A Hardwood-Bark-Sawdust Compost for Greenhouse Pot Flower Production

Hardwood bark fines (screenings from a mulch-plant bagging operation) and hardwood sawdust were tested as potential constituents of artificial soils. Five media (bark-vermiculite, bark-sawdust NH4NO3, bark-sawdust Ca(NO3)2, peat-vermiculite, soil-sand-peat) were compared as the growing media for pot chrysanthemums and geraniums. Plants were grown in a greenhouse under standard commercial conditions and were fertilized at every other watering with a standard Hoagland’s solution. For chrysanthemums, a bark-sawdust (1:1) mix containing ammonium nitrate at the rate of 6 lbs./cubic yard led all other treatments and this mix compared favorably with the standard mix (peat-vermiculite) for geraniums. The poorer performance of the bark-vermiculite and bark-sawdust ?? nitrate is thought to be due to sub-optimal levels of nitrogen. This report further extends the list of crops which have been successfully grown in a bark-sawdust media.

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