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May 22, 2024 5:21 PM CST
San Jose, CA Zone 9b (Zone 9b)
mcgeeoj said: @pone31 thank you kindly for your reply. Yes, it is a commercial product here in NC and I recon I'll screen it and use anything around 1/4 - 3/8" and then the fines. The peat moss and perlite are an easy find anywhere here, but wondering about the size of perlite. Bigger better or screen out the dust? If you see the picture above, I'm just worried about too much "fines" (assuming that means the dust). Thoughts on that? The link to this product is below. Hopefully @tapla can help with the fertilizer question. Thank you both.


5-1-1 mix is not gritty mix. 5-1-1 includes some fines. If you filter out all those fines, you are going to be watering twice as often, and for what reason? To save 1/4 inch of perched water table on the bottom of the pot...?

I use pumice rather than perlite. 1/4" is fine. I find that even 1/8" works well without much perched water. If you cannot get perlite you like, try Cherrystone #2 chicken grit, which is a crushed rock that is well washed and very well screened for size. Don't use #1 or #3 grit. In North Carolina you should be swimming in options for well-washed chicken grits. I wouldn't buy any rock that has fines. It's a major hassle to wash those out.
Last edited by pone31 May 22, 2024 6:47 PM Icon for preview

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