BER

[bigpinks]

forget his name or handle but was widely respected on the Garden Web as a container guru and his pics supported it. The 5-1-1 ...5 parts screened pine bark mulch to 1 part peat moss to 1 part perlite with slow release fert, lime etc.

[bigpinks]

Pine Bark was called fines but I could never find anything so labeled at any of the box stores

[Antipodean]

Originally Posted by bigpinks

forget his name or handle but was widely respected on the Garden Web as a container guru and his pics supported it. The 5-1-1 ...5 parts screened pine bark mulch to 1 part peat moss to 1 part perlite with slow release fert, lime etc.

Al Tapla his name is. I used the 5-1-1 potting mix recipe this year and it is irked extremely well.

[Starlight]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

If you think it is RALLY the calcium deficiency, there is a simple home made solution. It is not the Old Wives story, it is scientific. It is possible to have Calcium in the soil but not in a form that is readily available for the plant's uptake:
Here is the home brew :

-- Save your eggshells.
-- Wash and let them dry up real good.
-- Hand crush and put it in your coffee mill, grind it to fine powder. This can speed up the chemical process in the next step.
--- Put the powder in a container, like a tall gall, or bigger one of you are processing large quantity.
--- Add good old household vinegar to it. Distilled vinegar is just fine.( about One TBS per 2 eggshells).
You will immediately see the action with your eyes. Heavy bubbling and release of CO2.
-- Stir now and then and let it continue. As the amount of Calcium Carbonate ( in eggshells) diminishes, the chemical action will slow down , even if there is still some vinegar left intact.
FINAL PRODUCT: will be still almost 95% H2O and about 5% CALCIUM ACETATE. Give or take a percent or too. This is not a chemistry science lab to be exact.
In the Calcium Acetate , Calcium is in Ca++ form and it is ready for the plants.

How much to apply ? Not too much. Calcium is just a trace element..Add 2 to 3 TBS per gallon of water.

Q: WHAT IF I ADDED TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE VINEGAR TO THE EGGSHELLS?
A: Relx ! If you added some extra amount of vinegar, the final product will contain some vinegar ( that is acetic acid, to be exact ). When you dilute the solution and use it, that amount will be negligible to lower the soil pH.
If you added too little vinegar, still some of the Calcium Carbonate (eggshell) will be intact . No worries it will precipitate anyway, with other impurities. After all people mix lots eggshells into soil AND NOTHING HAPPENS.
BTW: I am now brewing some myself. I had about 8 eggshells at hand. And I added about 6 oz of distilled vinegar to it.
Let me check how it is doing!
Going great . And lots of CO2 bubbles formed on top.
Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure.

Amazing! I usually have 3 eggs every morning for breakfast. I'll have to save the shells and try and on a plant or two that getting the BER.

Usually we begging for rain here during this part of the year. Guess it a case of watching what you wish for, know we so flooded.

[Gardeneer]

I use some variation of Al Tapla's 5-1-1 all the time.
You might not get the exact pine bark fine ( <= 1/2") but you can go around it by screening.
I get Timbeline Pine Bark Mulch from WM and screen it through 1/2' mesh. About 1/3 of it won't pass. I use that as mulch on top of container (after filling ). I don't even add peat moss because the stuff I get has a lot of very fine particles that is just like peat moss. I also skip perlite and use floor dry instead(OptiSorb from O'Reiley auto parts store).
Then you add quick acting lime, slow release fertilizer. When I don't have slow release fert , I just water with MG blue stuff, regularly at about 1/3 to 1/2 strength.
If you get a lot of rain, this medium is the best. But you have to water and fertilize more often when not raining. My peppers and 2 SFT tomatoes have been as good as it can be.

One more thing: You can reuse the stuff for years. Just get the old roots out and refresh it a bit. All these years I have never bought any bagged potting mix. My cost is about 30 to 35 cents per gallon. The expensive part is floor dry. It is a double edged sword : It retains moisture and at the same time it helps drainage. Perlite won't do that.

[bigpinks]

exactly same here..Timberline...half strength MG and all you said