Specialty Gardening: medium not draining well, 1 by tapla

tapla wrote:
I really can't imagine that a suitable pine bark product is entirely unavailable in MN; more likely, you just haven't found it yet. I get people lamenting all the time that it's unavailable in MI. If they're from downstate, I can usually tell them where to go within a few miles of home. I have at least 3 reliable sources, and stumble upon it here & there in my travels, often at big box stores, but usually they're unreliable. It's packaged under a wide variety of names - pine bark mulch, premium landscape mulch, clay soil breaker, soil conditioner, etc. It's not important what's ON the bag; it's what's IN the bag that counts. You want pine bark with almost all the particles in the dust to 3/8 or even 1/2" size range.

Most of the people using heavier soils are simply accepting the limitations inherent in those soils and living with them. In many cases, they are not knowledgeable enough to be able to recognize or realize the limitations, so go about their business as though things couldn't be better. You'd be amazed at the number of people who never give a thought to the importance of ample volumes of air in the root zone. When I lecture to various groups/clubs/organizations, I continually get to see 'the light go on' in people's eyes when they suddenly become aware of what their limitation has been through all those years spent trying to grow plants in containers like they see in pictures. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Now it all makes perfect sense". You can probably tell I REALLY enjoy sharing what i know, and that 'Eureka' moment has always been my favorite and my 'reward'.

I'll start a thread at another forum site and ask if anyone has located PBFs near Brainerd. If I hear anything, I'll be sure to let you know.

Take Care.

Al