Coconut husk chip "how to"

Turkey grit is inexpensive, available in large bags (around 50#) at any local farm or feed store. I've got 3 or 4 sources here in my little town, but I'm rural. Happy, in Chevy Chase, MD, you might have to get on the phone and call around!

CHC is not inexpensive. In the past, I have bought mine online in 2x4x8 inch bales like this: http://vgrove.com/MM5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MillenniumsoilsCoirProductStore&Product_Code=0420&Category_Code= Many people swear by the Crystal Company in St. Louis (800-845-4777). They sell a 7 cu. ft. bale which, most recently, was $55. Here is another source for the bales: http://www.orchidmix.com/cat2.htm Keep in mind that they last a long time and they can be reused.

Pelletized dolomitic lime should be available any place you buy lawn supplies.

Micromax is hard to come by in small volumes. They should make it avaiable in small cans or boxes, but unfortunately the smallest bag I've ever seen is 25# and I think 50# (for $80 as I vaguely recall) is the only quantity I could find recently. I finally did find it at a nursery an hour from here, and they sold me 1 margarine containerful out of their #50 bag for around $10. Some people use S.T.E.M. instead of Micromax, and it may be available in smaller quantities.

That is extremely helpful -- many thanks. I'll have to mull over whether I'll invest in CHC, but the write-up is tempting!

SB,

The VGrove.com link is dead. Can you repost. I'll try to chech this one out by google. Very interesting thread here.

SF

Try this one instead, I think it's cheaper: http://www.growstuffplus.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Product/asp/product-id/544821.html

Thanks!

Is there a reason that the medium size CHC can not be used instead of mixing with the small?

caganimalover, I don't think so. There are people who only use the medium chips, particularly in larger containers.

It is hard for me to compare due to the measurement differences.

http://www.growstuffplus.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Product/asp/hierarchy/0300/product-id/323997.html is the link where you thought it was cheaper. They sell the medium chips 1 Cu.Ft.Box $15.75 or 6 Litre Bag $5.50

http://www.orchidmix.com/cat2.htm is another link you suggested and I don't think their price is too outrageous. The quantity I am thinking about is $16.95 for a small bale (23lbs).

Do you know how to compare size/price?
Am I missing something? It seems like the orchidmix.com is a really great deal if you compare it to vgrove.com 18lbs of medium chips for $30 http://vgrove.com/MM5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MillenniumsoilsCoirProductStore&Product_Code=0415&Category_Code=

This is so interesting! Thank you for posting it. I have wondered what this stuff was for years, ever since I got a big load of orchids from the estste of a local elderly lady. They were pawned off on me because the son "knew" I would take good care of them. hunh?

I don't know the first thing about orchids, but I was more interested in what they were growing in. I knew they hadn't be repotted for 10 years, but how could the medium not break down? It got lower, but not much lower, and never really broke down as I knew bark would. I always knew is was special orchid medium, which of course I wouldn't be able to identify, but the things I was thinking of included cedar or cypress or even maybe teak bark? I didn't smell like cedar or cypress and I don't know what teak smells like; I simply could not figure it out. She used it for all kinds of things, BTW, but tuberous and rex begonias were the only things I could identify.

I finaly found a home for the (unnamed) orchids, but I kept one Rex begonia that finally died. I kept the medium to put outside under & around a valuable Lilium bulb. It's probably still there!

Suzy

caganimalover, my reading of the websites (your links) would lead me to believe that vgrove chips are compressed and the others are not. The vgrove label is the same as the label on my compressed bricks, and they specifically state that they are compressed.

So going by expanded volume, the vgrove is $10/cu ft whereas the growstuffplus is $15.75/cu ft. So I take it back. :-)

The orchidmix link doesn't give a volume, only weight. If we assume that it is dry weight, then orchidmix is the best deal, because you are paying $0.74/pound, versus $1.67/pound at vgrove.

(I hope I did the math right)

What a great informative thread. I have used coir in a 1:1 mix with perlite to start seeds for several years and use the CHC chips for many of my orchids. One advantage to using coir or CHC chips is the elimination of fungus gnats inside your house/greenhouse. I became familiar with Starter grit or Turkey grit with my bonsai plants and have now expanded it's use to even my outside gardening or if I have to bring plants in that are potted in peat based/pine bark mixture. Cover the top of the container with the grit and fungus gnats cannot reenter the container to lay their eggs.

Brooke

I also like the orchidmix.com site because it has a very easy to understand system to get the shipping cost.

Thanks very much for your help. I wonder if I should actually call them and ASK if they are compressed or not; it could be a huge difference in price.
Carol