Incidentally, you do have the ingredients for a decent 5-1-1 mix.
5 parts Bark, 1 part Gardener and Bloom, and 1 part Perlite would get you there.
The potting soil will act like the Peat Moss (or Turface) to bind ingredients and impede drainage.
Bark, Turface, and Perlite would be even beter, I think.

Trust me, those 50 lb. bags of Turface go fast!
Especially if you're helping others learn to mix container soils.

Josh

hotzona,

If you pot up additional plants in SWC containers, I would suggest you up the Bark ratio. You could safely double it and still have the Combo Mix wick up moisture satisfactorily.

I know others here have great success with an even higher ratio of Bark Fines, but you will need to experiment to make sure the composite Mix still retains upward wicking properties. I have found in my EarthBox that if the Bark ratio exceeds the Potting Mix, wicking can become problematic in dry climates, like where you are in Tucson.

Raybo

Josh, thanks for your input. Such nice people on this forum. :-)

Just wondering if the 5 parts Bark, 1 part Gardner & Bloom, and the 1 part Perlite you suggest would stay damp enough for a rose. My climate is mostly HOT & dry, with mild winters.

Sooooo if that's true, I guess I used too much soil, and not enough bark. lol Please don't whip me with a wet noodle! :P

I will see how it goes until next potting up or repotting into same pot (by trimming roots). If it doesn't bounce back and do fantastic, then I will change my mix!

Hi hotzona,
May I ask what you had trouble finding for the 5-1-1?

I was able to get all the items and am in Tucson.

We had talked about it in this tread linked below..

Josh is right about the turface. :) esp. after it is sifted. ;)
I have 100lbs.. and that is just to get me started. :)

Best wishes..

JoJo

Here is a link that might be useful: 5-1-1 items inTucson

JoJo,
Yes, I remember us talking about the 5:1:1 ingredients. I did call John Deere, and they said they couldn't sell less than a 50# bag of Turface, and they didn't have the pine bark fines. They didn't offer to order it, so thought maybe they didn't do that anymore, or maybe a seasonal thing.

Getting the 50# Turface to my house would be a problem, and no where to store anything that big. My rose was beginning to lose lots of leaves every day, so I knew I needed to do something fast. Hence, the change to the Raybo type mix. I will see how it goes for now. Don't want to disturb an already disturbed rose. lol

I only have a couple large pots outside, the rest are indoor in smallish pots. And I usually just use a potting mix/perlite mixture for them. Debating whether to add some bark the next time I repot for those....

I hope you aren't offended. I did try what you suggested to get the stuff for the 5:1:1, but didn't have the time to spare to get it all together. Maybe sometime in the future I can go talk to John Deere in person. Maybe that would be more effective. Right now I take care of my mother full time (she lives with me, also), so a little hard to be tooling around gathering ingredients.

I also called Mesquite Valley Growers, and all they had was a potting mix they call Black Gold. Ended up buying the Gardner & Bloom from a nursery that was closer. Seems like a pretty good mix. Made with humus, fir bark fines, peat moss, perlite, and some organics like bat guano, and forget what else,lol

Was also able to find a gigantic bag of Perlite at Home Depot. That will be nice 'cause it seems I'm always running out. And no fertilizer added! Yay!

Hi hotzona..
No, Im not offended or upset in anyway! Just thought maybe you forgot about the thread. :) And have nothing against the "Raybo type mix." i've seen many nice pics of the plants Raybo grows.

I'm surprised to hear about John Deere not offering to order it for you. If you change your mind, and still want/need the bark let me know and I will see if I can get ahold of the guy that helped me.

I know he got it for one other person here in Tucson too.

As far as the turface, it should be screened, and it will end up less than a 50# bag.

I can understand also not being able to get around to do things. I did not have a car all summer..:(

I do now.. so if I can help you, please let me know.. you can email me off group.

JoJo

hotzona,

For my Pepper plants, I used a 3:3:2 Combo Mix which is drier than what I use for Tomatoes. I think whatever you ultimately end up with, you will need to adapt to local weather and rainfall to keep the Mix "moist" and not "wet".

{{gwi:35455}}

Raybo

JoJo, thanks for your kind words, and your offer to help. I may want to try to get the pine bark from John Deere when I finish what I have. The Reptibark is quite expensive, but nice that I don't have to screen it. I will let you know if I decide to do that.

Raybo, those are beautiful pepper plants! I started some from seed a while back, but when I planted them in the garden, they didn't last long! Also have tried tomatoes in the garden, and those croaked after about a month. Haven't tried any vegetable crops since. Never thought of trying them in containers.

Well, ya all have a nice afternoon! Off to take Mom for a medical test. Will be time to get dinner when we get back.

Hi Hotzona..
Just yell if you need some help.. Hubby works near John Deere.. and I have a jeep wagon.. hauls lots.. and we'll help how we can. :)

Raybo.
Those plants do look wonderful!

JoJo

JoJo,

Thanks, I am fortunate that we have pretty good growing conditions much of the year here in the San Jose area. In fact, before it became "Silicon Valley", there were miles and miles of Orchards and vegetable fields.

In the theme that "Less is More", instead of cramming 6 Pepper plants per EarthTainer as I did this year, next year I am going to give each plant some more elbow-room and plant only 4 Pepper plants per 'Tainer. I would rather have fewer Peppers - but have them develop into larger fruit.

Raybo

Raybo,

those are beautiful pepper plants. Thanks for posting pic.

You had a few fertilizer experiments going on with your tomatoes that were very interesting --what did you fertilize your peppers with?

Hi Farkee,

For Peppers, cukes, corn, etc. I am using a Simplot product called "Landscape Color". It is a 14-14-14 CRF like Osmocote, but it also contains several Micros such as Cu, Mg, S, Fe, etc. While Osmocote costs about $4.00 per pound, the Landscape Color costs about $0.80 per pound in a 50 pound bag.

{{gwi:34093}}

I apply 2 Cups deep in the 'Tainer when troweling in the Dolomite Lime. Near the surface, I trowel in 1 Cup of Stone Starter or Espoma Bio-tone Starter fertilizer. That's it for the Season.

Raybo

Here is a link that might be useful: Landscape Color Technical Datasheet

Interesting. When I went to the Earthbox Research Center a while back they were using controlled release fert to grow herbs in an earthbox.

CRF had always been a big no no before in EBs ( which I could never understand) except for the fact that it would be so very costly to use. But you certainly got a good deal with yours.

Yay! This repotting/soil mix seems to be working so far. Leaf yellowing/drop has decreased significantly. I was going to water it today, but we had a big rain storm yesterday afternoon/evening. 0.7", so only thing that needed watering today was my plants that are on my front porch. I love it when that happens! :-)

JoJo, did you get any rain where you live?

Hi hotzona,
Good to hear your new mix is working so far!

Yes!! Boy did we! LOL! I'm near A mountian. Dont have a guage, but my 50 gal. rain barrel over flowed. lol!

my parents are out west off Ajo and got it bad! Lost power for about 3 hrs.

What area are you in?

Yes, I love it when mother nature waters for me. :)
Now today is pull all the weeds she has also!! LOL!

JoJo

JoJo,
I am on the NW side. We got about 0.4" today, so looking like I won't have to water again tomorrow. Yay again!

Our power went out briefly, and it messed up my channel settings on my DirecTV, so I'll have fun redoing that. lol