I have just read thru a post by "Tapla" on the Container Gardening forum... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/527353/ While I understand about 10% of it...I have printed it out to read and read to understand more. THis is fantastic information...well researched and well practiced.
It is daunting, at first...lots of terms new to me, at least. But I plan to persevere and understand it...it will be SO helpful.....
Aloha
Carol
a MUST READ post/thread
Carol,
I read his thread in the Container Gardening Forum some time ago, and have resolved to try it. I have already located the hardest to find ingredient in his gritty soil mixture - Turface and have resolved to make the mixture up this spring. Everything that he says is so true! I take care of well over a hundred container plants where I work, and I am so sick of these peat based soils collapsing on me, and having to continually re-pot because the soil is no good. He also has a thread going in the house-plant forum. He really knows his stuff!
Doug
I agree...Peat Moss is NOT all that hot! I am using bark mulch...just a tad...for my mix which is practically all hard stuff!!! What is Turface?
Turface MVP is a baked clay granule that I think is about the size of a BB. It is not all that easy to find, and is usually available at the wholesale level. It is used a lot for turf management on ball fields as a soil conditioner. People into Bonsai have been raving about the stuff for years as it is very stable and does not break down. Al's (Tapla) mix that he has been preaching about contains equal parts bark or bark fines, of the right size, Turface, Turkey grit that is made of crushed granite, which is also BB size; and a little bit of gypsum. Turface can be found in small quantities on eBay, but shipping is prohibitive. I found my supplier (the only one in VT), and he is going to drop a few bags by so that I can try it out. If you can find the stuff, it is not that expensive. It sells for around $8.50 for a 50lb bag.
Doug
It sounds similar to Hydroton...but smaller! I am delighted with Hydroton in my mix...which is basically fine orchid bark, hydroton, #3 Perlite and black cinders. Totally different from what I was using a year ago!!! I do use Dolomite.
Carol, your mix sounds pretty similar to Al's, and yes I think that Turface is just a very small version of hydroton. He is totally against adding any organic stuff to the mix like compost, manure, peat and the like, because as it ages and breaks down; it holds way to much moisture and cuts off oxygen from the roots.
YUP!!!
Doesn't any of these call for soil of any kind? I'm afraid if I used a mix this light, I would be watering 3 times daily with the hot dry air of S. Calif. Especially in summer. My plants are not in a greenhouse, the air is dry, and it NEVER rains here (except for today). Ha.
Marcy
Marcy...actually the perlite and the ceramic 'marbles' hold quite a bit of moisture...I am always amazed!!!
Al (Tapla) argues that what is best for the plant is not always best for the plant owner, like having to water a lot more often. Sometimes compromises have to be made because of convenience.
This is really interesting - I've recently changed my mix also - I use a small amount of good soil mix (Promix), orchid bark, orchid bark mix, small amount of perlite, and hydroton. I have seen some amazing winter "healing" with some of the hoyas that were "winter weary." I also repotted ALL of my hoyas that I - !foolishly! - planted in clay pots - lots (!) of roots stuck to the pot. The other thing I had tried, which was not good for my conditions, was putting perlite at the bottom on the pot. What ended up happening was the perlite became like cement, causing no air to the roots, droopy, leathery, yellow, unhealthy plants. As soon as they were repotted in plastic, with no perlite at the bottom, with my new mix, I saw a big difference!!
Karen
Isn't it strange how we can do a 360deg. turn??? I put the hydroton in the bottom of the pot...mixed with cinders.
I did that with my first bag of hydroton after reading about Christina using a similar product sold in Sweden for the bottoms of her pots. Then I started mixing it with the large perlite too. Works good.
Marcy