Has anyone ever used this product in there planting mix ? If you are interested in reading about this product you can find it here, www. tindaraorchids.com . I have been reading up on it and it seems to be working for orchid growers and doesn't seem to break down as fast as other mediums and is reusable. I would appreciate any information if anyone has used it befor. I'm thinking of using it in place or my perlite.
Thanks Tami
Diatomite
Tami...I looked into it but it is so expensive to get sent to HI I gave up. It was highly recommended to me by an orchid grower who also grows a lot of Hoya...It would be lovely to get it and if I could, I would not hesitate using it. I contacted the distributor who offered to send me samples of it FREE...just $70 for the shipping (gulp). Perhaps he would offer the same to you...and the shipping would be less.
Carol
This message was edited Jan 9, 2007 4:00 PM
Wow, $ 70.00 .... Was the distributor located in Australia? I have been doing some reading on it, if you can get the Aussie Gold Orchid Mix, it comes premixed in there. I have never seen the orchid mix by this company but plan on looking for it. I was reading in an Orchid Forum and it seemed to have some mixed reviews. I really do want to try it. Has your friend used it on hoya's or just the orchids? Did you have a formula in mind for using it, or were you just going to incorporate it into your soil mix?
Tami
Carol have you checked H&R Orchids in Hawaii for this product? I am not sure if they just sell orchids or if they sell Diatomite as well. I also found out that Dyna Rok ll is the same product.
I am using a lot of diatomite for my orchids, but so far not for other plants.
I have two cautionary notes: (1) dry diatomite sucks water out of roots, and I routinely let my pots go bone dry so roots get sucked fairly often (this is for the orchids) and (2) diatomite is jagged so diatomite+peat seems to me to have less air in the pot than perlite(which is round)+peat.
Having said that, diatomite is proving to be an excellent addition to my bark and coconut husk mixes. It's also great for humidity. I had a bucket full of large grade diatomite and found that it would wick water all the way to the top. This is much better wicking action than leca or hydroton.... I have some orchids set up so that they are basically sitting on a bed of diatomite....
If using a medium or small grade, be aware of this wicking ability so your mix doesn't get too waterlogged.
But I'm babbling. The stuff is fairly light when dry (eg when it's sold) so not all that bad to ship... comparatively speaking. If you are interested in trying the diatomite, I think you will have to price it out by contacting the suppliers listed at diatomiteusa.com, and then seeing what they'll charge for shipping.
On the other hand, you can count me in the con list for Aussie Gold. That processed peat or coir or whatever it is is the pits. It washes out, but not before clogging up the bottom of the pot.
I would NOT use anything with COIR. I humbly offer that having been a great fan of it. It sucks!
Thanks Keyring for your input, I guess that explains why you can't overwater with it. It does seem to me that you would have better air circulation at the roots with the diatomite being jagged, irregular shaped, so it isn't so compact. I always think backwards though. I have read that it is great for humidity, which was one of the main reasons I wanted to try it. I do have the hydroton, which I tried on a couple of hoya's this winter, they are def. showing signs of some deficiency and don't look well at all. I think with my climate I need to let the pot sit in water for awhile to rehydrate the hydroton. Trial and error, I just love it.
And two nays for the Aussie Gold...
Hmmm guess I am going to stick with what I know
Tami...I did contact H&R Orchids...they use it, love it...but shipping would be too much.
Tami,
Diatomite alone would give the roots a lot of air because it is jagged. But, if you fill in those gaps with a peat mix, you lose all the air.
How is you hydroton set up? Is it semi hydro or are you using it like a regulay potting mix? The stuff doesn't hold water and doesn't wick up very well, so even with semihydro, you have to water from above until the roots are at least half way down the pot.
Also, don't forget to adjust fertilizer when you move to these types of media.
I have a tub of large grade diatomite looking like this:
closeup. some moss is growing on it now.....
I water this tub by pouring about a 1.5 litres (a water bottle) full of water into it once a week or two.
it's one of those trial runs.... I wanted a set up that would require minimal care, that would fit on a light shelf, and the cattleyas (which like to dry out between waterings) would like.
Keyring,
It is set up so the the hydroton covers the bottom half of a 4" pot, the top half is my regular potting mixture which contains fine orchid bark, sponge rock and just a tish of peat. I water from the top so the roots do get the water, but I'm thinking that it is just getting to dry for the roots. I tried a similiar set up last winter with the sponge rock in the bottom and had great results. Maybe I should of just stuck to that method.
Your setup looks great, please let me know the results. I would like to try some orchids, please tell me it's not addicting :) Is that the medium or large diatomite?
hydroton at the bottom of a plastic pot should be fairly damp, but it
certainly holds a lot less water than spongerock. The hydroton I have mostly floats anyway.....
The diatomite is large grade and I've had them in this setup for about 6
months now. They are actually happy, so I'm going to try to rig it up so that I can flush and leach the tub ? I need to be able to fertilize more.
Orchids are not at all addictive, of course. Not at all. This is why there are only 8 active orchid boards that I know of in the US :P The web and meristem technology has truly brought this formerly esoteric hobby to mainstream growers. If you decide to try them, I highly recommend setting some rules in terms of $ and cultural requirements. Oh, and your being in AZ is both good and bad, as many nurseries won't ship to AZ (as I understand, some phyto requirements?
I'm posting this from a PDA so I bet it will look funky...