Advice on potting mix, please?

11 years ago

Hi, I'm new to the forums, and like many new members, I'm here to ask for your help. (Read on for a lot of rambling, and questions regarding the ingredients in "Al's gritty mix.")

Several years ago, I owned some cacti. They all died because I didn't know how to take care of them. :( But a few weeks ago, for some reason I decided to get one or two and try again, and after some e-bay browsing, somehow ended up with thirteen plants, a grow light, some books, and a bag of "cactus soil." I also found this forum and began reading as much as I could.

I've pretty much realized that the "cactus soil" isn't really suited to cacti and succulents. It has some mulch bits, and a little perlite, to which I added a lot more perlite, but for the most part it seems like ordinary potting soil. Also, I put a layer of gravel in the bottom of the pots because that was how I had always been taught to pot things. So they need repotting badly, before they suffer too many ill effects. A couple of them are definitely not happy at the moment.

Anyway, I'd like to try making the gritty mix, but I'm still unsure as to whether I've understood all the new information correctly, and I keep waffling back and forth, unable to make any decisions, so I'd really appreciate any advice or feedback. (Also I'm kind of running out of available funds for this project, but at the same time, I don't want all my new plants to die because I wouldn't cough up for decent potting mix.)

I checked out the turface website, and there don't seem to be any retailers near me, but I could order some from repotme.com if I can't find anything else locally. If I can't find any bark either, I could order some from there as well. Is their small Orchiata bark a good choice? (All of their products are rather expensive though.)

http://repotme.com/orchid-potting-media/Monterey-Pine-Bark-Small.html

Other threads have suggested:

--"Floor Dry 8822" from Napa Auto Parts as a substitute for turface. There is a Napa Auto Parts nearby, so I can check and see if they stock it. By the way, is this really a good substitute?

--Aquarium gravel and terrarium bark. I can go to Petsmart and see if they have any suitable bark. I know they will have gravel, but it will probably be more expensive than finding it somewhere else.

--Chicken grit as a substitute for the gravel. Maybe the gardening center or Home Depot might sell this, and they also might possibly carry bark. I also need to get screening in 1/8" and 3/8" from Home Depot, to screen whatever materials I can come up with.

I also still have most of a 2 gallon bag of perlite. Would this be an acceptable substitute for turface? Does the ratio to bark and gravel need to be adjusted if I use it?

I have some more questions about re-potting and watering, but I thought I'd just start with this. Thanks for listening to my long-winded first post. The plants thank you too. :)

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Comments (4)

bikerdoc5968 Z6 SE MI
11 years ago
Chicken granite (Chick grit) comes in two sizes: fine for baby chickens and a larger size for adult birds. The smaller size is available at any pet store and is sold in a 2# box for parrots. I purchased the larger size at a local feed and grain store. The Big Box stores don't carry it. Robert's Flower Supply (http://www.orchidmix.com/) sells Turface as well as other growing medium products. Some people like to use cocoanut coir with Turface or Diatomite or granite grit and some perlite. The coir has a longer "pot" life over peat moss. What you use for a "mix" will depend on the plant. Some cactus, as I have learned by my mistakes, require a more gritty mix because of their large tap root while other plants, like Euphorbia leuconeura can handle more organic material. Just my two cents worth

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sutremaine
11 years ago
Perlite can't be substituted for Turface. Turface absorbs water and perlite doesn't, making perlite more like the gravel part of the mix. You can still use it, just not as a Turface substitute.

By the way, gravel layers are no good unless they're roughly the same size as the particles in the mix filling most of the pot. All they do is raise the bottom of the pot, which might be desirable in some cases* but is better achieved by using something that isn't so heavy.

*Usually this happens when I have more pot space than mix to fill it and don't really need the pot to drain all the way to the bottom. But even then I prefer to use perlite fines, because I have lots of the stuff and it's lighter than gravel.
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"Therefore, I am thinking that using straight 5:1:1 may not be the best mix for my conditions" It didn't take you long to figure that out! If you think 5-1-1 is dry wait till you use the gritty mix! That will dry your plants out quicker than a drunk in a juice bar! The fir bark is just like pine, very acceptable. I'm still experimenting but discovered last year that my mixes with some compost performed better, stayed moist longer, and the plants loved it. No more than 25%, 15 % compost seems about right. What compost? Good question! I plan to try many types this summer. Worm castings worked well last year. But I want to try plain manure compost, and other organic additives like dry molasses. It increases bacterial count in pots, which traditionally have low counts compared to ground soil. Also better than perlite, or turface is Diatomaceous Earth. it holds more water, yet pores are big enough for plants to utilize water when needed. Turface hold plenty of water, but water is not available to plants when needed. Pores are too small. It's hard to find the right size DE. Do not use food grade. I have found that Optisorb is the right size. it is an absorbent you can find at auto supply stores. I get mine at O'Reilly's. Many people will say I'm way off, but experiment yourself. Find what works for you. I feel a living breathing environment is much better for plants than a lifeless inorganic one. I also add bacteria to my pots via Biota max, and they need food thus the molasses. It will also feed the plants as it breaks down. I also use mycorrhizae fungi although some are already in Biota max. I add more. I use Mycogrow, but another brand Myco-Grow is not the same stuff, www.fungi.com is the right stuff These pots are really good btw, the roots can breath! Good luck!
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wantonamara Z8 CenTex
11 years ago
If you can find it, get the large perlite. Often perlite is too fine.
goldfishcactus
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for all your answers so far. :)

Bikerdoc, I will look for the parrot grit at Petsmart, it looks like it would be just the right size. From researching, it looks like all of the plants I have would be happy in a gritty soil.

Sutremaine, thanks for letting me know about the perlite. I guess I assumed that since it was so lightweight, it must be porous. I'll use it as part of the small gravel fraction if I use it at all. (And yeah, I found that out about the bottom gravel layer three days after I potted everything. I was smacking my forehead, lol.)

Wantonamara, most of the perlite is a pretty good size, I think, but there are some tiny pieces too, so I should probably sift it if I end up using it.

I found another place to order turface from, and should get it by Monday, and I'm going out today to get the rest of the supplies. When I do repot everything, should I rinse the old soil off the roots and let them dry out for a day before potting, or would that put too much stress on the plants? Maybe just brushing them off and repotting immediately would be better?

Advice on potting mix, please?

Comments (4)

bikerdoc5968 Z6 SE MI

sutremaine

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Advice on potting mix, please?

Comments (4)

bikerdoc5968 Z6 SE MI

sutremaine

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wantonamara Z8 CenTex

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