I'm going to make up some potting soil for some boo. I plan on adding some pine but what is the best for mixing in with the soil? Pine bark, shavings, or needles? BTW this is for re-potting plants. Thanks,
Jerry

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Jerry

Use pine needles, just make sure they are not green and that the rest of your potting mix is not overly acidic.

M

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M

Sounds good. I can check the soil with my new ph meter.

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Jerry

Why needles? I'm just curious why they're better than the others -- less chunky?

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Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!

This is why I'm asking. A friend who owns a bamboo farm says he orders his soil from Orlando. It costs him around $50 yard. It comes with pine bark. I can find reasonably priced needles and shavings but no bark.

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Jerry

What about bagged pine bark mulch from Home Depot or similar?

I've never added anything "chunky" to my potting mixes. Although they'd provide good texture for the soil and contribute to a lighter soil mix, it doesn't feel to me that lighter mix would be good for bamboo. Yes you want some organic material in there, but I don't think it needs to be super chunky.

I seem to remember some discussion of this in a potting mixes thread a year or two ago. Try the "search" function on "potting mix" and see what turns up.

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Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!

I suggested brown/aged pine needles because they where the one item he had that was PH neutral, would fit easily in a pot and in a short time (less then a year) would become dirt. Giving the plant the tied up nutrients much faster then the other two options.

M

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M