A gift from AL and a few succulent plants in a gritty 1.1.1 mix!
meyermike_1micha
12 years ago
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jodik_gw
12 years agogreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
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Al's Gritty Mix -- A Learning Experinece
Comments (138)I recently bought a rubber tree plant. It looks very healthy but the soil it’s in is very rich and very hard. I had to take a chop stick to break it up since I couldn’t put my finger in the soil to test the moisture level. So I decided to change out the soil. My first mistake: I went and bought miracle grow potting soil and then watered after I transplanted and even though it has drainage holes not a drop of water came out the bottom. It retained ALL the moisture in the top 1/3 of the pot and I know my plant will die of root rot If I don’t do something soon. My second mistake: Next, I tried a mix of equal parts coarse sand, mini pine bark and peat humus. Again, I watered after planting and it was like soup. Nothing draining out of the pot. I used Al‘s mix years ago for my outside container plants and it was wonderful. We’ve moved since then and I don’t know where my grani-grit or Turface went. I don’t remember where I got these from in WI but I will have to search again. succulents are my newest obsession and I bought bonsai jacks gritty mix but my indoor succulents are not happy. There are zero nutrients in this mix And that makes me uneasy. My question to you is this: What mix do I use for my indoor succulents? (Mainly Echeverias, some Haworthia and some sedum and pachyveria). What mix do I use for my rubber tree plant? What mix do I use for my sanseveria snake plant? Im thinking gritty mix for snake plant and succulents? Please help. Thank you!...See MoreExcuse me, Al's Gritty Mix 1-1-1 question
Comments (2)1) All plants have rhythms (search endogenous/circadian) that control how they react throughout the growth cycle, the primary stimulus being photoperiod. My plants in the basement, with only 1 small window at the far end and growing under timed lights, 'know' when the spring equinox has arrived, because that's when they begin to grow in earnest. It's possible to trick a plant into ignoring what would be its natural rhythm by very closely controlling photoperiod, but it's not easy. Your citrus tree will grow in spurts. You can repot at the end of a growth spurt if you wish, but it's better to repot in April. Still, with the cool temperatures we've been having here in MI, it wouldn't be too far off the mark if you hurried and repotted now. 2) Screen your Turface MVP over insect screen and use the fines for something else. Screen the crushed granite or cherrystone over insect screen to remove the dust. For bark, use what passes a 3/8 screen (1/2 is ok if you can't find 3/8) and what doesn't pass a 1/8 screen. 3) Yes 4) Saw off the bottom half of the root mass, then cut 2-3 pie-shaped wedges into the remaining roots that will eliminate half of what remains. Next spring, you will remove the other half of the roots by removing the wedges that remain, then skip a couple of years. Zone 5b, eh? What city/town do you live in/near? Al...See MoreFicus Lyrata Re-Repot into Al’s gritty mix???
Comments (13)Hi Al, I’ve finally had the opportunity to reply with an update and wanted to thank you again for taking the time to share your knowledge and help explain the process and reasoning behind choosing a particular growing medium. I am always fascinated by the science of things and am looking forward to my ficus lyrata breathing easier. July 31 was repot day. I gathered all of my 1.1.1 gritty mix supplies, screened & rinsed the turface mvp & manna-pro poultry grit, & proceeded to make a huge mess trying to coax the zoo med repti-bark into smaller pieces using a 3-cup ninja food processor - - neither a quick nor easy endeavor. Some pieces did get smaller but not enough to justify the amount of dust that landed all over my kitchen, so the size of my bark is what it is. I want to stress that a dust mask is imperative for anyone attempting this, especially indoors, and also to note that I did not see any discernible difference in bark size between the larger (24 qt) & smaller (4 qt) bags (see picts below) Next I bare rooted what I thought was 1 plant and discovered that I have 2 separate plants - - and I did wind up doing some minimal root pruning after rinsing off all the existing soil. After drilling additional drainage holes all the way through the bottom of the attached saucer, I repotted both plants back into the same original glazed pot as I did not have the opportunity to get an all clay pot, nor did I have a 2nd pot available to repot separately so they will continue to be bosom buddies, at least until next year. In the hopes of lessening the weight of the pot and more importantly, the perched water table, I placed 4 small empty plastic water bottles at the bottom of the pot and added a cotton string wick through the main center drainage hole to help keep a check on moisture levels. One other thing to note is when I originally posted on July 25, there was no visible growth activity - the brown pod (for lack of a better word) felt dry, crispy & empty, but to my surprise, right after the repot, I noticed that there was in deed some growth activity taking place. I only hope I did not jeopardize the emergence of new baby leaves with this root running & repot! As luck would have it, I have to go out of town for 2 weeks and need to leave explicit instructions for my boyfriend who will be caring for my plants while I am away so I do have a few questions: ~ How long should I keep the plant in the shade or is it ok to keep it in bright light but with NO direct sun? Right now it is behind a UV solar blind and sheer linen curtain which creates a shady environment. ~ When can I introduce it back into some direct sunlight? ~ Should I water everyday until the roots acclimate & re-establish themselves in the gritty mix? What is the best watering schedule for now? ~ When would I start adding foliage pro 9-3-6 to the mix & should it be the production or maintenance amount? Many thanks to Al and all the other forum members for all the advice. I will update once I am back from my trip with any changes - - hopefully they are all positive ones. **having trouble positing picts so will try to add in separate post...See MoreGritty mix (1:1:1) and watering
Comments (24)WT You are right. I understand that it takes a while for ppl to really 'get it'. First, such unusual mix...than water just runs out...And some of the ingredients that many of us didn't even know that existed, and never knew that they will do such good job as a potting medium. And some re difficult to source! That is the reason, IMO, that posts like it should be read few times. At first, I thought it was completely different post since reading it 2nd time, I found many 'new' things there - yet there were there all the time. It is the concept to understand, and that may - or may not - take time. Also understand what the properties of each ingredient are, how they hold/retain any water and how much, how it is gradually released to the plant. ewwmayo mentioned experiment with turface: ..."Try watering a transparent plastic cup of gritty mix - it's easy to miss spots and under water"...He did lots of research, lots of measurements (that most likely won't do - I don't, just read his results he generously shared). He is using gritty mix, and his plants are really great. Unless one can see it, it may be difficult to understand. I didn't - I was overwatering succulents in first gritty mix I made: didn't know then that turface could hold lots of water (as much as it could have dry patches). So I read Al's post again (and probably asked some 'annoying' questions :), until I got it. I think that litterbuggy summarized it very well here (about watering): ..."wetting the whole surface, wetting the whole surface of the pot, going on to water the rest of his plants, then going back to water each gritty pot again. That makes sense if your think about it: the water drains through the pot too fast to get the turface and bark thoroughly wet in one shot, so it would have to take a few rounds of watering to do the job"... (that is written in Al's posts, and it is kind of a guide to watering). It is very frustrating not to be able to get results we expect, after going thru the steps of making the mix. One of the important things to remember may be that 'receipt' for making either of the mixes could be and should be, if necessary, adjusted to suit the particular situation. That could be done if one understands the concept....See Moretapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
12 years agomeyermike_1micha
12 years agogreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
12 years agohaxuan
12 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
12 years agojodik_gw
12 years agojodik_gw
12 years agomeyermike_1micha
12 years agohaxuan
12 years agogreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
12 years agojodik_gw
12 years agomeyermike_1micha
12 years agojodik_gw
12 years agohaxuan
11 years agojodik_gw
11 years agomeyermike_1micha
11 years agojodik_gw
11 years ago
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