WOW ! Thank you Rubi and Al for the kind and detailed replies! I apologize that I've not replied sooner . I have no notification system to tell me when someone replies to a question. So I don't see it unless I just stumble upon it somehow.
Rubi , I appreciate the update. It sounds like the bark is truly a good addition to soils that need aeration and some moisture too , but not wanting sogginess . Since I last posted , I've watched my sempervivums thrive in a concoction of around 6-7parts pumice , lava rock , chicken grit , perlite ( and other random mineral amendments I had laying around at the time ) and 3 parts Coco Loco and 3 parts bark . My exact ratios flew out the window as I struggled to fill all my troughs . The biggest bummer is getting the bark the right size . It kind of turns into a "mix til it feels right " game for me . I spend a fortune trying to make the best soils . I did recently notice from an experiment that the Coco Loco by itself dries quite well of put in one of the plastic troughs and wet down, then left to dry for a few days . I'm almost curious if it would dry faster than the mix with all the mineral amendments. I'm doing some experimenting now . I really need to get all my semps planted . Some are in nursery pots and root bound . Their peat chunks are hardened and I loath to take the time to remove the hard peat . So I may leave it on some . They're actually quite healthy despite their hard peat root prisons . I hate waiting for the roots to dry for a few days to repot too because they decline at first when I do that and take awhile to recover. I've killed some by doing that anyway. Plus , their chicks can root into the new soil I've made and carry on their legacy even if the mother died from the peat . What brand and type of chipper do you use for your bark ? I've been using a vacuum leaf mulcher and it's so slow ! Such a pain ! I want something faster . Haha !
Al , you're brilliant! I truly love the concept behind these mixes . I must admit that even though I research a lot when it comes to soil , I don't think I have as much patience as you have exhibited in finding all these answers. Your soil pictures look so gorgeous! I sure wish that pine bark fines were easier to come by . I have spent a sheer fortune recently buying pine bark mini nuggets, different brands of soil conditioners that are supposed to be made mainly of pine bark fines , topsoils that have pine bark fines , bagged Sandy loam , this , that , and the other . I do have turface MVP on hand . But I've had a strange issue in many plants that had turface in the mix . I used to mix 1 part pumice , 1 part turface, 1 part chicken grit and 1 part Coco Loco or coir together for my succulents. They grew compact and chubby and looked gorgeous for a year or so and then would suddenly decline . When I would pull them from their pots and look at the roots, they would be all brown and desiccated. Do you have any idea why this might be? Was it because I was filling in the air space between the particles? I didn't experience this in the pots without the turface. So something leads me to believe that the turface had something to do with dedicated roots . But many folks claim turface holds too much water. That doesn't really make much sense to me because I have watched turface get wet many times and be bone dry within a day. Do you think people say it holds more water when compared to pumice ? I have tried using your exact gritty mix recipe. But my plants dried out far too quickly when I did that. I am definitely one to underwater. I know that you grow sempervivums because I have seen your pictures on the same provide them forum . I love the tiny ones in the Chapstick lids . That is too cute. Do you think it is OK to use your Grittymix recipe and then add one part of potting mix? Or would the potting mix take away too much air space? I have actually observed what you were talking about regarding adding lots of mineral amendments to a fluffy potting soil. I have actually noticed that the plain potting soil sometimes seems to dry faster than the one with all the mineral amendments. I think I am understanding what you were saying regarding that . Your analogies make perfect sense . I've seen the marble experiments on YouTube actually. It's so interesting. Maybe some of my plants failed in pure gritty mix because I didn't fertilize. And because I'm a lazy waterer . Have you grown sempervivums in your 511 mix ? Did they do well ? I definitely want to lighten my semp mix because I am using 5 tier stands with plastic troughs. They're very heavy with my current mix. I worry that they will break the stands eventually. If the 511 mix would work well, I could just use it and not have to worry as much. I'm glad you mentioned the fertilizer you like. I will try that. The bark I'm able to get is full of sapwood. It's so time consuming picking it out . Is there any disadvantage to just leaving it in there ? And is there any very affordable way that you can recommend to get the bark to the correct size ? I bought a bag of Happy Frog Soil Conditioner today. It seems to have bark that's 1/4" to dust size . Would that be good for 511 mix ?
Again, thanks to both of you for taking time to reply to me! I am honored that both of you replied
