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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Soilless Mix
  • Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 07:57:55 -0500

At 07:36 AM 4/18/2006, Tom wrote:
I have been looking at the ratios for soilless mix and I have a question.
Why are the ratios limited to "pine" bark? I have a pile of old maple
chippings that are closer to compost than wood, and I wonder if any OLD
wood chips would work in a soilless mix?

Tom,
The pine bark is relatively inert, and very slow to break down, but even pine bark 'fines' help a lot with improving 'structure' of the medium - they're irregular in shape, allowing for more 'spaces' for roots to penetrate into, and promoting good drainage.
Your composted wood chips could probably be substituted for the peat component. When I make my own potting mix, I typically substitute 2-3 yr. old composted leaves for peat, which is a non-renewable(or, at least, very slowly renewable) resource.

Lucky




  • [NAFEX] Soilless Mix, Thomas Olenio, 04/18/2006
    • Re: [NAFEX] Soilless Mix, Lucky Pittman, 04/18/2006

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