5-1-1 is like growing in hydro.
It dries out to fast for my hot temps. here , NEEDS a dose of weak ferts when you water.
I DO like the refined version of 5-1-1 I use now.
Actually I use bark in my soil mixes but vary the amount as to what I'm growing in it.
First off,it's hot here from April on.Windy for tall potted plants too.
Dumps over perlite and peat mixes.Even in 20+ gal. pots.
I use more like a 3 or 4 /1/1/1 mix - Bark,Peat,perlite,Pomice.
I also find first year mixes are a pain in the ass.
2nd year they seem to stabilize,somewhat.
3rd year they ROCK!
I think PH,Nutes Etc. get stable.
Manzano/Rocoto LOVE 2nd year soil,BIG TIME.
Wilds seem to like the 5-1-1 for me.
Rhomboidium loved the bark mix,BIG TIME.
For my temp. , my pots needed to have more water retention than 5-1-1 gave me.
You'll also find people calling their mix 5-1-1 that are adding a soil mix to bark.5 bark to whatever potting mix.
NOT the 5-1-1 on GW.
Actually,I think people miss the point of using 5-1-1.
It is the WHOLE combination of soil mix AND nutes that work.
Not just the soil.
These days people push only parts of several growing processes and give teas or whatever credit for great grows.
Too much $ in crap that makes growers feel cool,on the cutting edge...
I followed the GW mix exactly including the optional slow-release fert mixed in and the named liquid fert. I'm up in Canada so I think the mix should do me well as far as drainage/retention go.
After reading through all the info about this stuff over on GW I'm pretty excited to try it out. I'll also have a number of peat-based pots and an in-ground plot so it will be cool to see the differences. Can't put all my eggs in one basket when trying something new.
Thanks for the heads up on the soils aging properties, I haven't read anything about the differences as it settles over the years yet. Exciting because I have some manzanos/rocotos this year that I plan to over-winter and hopefully I'll find some galap and other wilds to try out next year.
I tried the 5-1-1 mix and it was the worst mix I've ever used. Horrible N lockup from the pine fines. I know others have had luck with it though.
Ild just go buy a bag of pro mix and some tomato tone and be done with it lol
OZZZ I'm sorry you had terrible luck w/5-1-1... Sounds like they needed food or the ph was off (lockout). Did you remove the sapwood? If not did you up the N?
I have had mediocre results from peat mixes. Soggy feet and hydrophobic peat all in the same week. I'm excited about the 5-1-1. And the gritty mix for my cacti.
All the same, thanks for sharing. Any more details are welcome. My investment has been placed so learning from the missteps of other would be of great value to me.