Finding bark fines

elight · March 12, 2012

Hi all,

I've done some searching through the forums and on Google to try to figure out where I can locate some bark fines (groundcover bark) for Ray's 3:2:1 EarthTainer mix. I live on the east coast, in the NY metro area, and it seems that everyone not on the west coast has had difficulty locating this product. Has anyone around here found it, and if so, under what brand/name, and where?

Thanks!

Boutique Tomatoes · March 13, 2012

Around here the big box stores have it in the spring, I use quite a bit for my peppers.

Soil Pep from Mountain West Products is the one I've used the past two years. Google them and call or email the sales rep for your region and they can tell you where to get it.

rnewste · March 13, 2012

elight,

This is what you are looking for:

Pine based microbark, about 1/2" in diameter. I buy it at Home Depot.

Raybo

Tracydr · April 28, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnewste

elight,

This is what you are looking for:

Pine based microbark, about 1/2" in diameter. I buy it at Home Depot.

Raybo

Dang, I almost bought some of that! I didn't think it would work. I just pitted up about 12 peppers using Miracle grow potting soil and perlite and I wish I'd known!
Oh well, still have about 20 more peppers and I'm buying some passiflowers. I'll need to pot them, too.

elight · March 13, 2012

Yes, Ray, that is the product, but the issues seems to be that it is not carried at big box stores on the east coast like it is in California. I will try giving Mountain West Products a call, and perhaps also Earthgro, and see what they say about its east coast availability.

b54red · March 13, 2012

Lowes and Home Depot usually have some brand of bark fines but they are frequently just called pine bark. I have only seen them labeled bark fines one time in the past few years and that was at a Home Depot. I went back a few weeks later to get some more and they were out but they had another brand labeled pine bark which was the same thing. Sometimes they will be out of stock and only have the larger bark chunks which you don't want for your potting mix. If none of the big box stores have any you might want to check with a local nursery because most of them use bark fines in their own potting mixes.

Wi-sunflower · March 13, 2012

I don't know if you have places like this, but here in the mid-west, we have all kinds of places that have large bulk bins of all kinds of stuff for "landscapers" -- stones, mulch, etc. Sometimes the bark / chips are bigger than I would like tho, so you have to hunt around OR have your own chipper/shredded to run the larger stuff thru. Also finding the stuff that isn't colored can sometimes be a problem.

Just an idea for you.

Carol

fortyonenorth · March 13, 2012

elight - it's going to be tough to find the "right" stuff unless you go to the stores and look for it in person. My experience seems to be similar to b54s: it's often carried as "pine bark" or "pine bark nuggets" - but, and this is a really big caveat, the same product is not always acceptable. The brand that is carried locally is Golden Trophy. Sometimes, their "mini pine bark nuggets" are perfect and can be used out of the bag with very little waste. Other times, it's entirely wrong - almost unusable because either the nugget size is too big or there is an unacceptable amount of sap wood. Still other times, I can either sift it or run it through the chipper/shredder to get an acceptable portion - usually about 50%. To make matters worse, you'll often find good bags and bad bags on the same pallet.

My advice would be to make a short list of all the potential places that may carry what you're looking for. Then, visit each and see what they have. I'm sure that's not an easy thing to do in metro NYC, but it's the only way to know for sure. Also, it's still relatively early in the season. My local big boxes have not yet received their spring mulch shipments.

Good luck.

CrazyAboutOrchids · March 13, 2012

Home Depot carries bark fines here in CT, but not labeled as such. You have to go in and check out the bags in person. Fairly cheap, may not have them yet but should be arriving soon.

elight · March 13, 2012

OK, I'll have to check it out and bring the pictures in the EarthTainer construction guide as reference.

My local Home Depot carries something called Pine Bark Mulch (click here) which I think might do the job.

Riceloft · March 13, 2012

All Home Depot's in my area carry this:

Kambark 2 Cu. Ft. Pine Bark Mulch
These Pine Bark Mulch is screened for a uniform size. It can be used as either a top dressing or tilled into the soil as a conditioner. It helps to loosen the soil for easier weeding. It can also help promote root growth by allowing for better water and air flow.

I haven't gone up to check it out in person, but it looks very promising.

Pyrrho · March 13, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riceloft

All Home Depot's in my area carry this:

Kambark 2 Cu. Ft. Pine Bark Mulch
These Pine Bark Mulch is screened for a uniform size. It can be used as either a top dressing or tilled into the soil as a conditioner. It helps to loosen the soil for easier weeding. It can also help promote root growth by allowing for better water and air flow.

I haven't gone up to check it out in person, but it looks very promising.

I've seen some products that are just labelled as soil conditioner that are basically just pine bark fines. One could look into these products if you're having trouble finding bark fines labelled as such, but make sure that what you're buying is just bark fines and nothing else.

GaryStPaul · March 13, 2012

elight, if you have access to a shredder you can use anything from pine bark nuggets to pine bark mulch (such as Riceloft's above). I just picked up two 2 cu.ft bags of nuggets, which will shred down to just the right texture for potting mix for my grow bags; but mulch, rather, than nuggets, would have gone faster.

fortyonenorth · March 13, 2012

Not that I'm cynical--or dubious of the commercial intentions of big box retailers--but a 2 cu. ft. bag of finely shredded bark/mulch will fill more containers than a 2 cu. ft. bag of nuggets.

Case in point, I bought some nuggets last week and shredded them up to an acceptable size. 6 bags x 2 cu. ft. each = 12 cu. ft. or roughly 90 gallons. What I ended up with was two standard 32 gallon garbage cans full. So, instead of 90 gallons, which I bought and paid for, I ended up with somewhat less than 64 gallons.

elight · March 13, 2012

Thanks, Riceloft - the item description for the Kambark (which is in stock near me) says "Particulate size range from dust to 5/8 square inches". This seems in line with the description I found for the Earthgro product that Ray recommended which says "Particles usually less than .5 inch".

Gary, unfortunately I don't own a shredder... I'll put it on the list of lawn and garden equipment I'll own one day when I have a real lawn and garden (hopefully by next summer)!

March 12, 2012	#1
elight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Allentown, PA Posts: 349	Finding bark fines Hi all, I've done some searching through the forums and on Google to try to figure out where I can locate some bark fines (groundcover bark) for Ray's 3:2:1 EarthTainer mix. I live on the east coast, in the NY metro area, and it seems that everyone not on the west coast has had difficulty locating this product. Has anyone around here found it, and if so, under what brand/name, and where? Thanks!

March 13, 2012	#2
Boutique Tomatoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Northeast Wisconsin, Zone 5a Posts: 1,109	Around here the big box stores have it in the spring, I use quite a bit for my peppers. Soil Pep from Mountain West Products is the one I've used the past two years. Google them and call or email the sales rep for your region and they can tell you where to get it.

March 13, 2012	#3
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	elight, This is what you are looking for: Pine based microbark, about 1/2" in diameter. I buy it at Home Depot. Raybo

March 13, 2012	#6
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Lowes and Home Depot usually have some brand of bark fines but they are frequently just called pine bark. I have only seen them labeled bark fines one time in the past few years and that was at a Home Depot. I went back a few weeks later to get some more and they were out but they had another brand labeled pine bark which was the same thing. Sometimes they will be out of stock and only have the larger bark chunks which you don't want for your potting mix. If none of the big box stores have any you might want to check with a local nursery because most of them use bark fines in their own potting mixes.

March 13, 2012	#7
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	I don't know if you have places like this, but here in the mid-west, we have all kinds of places that have large bulk bins of all kinds of stuff for "landscapers" -- stones, mulch, etc. Sometimes the bark / chips are bigger than I would like tho, so you have to hunt around OR have your own chipper/shredded to run the larger stuff thru. Also finding the stuff that isn't colored can sometimes be a problem. Just an idea for you. Carol

March 13, 2012	#8
fortyonenorth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 1,150	elight - it's going to be tough to find the "right" stuff unless you go to the stores and look for it in person. My experience seems to be similar to b54s: it's often carried as "pine bark" or "pine bark nuggets" - but, and this is a really big caveat, the same product is not always acceptable. The brand that is carried locally is Golden Trophy. Sometimes, their "mini pine bark nuggets" are perfect and can be used out of the bag with very little waste. Other times, it's entirely wrong - almost unusable because either the nugget size is too big or there is an unacceptable amount of sap wood. Still other times, I can either sift it or run it through the chipper/shredder to get an acceptable portion - usually about 50%. To make matters worse, you'll often find good bags and bad bags on the same pallet. My advice would be to make a short list of all the potential places that may carry what you're looking for. Then, visit each and see what they have. I'm sure that's not an easy thing to do in metro NYC, but it's the only way to know for sure. Also, it's still relatively early in the season. My local big boxes have not yet received their spring mulch shipments. Good luck.

March 13, 2012	#9
CrazyAboutOrchids Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Zone 6 - CT Posts: 150	Home Depot carries bark fines here in CT, but not labeled as such. You have to go in and check out the bags in person. Fairly cheap, may not have them yet but should be arriving soon.

March 13, 2012	#11
Riceloft Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Parma, Ohio (6a) Posts: 299	All Home Depot's in my area carry this: Kambark 2 Cu. Ft. Pine Bark Mulch These Pine Bark Mulch is screened for a uniform size. It can be used as either a top dressing or tilled into the soil as a conditioner. It helps to loosen the soil for easier weeding. It can also help promote root growth by allowing for better water and air flow. I haven't gone up to check it out in person, but it looks very promising.

March 13, 2012	#13
GaryStPaul Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St Paul, MN Posts: 158	elight, if you have access to a shredder you can use anything from pine bark nuggets to pine bark mulch (such as Riceloft's above). I just picked up two 2 cu.ft bags of nuggets, which will shred down to just the right texture for potting mix for my grow bags; but mulch, rather, than nuggets, would have gone faster.