AusBonsai

Has anyone tried using a blender or food processor to reduce the size of bark nuggets or orchid bark?

Yes . Mixed results . Now I use orchiarta bark ,expensive but no more mucking around sieving .I still use the blender for making my moss covers .

Sno wrote: ↑June 19th, 2020, 9:10 pm Yes . Mixed results

Could you elaborate a bit more?. What sort of results did you get?

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Could you elaborate a bit more?. What sort of results did you get?
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I was putting in large bark pieces (about the size of a twenty cent piece) which was being sold as mulch , cheaper than potting mix . The blender chops the bark up no problems but by the time you get the size particles that are a useable size I had to sieve a lot of fine particle out . So it wasn’t worth the effort . I grow a lot of different species mainly shohin size and I like an open mix which I can water basically the same for every tree. My climate is cool and except for a few weeks over summer my mix can stay to wet if it’s not really free draining .

I wonder if a food processor might be better. It may chop up the bark rather than grinding them up and producing fines.

Sprung . Now I have to confess my cooking skills are rudimentary . The machine I have been using after a quick google is a food processor similar to this one . It makes great moss .

Any machine chopping pine bark will produce a lot of fine particles. You will need to sieve out fines and larger pieces which is quite time consuming on a small scale.
The starting material is cheap but the time may push the value of the final product up depending on how you value your time. It is also likely the food processor won't last very long when used for something it was never intended. Used ones are relatively cheap but will still add to the financial considerations. If you are even considering using the food processor from the kitchen please take a deep breath and reconsider the consequences

At one stage we were able to get fine pine bark in bulk at landscape supply places but they don't seem to stock that any more. It may be worth making local inquiries.
You should also be aware of the problems that may be associated with uncomposted pine bark in potting mixes. All woody material, including pine bark, starts to decompose when it gets damp. That requires nitrogen which the microbes take from the surrounding mix. Unless you have supplied sufficient N your plants may starve. By law all commercial potting mixes must have added fertiliser to counteract that N draw down. Most pine bark included in potting mixes or sold as a component has already been partly composted to reduce N draw down.

Feel free to have a go and see what you can come up with. Innovation is great and can sometimes lead us to new solutions.
The commercial product may be more expensive but should save a lot of time, effort and problems in the longer run.

Sno wrote: ↑June 20th, 2020, 8:57 pm Sprung . Now I have to confess my cooking skills are rudimentary . The machine I have been using after a quick google is a food processor similar to this one .63E910BA-58A6-4D4A-91F8-1C1B023820C5.jpeg

It makes great moss .

Sno! Your partner must be stoked that the said food processor is a moss maker... it would add some interesting tastes when the lemon slice is delivered to the kitchen table...

... one hopes that you have two such devices.

Blenders are also very good for defoliating shohin trees.

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Sno! Your partner must be stoked that the said food processor is a moss maker... it would add some interesting tastes when the lemon slice is delivered to the kitchen table...

... one hopes that you have two such devices.
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The moss just adds flavour ,but she wasn’t happy when I tried to make smaller pumice particles ,

treeman wrote: ↑June 21st, 2020, 9:38 am Blenders are also very good for defoliating shohin trees.

They make real natural looking trees .