The soil mix recipe I use for container gardening (NOTE: This is not for raised beds, this is preemptive) uses a soil less mix.

The bulk of the mix calls for pine bark mulch (2-3 cubic feet per 30 gallon batch). The rest of the soil mix is pine bark mulch, coarse vermiculite, spaghnum peat moss, some lime (dolomite, NOT fast-acting) and Oscomote fertilizer.

THe mix was drying out too fast, cause the size of mulch I was using was too large; I used it right out of thebag without making the pieces smaller. I didn't realize it was supposed to be made smaller.

I found double-shredded pine bark mulch. Would this work for my soil less mix?

If not, what are my alternatives. Locally there is no shredded pine bark mulch or mulch in small size pieces, and it HAS to be pine mulch as it's what the recipe calls for.

The only thing that is available would be pine chips or pine bark nuggets. If the double shredded pine won't work for the soil less mix, will either the nuggets or pine chips work or are they still too large in size?