ok to use 1/4" or 1/2" screen for 5-1-1?

11 years ago

I CANNOT find a 3/8" hardware cloth or sieve to screen my pine fines. I can find 1/2" and 1/4" as often as the day is long, however. If you had to choose between either a few pieces too big, or a smaller overall mix, which would be best?

Featured Answer

tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)

5 years ago

For 511 pine bark is from dust to 3/8. But as noted 3/8 is hard to find and so the next best solution is to use 1/2 inch screen. For gritty it is 1/8 to 1/4. Depending on the bag/manufacturer you may see a lot of variations in particles in a bag. Eg some may have more of the chunky larger pieces and some have more of the dust. So you may need some adjusting of the mix. If there is less of dust you can increase the peat a bit to compensate for it.

For 3/8 screen the perfect alternative is a baking rack. But you have to make sure the size is right. Some are more like 1/2. Some are exact 3/8 and some are smaller than that.

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Comments (10)

oxboy555
11 years ago
1/4" is better IMHO.

You have to order 3/8" online. Impossible to find in stores.
seysonn
11 years ago
You can make aa 3/8" screen by offset overlapping of two sheets of 1/2", resulting in 3/8" and 1/4" grids. This might be cheaper than ordering 3/8" online.
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zeuspaul
11 years ago
Some of the 16 inch square nursery flats/trays have 3/8 mesh on the bottom. You can usually get them for free at a nursery or garden store.

Zeuspaul
zeuspaul
11 years ago
Some of the 16 inch square nursery flats/trays have 3/8 mesh on the bottom. You can usually get them for free at a nursery or garden store.

Zeuspaul
edweather USDA 9a, HZ 9, Sunset 28
11 years ago
I'd definitely go with the 1/2". No worries. Up to 1/2" is totally acceptable for the 511 mix. And look at it this way, you'll have more mix.
maple_grove_gw
11 years ago
Agreed, I started off using 1/4" and later moved to a 1/2" screen for bark in both mixes. A few pieces too big can easily be picked out by hand.
hairmetal4ever
Original Author
11 years ago
I actually found a 4' X 6' piece of 1/4" hardware cloth I had in the shed. I did screen some fines with it. The end result looks good but I worry it is too small. I might rescreen the big pieces with a 1/2" to see what I get. Although I'd say 80% of the pieces that didn't fit through the 1/4" are actually bigger than 1/2" as well, and definitely bigger than 3/8".

The downside is that I "lost" about 1/3 of the bag this way - there are a lot more bigger pieces (and chunks of sapwood) than I thought originally. However it blends well with the "mini nuggets" I mulched the outdoor landscaping with, so I might just use them there.
Need2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
5 years ago
I have this question too. It seems to me that the best recommendation I've seen here - iirc - would actually be to use the bark between the 1/4" and insect screen (which is easy to find).

I might be wrong though. Maybe that was just for the gritty only? Maybe the just-under-half inch - or, what goes through a 1/2" screen - is just fine for 5-1-1.

I see that some people here have had good results with the 1/2 inch screen - and that's good news - yet given that it is prime repot season in North Am now, I am hoping for more people to chime in. (I'd love for 1/2" screen to work.) I've read a bunch of the threads and somehow I don't seem to get a fix on this yet.

Sorry if it is rude to re-ask, or if I am hijacking. Like so much else, my internet etiquette is not always ideal.
Need2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Thank you, Tropicofcancer! It is very helpful to have the reinforcement of your long experience ... oh and I will keep an eye out for a baking rack too! I wouldn't have thought of that. And now to buy a bunch of huge bags.

Boyhowdy the new sorting is a pain. I am glad Houzz keeps us around ... but what is up with them? (Or is it just me?)