't give up the search so easily... someone somewhere is bound to carry the exact item you're looking for... it just may be off the beaten path a bit, so to speak.

Master:

You said you live in the Northeast? Where abouts so that soemone may be able to direct you to a local.

Also, there are Agway and grian stores everywhere that sell pine bark mulch like crazy. Maybe if you do a search of 'Agway' in the store locator section, you might find one closer than you think.
They are all over the northeast.
Everything they sell is very much the same, and I know they have the stuff you are looking for.

Mike

Thank you. I will look into that for sure. I just mixed my long fiber peat,perlite,fine peat, and a bit of lime. I used about 6 part long fiber,1part peat,and 1part perlite and 3 tbl sp of lime I got a good 7 gal of mix. Does that sound right?more lime?

Again thanks for the info. I need to find a cheap source of pine bark so I will check around some more. I am expanding my garden so I want to find the bark.

If anyone has info about long fiber peat please let me know. Can I reuse it for a while? Should I have mixed perlite and fine peat? I plnted one plant in a 100% long fiber peat but I know it will need extra attention with watering/feeding now. I soaked with fertilizer so it now has food for the plants.

Any other hints?

It was $51 for the yard (27 cu. ft.) at Wolfinbarger and about 20-25% of the batch was made up of really nice 3/8" bark that looks perfect for the mix. All the other grades of the bark in the batch were too big, such as the sapwood and other long spears of bark.

Here's a picture to show what the batch I bought is composed of:

A) This is just a small handful from the yard to show it whole.
B) These are the long pieces of bark and sapwood.
C) The 3/8" bark that I think is ideal, but I may have to offset it with 1/4" bark.
D) Bark dust.