Thanks very much for this video. You saved my Washingtonia Robusta from dying as it needed extra drainage in this cool & wet Irish climate. It is now thriving in this mix!
you are a life saver,I am pretty new to gardening,I always love to do potting gardening,but it always seams to be pretty expensive for a bag of potting soil,your article is just in time for me to try more veggies gardening,you are so far the most experience in easy gardening,I grateful to find your site,thank you so much for all the tips
So interesting as I just started using a similar recipe to save $ on potting soil. I mix large amounts in my wheelbarrow and store it in a garbage can to use as needed. I also add some bone meal, rock dust (azomite) and worm casting for extra nutrients. I saw someone explain that bark will add nitrogen to the soil as it breaks done as opposed to regular wood chips that can take nitrogen out of the soil (at least early on). That is why I think the pine bark is recommended for the potting soil mixes. I also mulched my raised beds with pine bark and have had the best garden so far (lots of rain hasn't hurt either). My recipe is 3 parts bark, 3 parts peat and 1 part compost with 1-2 cups worm castings, azomite and bone meal and lime, I just tested in small pot until the water ran through without pooling and stopped at that. I use for mostly smaller pots than you do so I may increase bark if I use for large pots.
A couple of important things you didn't mention. The lime used should be dolomite lime with minor elements. This is important. I usually mix my lime and pine barks then moisten and allow the lime and water to soak into the wood overnight. The bark bits will continue soaking water for days and this helps getting that process started before using the mix. My better success came from mixing pine bark 'mulch' combined with 'ground cover' bark pieces. The real benefit of 511 type mixes is the particle size helps prevent perched water table inside the container which is what causes so many root rot scenarios. I too normally add a little more compost or peat than the 20% ratio... I also add Osmocote Plus into my mixes. I've used the mix for garden veggies, tropical house plants and dwarf citrus trees kept in containers. It really is economically a good choice for a lot of trees kept in containers.
I’ve used this on many plants from large citrus trees to cuttings in 4 inch pots. I’ve also used the more expensive Reptibark recommended online as well as the much cheaper pine bark like you use. I’ve also experimented with sifting vs. not sifting. As I’ve observed like you, I’m not sure that sifting is worth the effort, and the Reptibark, while more uniform and free of wood chips, doesn’t seem to confer that much advantage. When I make it, I make a large quantity at a time, add lime and alfalfa pellets, moisten it, and allow it to “cure” for a few weeks, keeping it moist and turning it from time to time. The lime needs a while to react with the growing medium and the alfalfa decomposes and in theory begins to compost the little pieces of wood.
Nice tips, thanks Ross. Al on Tomatoville specifically recommends this mix for self-watering containers and wick systems. Have you tried a sub-irrigated planter like that?
One thing you can do to keep from using too much water is to have a bucket or buckets or some type of large container to keep water in and set the plants in the water for a short period and then let the water drain back into the container, make sure you have lids or something to cover your watering containers to keep mosquitoes from breeding in them. Thanks man, I just stumbled onto the mix looking for a very well draining mix that used wood chips
I repurpose plastic covers from any pie, cakes etc and place crushed rocks than place the pot on top. Water drains into it and does it's trick. I also add dawn liquid dish soap (couple drops) into the plastic water "catcher" to deal with larvae--they die.
You can adjust for water retention by adding additional peat moss or pine bark fines, which would increase the intervals between waterings -if thats really what you want. If you or anyone else has a bad result with this it could be that you didn't have a steady supply of npk.
I know about this potting mix and have used it for my 180 potted hostas. It works really well, but like you mentioned, you have to keep your eye on the moisture level.
Very interesting regarding the non-nitrogen issue. Are you fertilizing heavily? It just seem all the material used is "inert" in the sense that the only item that can contribute any nutrition is the wood chips but it's too slow in breaking down for the plants immediate need. Thanks.
Harold Wong That's a great point that I forgot to cover. Since this is an inert medium, you would need to add a liquid fertilizer very regularly. Organic options: Compost tea, Fish/Seaweed, Blood meal. Synthetic - depending on the plants needs. I will probably add an annotation regarding this, thanks again.
+California Gardening If I were you I would either put a disclaimer on screen explaining that or take down the video. This is very misleading without the confession you just made on your comment here. Best Regards.
I was always concerned that decorative mulches were "treated" but this product appears not to be...good, cheaper source as a potting soil ingredient. Thanks for showing us options.
***** Thanks for sharing your tips, I will try out 50% peat and 50% perlite mix. I usually also make 30% peat,30% compost and 30% perlite and 10% worm castings or manure. What do you think about that?
Forgot to mention one more thing, that could be useful in connection with tree stump and wood chips combination - it is using air pruning pot -pot with holes all around the container (bottom and sides). Laundry basket lined in landscape fabric might work.
Thank you, that is useful. Yes, maybe high porosity mix and air pruning containers are not a good mix. But if we would use rotting tree piece to contain/slowly release water it might work better. I will look at your other videos to see, what do you use for the fertilizer as this mix doesn't seem to have much nutrition in itself.
Nice video thanks for sharing your knowledge and I use bark in my potting mix especially for fig trees and citrus trees and found it really useful, never had any issues with nutrient deficiency .:) Vinny
Where do I find the pine park? I've been searching the web, Home Depot, Lowe's and nearby plant sheds and can not seem to find anywhere. I would also like to know what type of pine bark fines should I use for the 5-1-1 mix, should I use the one that looks pretty much shredded (mulch), or what? Thanks for the help.
as soon as my tomatoes, calamansi, okra, strawberries, lemons and chili plants grew 10 inches i'll move them to this type of potting mix. i'm only on my 2nd week trying my hand on planting...hope some, if not all, survive :)
+Cielo Armero Nice to know. Just make sure you are adding a liquid fertilizer every 1-2 weeks as most of the ingredients in this potting mix are inert. You need to have either slow release fertilizer mixed in or a liquid fertilizer. Good luck!
woodchips or bark cause Nitrogen depletion. Why do you mix bark? Bark is different from woodchips for Nitrogen depletion? Sand is heavier than perlite, but sand and gravel will work same function?
Your video does not define the amount of Garden Lime required. If your mix is 5 cups Bark, 2 cups Peat, and one cup Perlite, what quantity of Lime is required?
If it will "burn the roots" as you say, then why have his plants thrived. Not just thrived, mind you, but he said (and showed) the plants thriving VERY well.
If it will "burn the roots" as you say, then why have his plants thrived. Calif Gardner not only said his plants did well, but also showed us in the vid his plants thrived VERY well. So obviously "root burning" did not occur.
Hi There. Can the "peat moss" be substituted with "coconut coir"? I'm in Perth Australia very similar growing conditions to you but I have difficulty getting peat mos.Regards Malcolm
I'm going to try this on my mango. I have lost a couple mango trees, sugar apple, avocadoes, and angel trumpet because during winter the commercial potting mixes stay too wet. This would be perfect for tropical trees!
+Tyler Giunta Yes, this is a great mix for trees. I am currently growing my pink guava tree in this mix and my banana tree also grew very well int his mix. Good luck!
I've gone to using about 9L peat coir 15L regular potting mix (I guess the ratio is rehydrated 2:3) rather than just potting mix - I'm hoping this makes for a more airy mix that holds water better. Vermiculite/perlite are not used much in mixes in Australia. I'm hoping the coir in my self watering pots (with reservoir at the bottom) helps it wick the water up, previously the water tended to just sit and evaporate out of the bottom. It's surprising there is enough nutrition in just pine bark for growth. My blueberry mix was about 50% pine bark for acidity (obviously no lime added!).
When you said ppl have nitrogen problems it's because they use fresh wood chips, which forces the bacteria to take nitrogen from the soil in order break down the carbs in the wood, that's why when people compost they use leaves to add some N for the bacteria. The wood chips you used had been pre - treated so ppl won't have that problem.
@@CaliforniaGardening If you use 511 mix on houseplants and need to travel for a week, can you use a wick to help with moisture? What can someone do while they are away and don't have someone to come and water?
Just grow more then one or your corn will have no kernels/ seeds. I usually apply the pollin myself if it isn't windy and I have them under insect screen. The neighbors attract a lot of pests. thinking of buying some nurse plants to house the beneficial insects so I can do away with the net.
Just grow more then one or your corn will have no kernels/ seeds. I usually apply the pollin myself if it isn't windy and I have them under insect screen. The neighbors attract a lot of pests. thinking of buying some nurse plants to house the beneficial insects so I can do away with the net.
after going to Lowe's to get the garden lime, i went home to look for the bark online and.. it looks like it's been discontinued at homedepot D: What can i substitute it with?
What do you think of Mel's mix (1/3 vermiculite 1/3 peat moss 1/3 compost) from square foot gardening? It's supposed to be well draining but also keep moisture. Also I have a container tomato plant. I noticed there are 3 main trunks coming up from the soil but I didn't catch it in time. Should I remove two of the big stems or leave it at this point?
Potato Strong I used a lot of that mix (not knowing it was Mel's mix!) and it does make a great basic potting mix. Regarding your tomato plants, I would just leave them as is now. Pruning suckers must be done when they are very small. Best to leave it alone when it grows big. Hope that helps!
with tomatoes, the deeper you bury them the better root system you will get (unlike most other plants) I usually wait for the tomato to get at least a little over a foot tall, remove all but the top leaves and bury almost all of it (wait a day for the plant to recover), this was an experiment I did for a principals of horticulture class.
+brazmoncey That's a great point, thanks for sharing. Please do provide your inputs, I am sure a lot of readers will benefit from your expertise in this area. Your feedback is much appreciated!
You need perlite or couple handful of playbox sand in the soil mix depending on the plant need. just the potting soil and coir can cause root rot in certain plants.
Has anyone used this for monstera deliciosa? And is it possible to use a peat based potting soil in place of regular peat for added nutrients (in my case the fox farm ocean forest mix)?
When I've made / used 5-1-1 in the past, it was much more coarse / draining than yours. I had problems initially due to too much wood mixed in the bark and either really low N or the wood breaking down causing root zone issues - not sure which. Once I got past that, it was awesome! Yes, water / feed every day, but, the plants are very happy. Using this mix, you need to think more along the lines of hydroponics than soil.
Tim Sheets Yes that is correct. I think it also depends on the kind of wood chips you use. Natural pine bark seems to do better than the commercially available "mulch". But yes, once the plants settle down, they seem to be very happy!
technically it is a hydroponic system, they call it the drain to waist system, and since it sounds like no soil but mostly organic material is used, it could be considered a soiless media.
Hm.. I wonder why the bark didn't create a nitrogen issue for you. Maybe bark is different from ordinary wood chips, or maybe the nitrogen issue because of wood chips is overrated.
@@CaliforniaGardening I agree, someone wants to profit from NPK. I was raised on a tropical island and we hardly grew anything on parts of our land, nature did it's growing. Bananas, mangoes, papayas, guavas, coconuts, citrus fruits all grew there. My dad would harvest and leave all the trees alone. Given the islands were formed from volcanoes and it does rain there no one fertilized those plants. My dad was strict permaculture guy (he was a weekend gardener). Flowers of many types also grew there. My mom threw all her kitchen scraps, egg shells etc in that area. The trees always looked more lush and the fruits tasted way better than the cultivated ones. I follow some of the same growing methods and have much success (zone 9) I grow house plants/trees/veggies/succulents/flowering bushes, etc. I do crush egg shells and feed many of my plants and I save & throw all my fish water (I eat wild caught Alaska fish few times a week) on the plants that will be happier with it. I have never used rooting hormones, commercial fertilizer, commercial potting soil...I do heavy mulching around my plants and I do my own composting.
brother... I see so many times professional planter when saw the seeds. he use some other fertilizers.. seeds will grow very faster. which fertilizers he use....
+Sandeep Sachdeva Actually you should not use fertilizers with seeds. When germinating seeds just use a nice fluffy soil. When the seedlings emerge, you can add fertilizer. Hope that helps!
@@Liimiinaa No, you use a liquid or granular fertilizer. Pine bark breaks down extremely slowly and that little bit of peat is not enough to feed anything.
5-1-1 is horrible compared to my easy mix. 50% peat with 50% perlite or sand. No more watering everyday and at the same time, no more over watering. Cheap and easy. You need peat, coarse perlite OR sand (if you want it to be heavy) and some sort of soil wetter for the peat (that should cost about 7 bucks or less but it is a MUST if you have peat). With this mix I can plant everything from avocados (yes even avocados which always get root rot on the other soils), pomegranates, citrus, etc etc. You name it and it'll work. Make sure you give it a nice dose of fertilizer since it does not have any nutrients. Water PH should be greater than 7 since peat is acidic. However, since our water here has a PH of 8.1, my peat measure a PH of 7 which is perfect.
it will work when citrus are in small-med pots, but when you put it in a large 15-20 gal the peat at the bottom hold water all day and will rot your roots. Going through this right now friend. Your mix is an excellent mix for seed starting and small plants. Not large
Please do not use peat moss as it is not a renewable resource. Coconut coir is equally effective and renewable. Your recipe should be redone with coconut coir.
Why do you use so much peat moss in your gardening. I m sure you can just use ordinary compost. Peat moss is non renewable source The peat bogs which are hundreds of years old are being destroyed by so called Gardner's who by buying peat moss support the destruction of these rear bogs. There are very few left. Please think k again before buying peat. Thank you
Peat bogs are bountiful and I doubt that back yard gardeners or greenhouses would ever put a dent in their availability...perpetuated bad information from "somewhere" but I've been to peat bogg's and their farmers and they are not concerned except about the bad information. That said, I prefer coco peat/coir...just don't understand why it's so expensive. It should be far less than peat...but then again, that in itself may put the peat farmers (and they are farmers) out of business, which I guess we can't do either.
Why is peat non renewable? Humans have harvested peat for thousands of years. Every summer organic material is deposited on the top of a peat bog. How is this not renewable? It is the definition of renewable. If peat isn't harvested, a drought year will come along, a forest or grass fire will ignite the peat, and it will all burn up. What a waste. Why would I buy a product that costs a fortune and has to be shipped across the ocean? Peat is abundant in my State. I'll continue to use local products.
Thanks very much for this video. You saved my Washingtonia Robusta from dying as it needed extra drainage in this cool & wet Irish climate. It is now thriving in this mix!
Thanks for sharing, after many dead citrus plants this mix has been nothing short of amazing for all my citrus trees.
How has this worked for your citrus trees?
you are a life saver,I am pretty new to gardening,I always love to do potting gardening,but it always seams to be pretty expensive for a bag of potting soil,your article is just in time for me to try more veggies gardening,you are so far the most experience in easy gardening,I grateful to find your site,thank you so much for all the tips
Ha Dao Thank you, nice to know you like the videos! Happy Gardening!
So interesting as I just started using a similar recipe to save $ on potting soil. I mix large amounts in my wheelbarrow and store it in a garbage can to use as needed. I also add some bone meal, rock dust (azomite) and worm casting for extra nutrients. I saw someone explain that bark will add nitrogen to the soil as it breaks done as opposed to regular wood chips that can take nitrogen out of the soil (at least early on). That is why I think the pine bark is recommended for the potting soil mixes. I also mulched my raised beds with pine bark and have had the best garden so far (lots of rain hasn't hurt either). My recipe is 3 parts bark, 3 parts peat and 1 part compost with 1-2 cups worm castings, azomite and bone meal and lime, I just tested in small pot until the water ran through without pooling and stopped at that. I use for mostly smaller pots than you do so I may increase bark if I use for large pots.
Brenda Collins Your recipe looks fantastic! Yes the larger pots would benefit from the additional bark. Happy Gardening!
A couple of important things you didn't mention. The lime used should be dolomite lime with minor elements. This is important. I usually mix my lime and pine barks then moisten and allow the lime and water to soak into the wood overnight. The bark bits will continue soaking water for days and this helps getting that process started before using the mix. My better success came from mixing pine bark 'mulch' combined with 'ground cover' bark pieces. The real benefit of 511 type mixes is the particle size helps prevent perched water table inside the container which is what causes so many root rot scenarios. I too normally add a little more compost or peat than the 20% ratio... I also add Osmocote Plus into my mixes. I've used the mix for garden veggies, tropical house plants and dwarf citrus trees kept in containers. It really is economically a good choice for a lot of trees kept in containers.
+Joe Cwik Those are some great tips, thanks for sharing!
I’ve used this on many plants from large citrus trees to cuttings in 4 inch pots. I’ve also used the more expensive Reptibark recommended online as well as the much cheaper pine bark like you use. I’ve also experimented with sifting vs. not sifting. As I’ve observed like you, I’m not sure that sifting is worth the effort, and the Reptibark, while more uniform and free of wood chips, doesn’t seem to confer that much advantage. When I make it, I make a large quantity at a time, add lime and alfalfa pellets, moisten it, and allow it to “cure” for a few weeks, keeping it moist and turning it from time to time. The lime needs a while to react with the growing medium and the alfalfa decomposes and in theory begins to compost the little pieces of wood.
Nice tips, thanks Ross. Al on Tomatoville specifically recommends this mix for self-watering containers and wick systems. Have you tried a sub-irrigated planter like that?
One thing you can do to keep from using too much water is to have a bucket or buckets or some type of large container to keep water in and set the plants in the water for a short period and then let the water drain back into the container, make sure you have lids or something to cover your watering containers to keep mosquitoes from breeding in them. Thanks man, I just stumbled onto the mix looking for a very well draining mix that used wood chips
Thanks for the tip! Happy Gardening!
I repurpose plastic covers from any pie, cakes etc and place crushed rocks than place the pot on top. Water drains into it and does it's trick. I also add dawn liquid dish soap (couple drops) into the plastic water "catcher" to deal with larvae--they die.
You can adjust for water retention by adding additional peat moss or pine bark fines, which would increase the intervals between waterings -if thats really what you want. If you or anyone else has a bad result with this it could be that you didn't have a steady supply of npk.
I know about this potting mix and have used it for my 180 potted hostas. It works really well, but like you mentioned, you have to keep your eye on the moisture level.
Paula Beattie Also, I only add alfalfa and some bone meal at the beginning of the season.
Paula Beattie That is nice to know!
Да ..главное не лениться.. и всё получится...
Very interesting regarding the non-nitrogen issue. Are you fertilizing heavily? It just seem all the material used is "inert" in the sense that the only item that can contribute any nutrition is the wood chips but it's too slow in breaking down for the plants immediate need. Thanks.
Harold Wong That's a great point that I forgot to cover. Since this is an inert medium, you would need to add a liquid fertilizer very regularly. Organic options: Compost tea, Fish/Seaweed, Blood meal. Synthetic - depending on the plants needs. I will probably add an annotation regarding this, thanks again.
+California Gardening If I were you I would either put a disclaimer on screen explaining that or take down the video. This is very misleading without the confession you just made on your comment here.
Best Regards.
+KALSINFILMS OK, I'll add a note in the video describing that. Thanks for the feedback!
I was always concerned that decorative mulches were "treated" but this product appears not to be...good, cheaper source as a potting soil ingredient. Thanks for showing us options.
CM Nakagawa Yes this one is not treated, works great as well for this potting mix!
Do you still use and recommended this mix ?
***** Thanks for sharing your tips, I will try out 50% peat and 50% perlite mix. I usually also make 30% peat,30% compost and 30% perlite and 10% worm castings or manure. What do you think about that?
Forgot to mention one more thing, that could be useful in connection with tree stump and wood chips combination - it is using air pruning pot -pot with holes all around the container (bottom and sides). Laundry basket lined in landscape fabric might work.
I tried air pruning and grow bags and concluded that it takes a lot of water to maintain them. See this: ua-cam.com/video/Aw1SOh65btE/v-deo.html
Thank you, that is useful. Yes, maybe high porosity mix and air pruning containers are not a good mix. But if we would use rotting tree piece to contain/slowly release water it might work better.
I will look at your other videos to see, what do you use for the fertilizer as this mix doesn't seem to have much nutrition in itself.
This looking incredible. I will try this. I love experimenting.
Nice video thanks for sharing your knowledge and I use bark in my potting mix especially for fig trees and citrus trees and found it really useful, never had any issues with nutrient deficiency .:) Vinny
Fruits For Life Thank you. Nice to know you are using bark for your fig and citrus trees!
Pine bark fines are better. I did a ph test on the peat moss I got from home depot and it was alkaline. Perhaps the lime is not needed?
Peat moss has low PH. Some lime is needed. Did you use distilled water and mix the peat to test ph? if not, it will be off. Peat cannot be alkaline.
@@CaliforniaGardening I should have been more specific, I believe I was using sphagnum peat moss.
Most peat bags that I've bought come with their ph pre-adjusted from the manufacturer. So, yes! No lime needed.
Where do I find the pine park? I've been searching the web, Home Depot, Lowe's and nearby plant sheds and can not seem to find anywhere. I would also like to know what type of pine bark fines should I use for the 5-1-1 mix, should I use the one that looks pretty much shredded (mulch), or what? Thanks for the help.
+Monita Johnson This one at Home Depot: www.homedepot.com/p/Earthgro-2-cu-ft-Groundcover-Bark-88352185/100355687
as soon as my tomatoes, calamansi, okra, strawberries, lemons and chili plants grew 10 inches i'll move them to this type of potting mix. i'm only on my 2nd week trying my hand on planting...hope some, if not all, survive :)
+Cielo Armero Nice to know. Just make sure you are adding a liquid fertilizer every 1-2 weeks as most of the ingredients in this potting mix are inert. You need to have either slow release fertilizer mixed in or a liquid fertilizer. Good luck!
I was wondering if I can use this mix for my fig trees? Or do you have a good mix for fig trees?
Can we substitute coco peat instead of peat moss and omit lime ?
Cant bottom watering,make it lower maintenance?
Do I need to add garden lime if I am using coco peat
woodchips or bark cause Nitrogen depletion. Why do you mix bark? Bark is different from woodchips for Nitrogen depletion? Sand is heavier than perlite, but sand and gravel will work same function?
Woodchips cause Nitrogen depletion only if they are fresh and if you physically incorporated large amounts into the soil. Don't know about bark.
Is the EarthGro pine bark pieces too big for regular in-house plants?
Your video does not define the amount of Garden Lime required. If your mix is 5 cups Bark, 2 cups Peat, and one cup Perlite, what quantity of Lime is required?
The general consensus is: 1 tablespoon of lime per gallon of mix
I thought the bark holds water so that would make it so that you wouldnt have to water as often?
I have called the manufacturer of the groundcover bark and they said its decorative bark and not composted, it will burn roots.
If it will "burn the roots" as you say, then why have his plants thrived. Not just thrived, mind you, but he said (and showed) the plants thriving VERY well.
If it will "burn the roots" as you say, then why have his plants thrived. Calif Gardner not only said his plants did well, but also showed us in the vid his plants thrived VERY well. So obviously "root burning" did not occur.
Hi There. Can the "peat moss" be substituted with "coconut coir"? I'm in Perth Australia very similar growing conditions to you but I have difficulty getting peat mos.Regards Malcolm
+malcolmsplace Absolutely! I made a video on how to use coco coir as well as a replacement for peat moss: ua-cam.com/video/crFjC1Z8IUU/v-deo.html
Can I use natural mulch instead of bark.
Wonderful video ! thank you for this moment....have a nice day
Sebastian Vestae Thank you, nice to know you liked it!
Thanks for the great information.
Gardening With Puppies Thank you for watching!
Thanks for shareing,keep the vids coming☺
Chris Martinez Thank you!
Can this mix be use on peach/plum and apple tree? Thanks in advance
Happy gardening 🌱 Keep plowing
Will this work for mango trees (in pot)?
I'm going to try this on my mango. I have lost a couple mango trees, sugar apple, avocadoes, and angel trumpet because during winter the commercial potting mixes stay too wet. This would be perfect for tropical trees!
Is it true I have to wait two weeks after making the mix to pot it because of the ph in peat moss.
No, you dont need to. Add some garden lime (amzn.to/2xShZC6) to neutralize the acidic effects.
Could I use coarse sand instead of perlite?
I have used and still so use playbox sand
I also place gravel/crushed rocks at the bottom of my pots before adding soil mix to pot. My plants get wild growth and are happy
Hi wat potting mix do you use for curry leaf in pots?
I need to transplant my tropical fruit trees into bigger pots. would you recommend this mix for a guava, passion fruit, and my lemon?
+Tyler Giunta Yes, this is a great mix for trees. I am currently growing my pink guava tree in this mix and my banana tree also grew very well int his mix. Good luck!
Is the 1 part peat before or after hydration?
Darkfalz79 Its before. I actually use 2 parts peat for additional moisture retention, otherwise you have to water way too frequently.
I've gone to using about 9L peat coir 15L regular potting mix (I guess the ratio is rehydrated 2:3) rather than just potting mix - I'm hoping this makes for a more airy mix that holds water better. Vermiculite/perlite are not used much in mixes in Australia. I'm hoping the coir in my self watering pots (with reservoir at the bottom) helps it wick the water up, previously the water tended to just sit and evaporate out of the bottom. It's surprising there is enough nutrition in just pine bark for growth. My blueberry mix was about 50% pine bark for acidity (obviously no lime added!).
When you said ppl have nitrogen problems it's because they use fresh wood chips, which forces the bacteria to take nitrogen from the soil in order break down the carbs in the wood, that's why when people compost they use leaves to add some N for the bacteria. The wood chips you used had been pre - treated so ppl won't have that problem.
+brazmoncey Good point! Thanks for sharing.
excellent video! thank you
Jaron Pope Thank you!
I was wondering, can I use the 5-1-1 mix for my peace lilies, heart leaf philodendrons, and pothos house plants as well?
+Monita Johnson Yes you can. With the 5-1-1 mix though you have to water every 1-2 days to make sure the soil doesnt dry out. Good luck!
Hi can I use 5-1-1 mix for all vegetable plants in garden bed and pots?
@@CaliforniaGardening If you use 511 mix on houseplants and need to travel for a week, can you use a wick to help with moisture? What can someone do while they are away and don't have someone to come and water?
and I would certainly try growing sweet corns just like on your other video
+Cielo Armero Sounds good, best wishes!
Just grow more then one or your corn will have no kernels/ seeds. I usually apply the pollin myself if it isn't windy and I have them under insect screen. The neighbors attract a lot of pests. thinking of buying some nurse plants to house the beneficial insects so I can do away with the net.
Just grow more then one or your corn will have no kernels/ seeds. I usually apply the pollin myself if it isn't windy and I have them under insect screen. The neighbors attract a lot of pests. thinking of buying some nurse plants to house the beneficial insects so I can do away with the net.
So this is mixed by volume and not weight?
All potting mix ratios are measured by volume.
do you think this mix will work well for lavender in containers?
How I wish I knew all my lavenders die I have spent a good amount of cash to buy those but all died
after going to Lowe's to get the garden lime, i went home to look for the bark online and.. it looks like it's been discontinued at homedepot D: What can i substitute it with?
Repti bark from pet stores, orchid bark, or any pine, fir, or spruce bark mulch.
What do you think of Mel's mix (1/3 vermiculite 1/3 peat moss 1/3 compost) from square foot gardening? It's supposed to be well draining but also keep moisture. Also I have a container tomato plant. I noticed there are 3 main trunks coming up from the soil but I didn't catch it in time. Should I remove two of the big stems or leave it at this point?
Potato Strong I used a lot of that mix (not knowing it was Mel's mix!) and it does make a great basic potting mix. Regarding your tomato plants, I would just leave them as is now. Pruning suckers must be done when they are very small. Best to leave it alone when it grows big. Hope that helps!
with tomatoes, the deeper you bury them the better root system you will get (unlike most other plants) I usually wait for the tomato to get at least a little over a foot tall, remove all but the top leaves and bury almost all of it (wait a day for the plant to recover), this was an experiment I did for a principals of horticulture class.
+brazmoncey That's a great point, thanks for sharing. Please do provide your inputs, I am sure a lot of readers will benefit from your expertise in this area. Your feedback is much appreciated!
Why using lime soil?
Thanks CG
Can we re-use the 5-1-1 mixed? :)
It's only good for about 2 years
You could reuse the perlite in it. All the organic matter would be depleted
Re-Use it to infinity! But you must add up for the decomposed peat/bark.
What is there in bark ?
Iam beginner for garden can I used coco coir and potting soil? Which brand potting soil?
You need perlite or couple handful of playbox sand in the soil mix depending on the plant need. just the potting soil and coir can cause root rot in certain plants.
is mulch bark??
Bark can be used as mulch
+California Gardening (Organic, Easy Garden Tips) so if the mulch is bark can i use the mulch as the bark for this
+California Gardening (Organic, Easy Garden Tips) so if the mulch is bark can i use the mulch as the bark for this
I sow rose few days back some leafs are come out but leafs did not looks like rose plant
Has anyone used this for monstera deliciosa? And is it possible to use a peat based potting soil in place of regular peat for added nutrients (in my case the fox farm ocean forest mix)?
did you end up trying this method? i am soon getting a monstera deliciosa and am considering using this method if it worked out for you :)
Wr is soil ?
When I've made / used 5-1-1 in the past, it was much more coarse / draining than yours. I had problems initially due to too much wood mixed in the bark and either really low N or the wood breaking down causing root zone issues - not sure which. Once I got past that, it was awesome! Yes, water / feed every day, but, the plants are very happy. Using this mix, you need to think more along the lines of hydroponics than soil.
Tim Sheets Yes that is correct. I think it also depends on the kind of wood chips you use. Natural pine bark seems to do better than the commercially available "mulch". But yes, once the plants settle down, they seem to be very happy!
technically it is a hydroponic system, they call it the drain to waist system, and since it sounds like no soil but mostly organic material is used, it could be considered a soiless media.
How many plants your are growing in 5 gallon bucket?
If the plant is potted I keep one only and allow to make it into a nice bush or two
Hm.. I wonder why the bark didn't create a nitrogen issue for you.
Maybe bark is different from ordinary wood chips, or maybe the nitrogen issue because of wood chips is overrated.
Mickey Mouse I think the nitrogen issue because of wood chips is overrated.
@@CaliforniaGardening I agree, someone wants to profit from NPK. I was raised on a tropical island and we hardly grew anything on parts of our land, nature did it's growing. Bananas, mangoes, papayas, guavas, coconuts, citrus fruits all grew there. My dad would harvest and leave all the trees alone. Given the islands were formed from volcanoes and it does rain there no one fertilized those plants. My dad was strict permaculture guy (he was a weekend gardener). Flowers of many types also grew there. My mom threw all her kitchen scraps, egg shells etc in that area. The trees always looked more lush and the fruits tasted way better than the cultivated ones. I follow some of the same growing methods and have much success (zone 9) I grow house plants/trees/veggies/succulents/flowering bushes, etc. I do crush egg shells and feed many of my plants and I save & throw all my fish water (I eat wild caught Alaska fish few times a week) on the plants that will be happier with it. I have never used rooting hormones, commercial fertilizer, commercial potting soil...I do heavy mulching around my plants and I do my own composting.
I want to sow rose. with rose seeds.... but I don't know how...
brother... I see so many times professional planter when saw the seeds. he use some other fertilizers.. seeds will grow very faster. which fertilizers he use....
+Sandeep Sachdeva Actually you should not use fertilizers with seeds. When germinating seeds just use a nice fluffy soil. When the seedlings emerge, you can add fertilizer. Hope that helps!
+California Gardening people sometimes scarify, pre-soak, or use a kelp mix to speed up the germination process, but don't use any NPK like you said.
+brazmoncey Thanks for sharing!
good infarmation
MAMIDI RAMDAS Thanks, nice to know you liked it. Keep growing!!
hello brother... I am in tension
5-1-1 really.....how, and were is the N-P-K to feed the plants ? fack......?
Bobby O It’s produced as the bark breaks down
@@Liimiinaa No, you use a liquid or granular fertilizer. Pine bark breaks down extremely slowly and that little bit of peat is not enough to feed anything.
5-1-1 is horrible compared to my easy mix. 50% peat with 50% perlite or sand. No more watering everyday and at the same time, no more over watering. Cheap and easy.
You need peat, coarse perlite OR sand (if you want it to be heavy) and some sort of soil wetter for the peat (that should cost about 7 bucks or less but it is a MUST if you have peat). With this mix I can plant everything from avocados (yes even avocados which always get root rot on the other soils), pomegranates, citrus, etc etc. You name it and it'll work.
Make sure you give it a nice dose of fertilizer since it does not have any nutrients. Water PH should be greater than 7 since peat is acidic. However, since our water here has a PH of 8.1, my peat measure a PH of 7 which is perfect.
Etc. you say? How about growing some orchids in your mix. Muahahaha (twirls mustache) Muahahaha! (he laughs evily).
+brazmoncey Very true! orchids love this mix!
brazmoncey
Almost everything, except orchids :).
it will work when citrus are in small-med pots, but when you put it in a large 15-20 gal the peat at the bottom hold water all day and will rot your roots. Going through this right now friend. Your mix is an excellent mix for seed starting and small plants. Not large
50%/50% peat and sand is a recipe for disaster. Ask me how I know.
Please do not use peat moss as it is not a renewable resource. Coconut coir is equally effective and renewable. Your recipe should be redone with coconut coir.
five, wan, wan mix.
Don't use peat moss just use coco coir its better.
Why do you use so much peat moss in your gardening. I m sure you can just use ordinary compost. Peat moss is non renewable source The peat bogs which are hundreds of years old are being destroyed by so called Gardner's who by buying peat moss support the destruction of these rear bogs. There are very few left. Please think k again before buying peat. Thank you
Vin S You are right. Peat moss can be substituted with coconut coir which is a renewable resource.
Peat bogs are bountiful and I doubt that back yard gardeners or greenhouses would ever put a dent in their availability...perpetuated bad information from "somewhere" but I've been to peat bogg's and their farmers and they are not concerned except about the bad information. That said, I prefer coco peat/coir...just don't understand why it's so expensive. It should be far less than peat...but then again, that in itself may put the peat farmers (and they are farmers) out of business, which I guess we can't do either.
Why is peat non renewable? Humans have harvested peat for thousands of years. Every summer organic material is deposited on the top of a peat bog. How is this not renewable? It is the definition of renewable. If peat isn't harvested, a drought year will come along, a forest or grass fire will ignite the peat, and it will all burn up. What a waste. Why would I buy a product that costs a fortune and has to be shipped across the ocean? Peat is abundant in my State. I'll continue to use local products.
@@tvanbrown Obviously it's all about profiteering by coconut coir producers/pushers. I use both products but peat moss in my go to.
can we usr coco peat instead peat moss?
Yes you can
Could this be good for growing citrus?
Yes it is! Remember though its very fast draining and you will need to water every day on hot days!
+California Gardening (Organic, Easy Garden Tips) Okay thanks!! I'm going to have to use this to pot up my new orange tree!!:) Thanks again!:)