Re: Soil mix!!

From: "George R Stilwell, Jr." grsjr at juno.com> on 2002.04.03 at 20:24:13(8448) >The pine bark used in soilless mixes is finer particulate size and is >composted so that most of the parts of the bark which are digestible by >micro-organisms are used up with only the hard to digest lignified parts >are left. The size of the pieces of pine bark are 1/4 inch or so and are >not the big chunks you find used for garden mulch. Quite true. I use a product called "Aged Base". I found out about it at the J. C. Raulston Arboretum where they use it by the 30 yard truckload. Unfortunately, the mill that sells the stuff was bought by a bigger outfit, so I'm not sure it's aged as well +More any more. In any event, I add micronutrients and nitrogen to help it decompose. Here's one very successful Azalea growers formula in 3 versions: Wilder's Mix STANDARD LIGHT AZALEA 5 gal. 2 1/2 gal. 5 gal. sand 2 1/2 gal. pearlite 5 gal. 5 gal. 5 gal. peat 2 tsp. 2 tsp. 1 tsp. hyd. lime 6 tsp. 6 tsp. 1 tsp. dolomite 4 tsp. 4 tsp. 2 tsp. soluable fert. That ought to be complex enough to keep all the "mix addicts" happy. If not, here's another one: GRACE Nursery Rhododendron/Azalea Growing Medium index Basic Mix 1 cu. yd. Concrete Sand 4 cu. yd. Ground Pinebark Additives per 5 cu. ft. mix 5 lb. Slow Release Fertilizer 1 lb. Micronutrient Fertilizer 5 lb. Dolomitic Limestone 1 lb. Dry Wetting Agent Have fun!!!! Ray GRSJr@worldnet.att.net ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

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