It would be helpful if you included where you live in your user info. What you're proposing should work ok, though Turface and granite would be better. You may find that particular mix a little water retentive, especially if you don't screen the FD and perlite, so you may want to keep in the back of your mind that increasing the perlite a little and decreasing the presence of the FD would help if you find the soil holding too much water. Also, when using that much perlite, it's best to rinse it thoroughly before you incorporate it into any soil. That helps to lessen (almost eliminates) the negative effect of it's fluoride compounds on plants that might be sensitive.

Al

Sorry, should have specified that I was planning on screening all. A simple bug screen should work just fine correct (maybe modified to allow a little more to pass)? How much lime if any will I need to add to this mix? Guess I have a little time to find everything so I could look a little harder for turface and crushed granite.

1 level tbsp of gypsum per gallon or 1/2 cup per cu ft of of the gritty mix. Same amounts of dolomitic lime goes in the 5:1:1 mix.

Insect screen would be fine; and again, if we knew where you lived, we might well be able to help you locate the Turface & granite.

Al

Northern Iowa, just south of Austin, MN.

For cherrystone, try
Austin Builder's Supply
206 10th St NE
Austin, MN 55912
(507) 437-3206

If that doesn't get you the #2 cherrystone, try

Chub Lake Feed
26301 Galaxie Ave
Farmington, MN 55024
(651) 463-4793

You can also call local elevators or rural feed stores and ask for the #2 cherrystone or Gran-I-Grit in 'grower' size.

For the Turface, try

Tessman Seed in St Paul
(800) 882-5704

Or the John Deere Landscapes dealer in Rochester, MN
(507) 252-1064
Ask for Allsport from the JD dealers

There are also John Deere dealers in Clive and Cedar Rapids.

Al

Thanks for that. I'll do a little searching after the new year and see what I can find.