I have heard people recommending root washing. I haven’t done so myself since I grow in rootmaker or fabric pots almost entirely.
I’ll get photos tomorrow. Its sometimes sold as soil conditioner.
We get fir bark and hemlock bark more easily than pine bark here. But its basically the same thing
I’ve read that some people put the bark on their driveway and run it over with a vehicle.Also,there is usually some small particles in the bag and they could be sifted.bb
Now that I potted up my fig cutting in 3 parts pine fines, 2 parts compost, 1 part Pro Mix I’m worried it holds too much water because the 4 gal plastic pot with that mix now weighs a lot. I may repot it today in all pine fines and fertilize in a couple weeks with Miracle Gro.
Update: just remembered I have a one inch layer of rocks in the bottom of pot, so overall weight may be just fine.
You are incorrect. It is well documented compost prevents root rot. I can produce over 100 studies stating so. In the UK you cannot buy potting soil without compost added. They have known this for decades.
Here are two,
https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/PHYTO.2002.92.4.424
I can say from my own experience with tomatoes it helps with Septoria spot too.
It doesn’t prevent it always but since using compost onset seems delayed till late summer when it doesn’t matter anyway.
I use a 3-1-1-1/2 ratio pine bark, potting soil, compost, DE All my containers no matter which plant have this mix except blueberries as one need a very low pH with them. I would never add compost to blueberry potting mixes because of the high concentration of nitrates which can kill blueberry plants. Besides compost having a high pH.
Here are my some of my figs in containers. A couple were damaged from the cold this year, so not as lush as usual as all suffered from the freeze. I lost two and about 5 had to start from the roots again. So not the best year for me, although I will still get a lot of figs.
IU grow a lot of currants in containers (and in ground too)
Yellow and black cap raspberries
And of course tomatoes. I got my first ripe tomato yesterday in zone 5b.
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I have a large pile of old hardwood chip compost.
It has some weed seed in it., so I potted up some nursery trees with the compost in the bottom of the pots - several inches of pro mix on top ( as the pro mix is weed free)
A year later…the worms had worked the compost out of the bottoms of the pots, leaving voids in the bottom.
This is hard to see from above, but pulling a tree out of the pot
Reveals large empty areas in the pot where there used to be compost , a layer of pro mix on top.
Has me rethinking the use of compost in pots ?
The plants grow well in the compost mix ,…but
Some containers are amazingly empty in the bottom, resulting in lack of water holding.and hard to refill , and hard to tell which ones have voids with out pulling them out of the pot.
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Are these pine fines too fine for good drainage?
These look very fine.
This video shows the right consistency of the fir bark to use for potting mix.
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I agree. I’ve never had problems using compost mixed with something to help drainage in pots. Also I’ve used straight compost provided by the town in raised beds. They make it from leaves (mostly oak) and brush and sand. The added sand provides good drainage.
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I think one year i poured pink bark on the lawn and ran the lawnmower through them a few time…it sort of worked. I never did it again.
Probably but that is what perlite is for. It’s hard to find good bark. You can use that in mixes, I use a similar product. I prefer small bark chips but the only ones around here cost an arm and a leg. I bought bigger ones and broke them down to smaller size. That worked well, but still too much work for the amount I use. So I use a similar product most of time as in your photo.
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Thanks. The 3-2-1 mix of pine fines, compost and PM BX seemed too heavy to me so I re-potted in 2:1 PM BX and Perlite. Plan to top dress compost and then mulch and Miracle Gro as needed. My head is spinning with all the possible wrong turns on pot mix. No more figs in pots for me. I appreciate your help though.
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Sounds good, any combination will work. On needs to find what suits them and their environment. Some plants I have like to be drier, but most just suck water like crazy. Also I use root pouches, so it’s like a clay pot, and moisture is lost out the sides. I need a heavy mix that retains lots of water.
@Drew51 I put one LdA in the 3-2-1 mix this morning.
3 very fine pine fines; 2 heavy mushroom compost; 1 PM BX (only 14% perlite). In a plastic pot -you think that’s enough drainage? I just bought Perlite so I can re-pot it with more perlite if you think it needs it for drainage…
If there isn’t a bag on the mower,it might be like a machine gun and also difficult to gather off the grass.bb
I use a leaf blower and set up for pick up. It has a metal impaler and that worked great, but it sounded like i was destroying the blower. Loud!
Watch it, it should be fine. Add perlite in the future. But you might find you like it. Figs like to drink. In your zone it should be fine. Water carefully, see how it goes.
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We can have days of rain so I can’t really water carefully. I’m going to re-pot it with more perlite. It’s a gift to a friend who needs it to be as bulletrproof as possible.
Drew I found a nursery near me that has big bags (mulch bag sized) of fines for a good price. I am planning on getting some Saturday and can give you the price then.
My neighbor got 3 bags for about $15 she said. I also ordered the DE stuff (25# for 9.59) from my local ACE.
Scott
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Figs in pots seem very thirsty. Mine is in no special mix…just compost/woodchips… and it still wilts in a day if not watered. I gave it a feeding today with watering. It is in a black plastic pot that cooks sitting on a hot driveway.
Should we ever use sand in our mixes? I swear the city here that has free compost (i think its composted leaves) adds sand to it.
You can, it drains well that’s for sure. My containers are heavy enough though. With compost is fine. I have used compost like that before.
Yes, I’m almost out, let me know where.