All mixes should have the ingredients as evenly mixed as possible. You want a homogeneous medium rather than layers. I supposed for really advanced purposes layers could serve a specific purpose, but for 99.9% of the cases you want it well mixed.

Equally distributed... mix it as though you were mixing ingredients for a salad dressing or a cake batter.

I just use a large spoon or small trowel, but I only mix small batches in a 2 gallon bucket. If you're using larger amounts, a wheelbarrow and a shovel will work a little better.

Others have unique ways of mixing larger batches... I'm sure they'll be along shortly to share their methods!

I usually mix equal portions of about a gallon of each ingredient (fir bark/screened Turface/#2 cherrystone or grower grit) in a large polypro tub used to mix mortar. I sprinkle on top, Micromax and gypsum and lightly mix it into the other ingredients, then wet everything before mixing well with a garden trowel. I then pour the mixed product into a very large tub and mix another batch until I feel I have enough to suit the needs of the immediate future.

Al

Firstly I soak the fine pine bark over night in water.

Next, I find the following helps to get rid of the dust/flour of both the Turface and the grit.

I two thirds fill a garage sized water bucket with either Turface or Granite then add water to near the top. Then swill the mixture around by putting my hand deep in the bucket of the water. You will be amazed at how much dust comes out in the water. I then drain out the water with the dust particles in it and repeat, this usually takes about eight times until the water runs nearly clear as opposed to the mucky soup on the first try.

In addition, for the Turface only, I charge the Turface mix in the bucket with Green Light Super Bloom 12-55-6 as some posts have stated that Turface sucks up too much "P" if used without charging it first, about two tablespoons per bucket, I then drain out this water, and completely mix the three together. So it is really a very light "P" charge.

I realize that this is a lot more work than just mixing them together but it really does give a really "Gritty Mix", as opposed to a "Gritty Mix" with lots of flour/mud trapped in between the particles.

Then completely mix the three together.

This mix has worked very well for Cape Gooseberries and a Sapodilla Tree. Cape Gooseberries in particular will not grow well unless the soil is very light and well aerated. So if you are growing in any mix it is a good test plant to see if your soil mix is really as well aerated as you believe it is.

This flushing method comes from Oriental chefs who wash American, and perhaps other nations, white rice to remove the stuffers which make it look more white. Removing the stuffers helps the rice to be less gluey, lighter, and fluffier.

Hope this helps.

As regards the nature of the soil "well-drained gravelly loam" maybe a better word than light. As even in a 16 gal container it is fairly heavy. As the soil is well drained I need to water every day or every second day, in Honolulu's climate or the plant suffers drought immediately.

Cape Gooseberries (Poha Berry in Hawaii) are also a white fly magnet and requires spraying with either Horticultural Oils, insecticidal soaps, or Neem on leaves agianst nymphs or for adults Pyrethoid insecticides, which I do not use, however if you do please check label to make sure they are ok for fruit.

The following description is taken from this site:

"http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/cape_gooseberry.html";

"Soil:

The cape gooseberry will grow in any well-drained soil but does best on sandy to gravelly loam. On highly fertile alluvial soil, there is much vegetative growth and the fruits fail to color properly. Very good crops are obtained on rather poor sandy ground. Where drainage is a problem, the plantings should be on gentle slopes or the rows should be mounded. The plants become dormant in drought."

Very little fertilzer is needed for this plant maybe only a sixtenth of most plants requirements. In some area of high wind born dust maybe no fertilizer at all is OK as in windy parts of Hawaii.

Plant in the September if you live in a sub-tropical climate, and ideally never grow for more than two seasons before replacing with a new plant. I grow mine at a 1000 ft up in Honolulu, if your area is tropical you may need to go to 4000 to 6000 ft. up.

Taken from this site:

"http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/cape-gooseberry.html";

"Propagation: The plant is widely grown from seed. There are 5,000 to 8,000 seeds per ounce, which are sometimes mixed with pulverized soil or ashes for uniform sowing. High humidity is required for good germination. The plants can also be propagated from 1 year old stem cuttings treated with a rooting hormone. Plants grown this way flower early and yield well but are less vigorous than seedlings."

I usually just screen the Turface through insect screen to rid it of the fines. Then, the first time I water, I water very thoroughly, which washes the dust out of the soil. I'm a little confused about what all the other information is about, but I really can't think of a reason why you might think the soil needs 'charging' with anything. I'm wondering if you thought you were posting to a different thread?

Al

I cannot stress how much easier it is to mix large batches of Gritty Mix using a simple tarp on the ground (per Al's suggestion in some thread) and rolling it from one edge, then the other side. I've used large tubs, small batch tubs (then mixing at the end) and in a wheel barrow.

All of the above physical mixing (vs. tarp) 1) takes longer, 2) uses more energy, 3) does not easily evenly mix, 4) is harsh on the ingredients, after several shovel scrapes against the metal wheelbarrow I was concerned with breaking the turface component into smaller pieces.

Using whatever scoop (or shovel) as one measurement unit, just scoop each ingredient, one at a time, and spread it on the tarp. This will layer it and measure at the same time.

I assumed doing it would require two people. But it went so fast, including me walking back and forth from each side to pull up the tarp, it was done mixing after just 4 pulls on each end.

Thanks again Al,

Ooh! Speaking of gardening gloves... I found the perfect gloves for women with small hands, at Rural King. It's a local farm store... local to Illinois, I guess.

Anyway... the gloves are for kids, and they're cotton coated in a green non-slip latex layer... and perfect for a woman's smaller hands! We buy the entire rack's worth every time we go there! I love these gloves! They fit well, and you can still feel what you're doing.

The label says: Kinco - Kids Latex Gloves... 55% latex, 45% cotton. They have a website... www.kinco.com

I think they're about 2 dollars and change per pair.