I have some half barrels to fill, for growing annual veggies probably. I've used some combination of bark, perlite, and compost in the past, for blueberries and tomatoes, and currently have some happy kale growing in 10g pots of this mix. But while googling, found a nursery in PA that started using a 5:1:1 and evolved to a 1:1 bark mulch and compost mix! (They grow mostly figs.) I was wondering if anyone had tried something like this. I find bark mulch pretty easy to source and use, and I make lots of my own compost, but I really hate storing and wrangling those big bags of peat and perlite!

https://threefoldfarm.org/blog/making-y ... otting-mix

This is the fig nursery I was referring to.

Anything will grow in almost any medium with the right fertilizer unless it's too acidic or alkaline for that plant. For the last 2 years I've been growing in those 17 gallon cattle protein tubs and have been using whatever I find that's cheap. Last year I used rice hulls, pine bark fines and the cheapest potting soil I could find and the plants grew fine till they ran out of fertilizer. I used a John Deere trailer for a lawn mower to mix it up adding fertilizer. Every batch got triple 13, bone meal, Essential Minor Elements and a handful of dried seaweed.

I say go for it or at least a few bags to test it this year.

For tomatoes, peppers and eggplant I’m happy with a variation of a 5-1-1 mix.
I use coco chips-n-fiber instead of peat. It comes in a compressed brick that you add hot water to.
Then just mix in a wheelbarrow with pine bark fines and perlite, plus amendments.