That's an absolutely terrible mix for most cacti or succulents. Maybe Rhipsalis and their ilk, but terrible for anything else.

-R

Many folks grow in pure Pumice, so I don't see what's so terrible about this mix.
As Nancy says, Decrease the bark, Increase the Grit for plants that prefer dry conditions.

I have assorted Crassulas, Portulacarias, Aloes, Kalanchoes, Ceropegia, Euphorbia,
and others growing in a very similar mix.

Josh

land3499, I have most of my container plants in this mix(varying) amounts of each ingredients depending on the type of plants. I grow Jades, a few Succulents, tropical fruit trees, hoyas and many different houseplants. I don't grow Cactus except for Christmas/Thanksgiving cactus. They are all doing wonderful in this mix. Sorry to disappoint you! Its NOT a terrible mix for me. I've been using it for over three years and my plants love it.

land3499, the old soil mix that I use before were in regular potting soil and perlite. After reading-searching and seeing many result of the plants in Al's gritty mix I decided to give it a try. The plants that I grow; jades, aloe, haworthias, hoyas, Christmas-Thanksgiving Cactus and some houseplants love this soil mix. They live in this gritty soil mix but with different-varying amount of mix. As puglvr1 said above, it depends on the types of the plants. This soil mix is great and give the plants long-healthy life.

Nat

land, what are you basing your opinion on?

FYI, I use Seachem Flourite to replace Turface in Al's gritty mix, which can be found in any petfish stores.

-R may be basing his opinion on his soil mix for the collection of Euphorbias and other plants he grows quite well, which in itself is telling us he knows plants and what they grow well in.

OTOH, it may be his fortnightly damn-the-torpedoes-and-loose-cannon-moment-in-the sun monologue, which we know he is quite fond of and which, personally speaking, I'm learning to bear without taking the amount of umbrage I previously had. It's like Manny-being-Manny, for you BoSox fans, just done more acerbically.

Personally, if my mix has a little peat in it, as long as it has (1) lots of drainage material, be that perlite, vermiculite, decomposed granite sand, pumice, small irregularly-shaped gravel, Turface, rocks, and/or other drainage material (2) some other organic matter (I use some topsoil), I'm fine with that. The growth of the plant, plus the drainage observed after the first watering, will tell me if I have what I want.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Jeffrey, that sounds like an absolutely terrible mix for most cacti and succulents.... ;)

Josh

I think the questionable component is the pine bark.

When I hear of bark, I also think of epiphytes. But pine bark fines add excellent drainage because it takes them forever to decompose. They have their place in a well rounded soil mix, including for many types of cactus and succulents.

But...there are many species of droughtland plants, especially slow growing plants with fine root systems like Mesembs, some dwarf cacti and others, that may not do as well in a very porous mix with large particle substrates.

Al's mix is perfect for things like Pachypodium, Adenium, Aloes, Agaves, large cacti and other robust plants. It may need major modifications for something like Conophytum, Lithops, dwarf Mamms, Avonia, and other similar niche plants.

x

Josh,

You're wrong there - it's merely horrible, as seen here:

{{gwi:467309}}

X,

I need to break out the 27-different-soils recipe book (and this is just for cacti) by Mr. G. Marsden, if I still have it, to independently verify your statement, but I know you know what you're talking about. Anyone growing their most excellent succulents in the wilds of NYC walks the walk.

However, I too have grown many plants well (and some not well at all, despite multiple attempts) and I have never knowingly used pine bark in my later soil mixes. I suspect it's all about location, and I know it's trial-and-error for a while, if not forever. How long did it take you to arrive at your mix(es), and what are they?

You all do grow excellent plants!

For what it's worth....I use Fir bark ;)
Not quite as long-lasting as Pine, but very close. In my opinion, anyone willing to risk a fraction
of Peat in their mix would do just as well risking that same fraction in bark. For one, bark and
bark dust is comparable in size to peat (in other words, it'll clog up drainage the way peat will,
if moisture retention is what you're after); however, it isn't already collapsed and decomposed -
so it won't shrink the way peat does when it dries out.

It's all about particle size...and the durability of those particles.

I often end up with mixes that are a little too fast at first...but the moisture evens out
once the roots begin to colonize the soil, and as smaller particles wedge between larger particles.

For fine-rooted plants, one might screen the particles to 1/16 - 1/8 of an inch.

Someone with a nifty new screening apparatus could certainly give it a try... ;)

Josh

cactusmcharris

In the beginning, back before I knew anything, I used to grow stuff in mainly peat. Then I thought that since I have some desert plants, it would help to add sand. I basically did the same thing that most novices do. My fledgling collection consisted of a few cactus plants and some Lithops from seed.

Then I started reading more sometime in the early 90's (before the internet became big). It was a lot harder to come by information, and plants, back then in NYC.

The next step in my growing evolution was fine gravel from the pet store. I would mix that with garden soil and stopped the use of peat. Results were pretty good as long as watering was kept under control. The mix was still rather dense.

Then I found lava rock (scoria) at Home Depot. I mixed it with equal parts fine gravel and garden soil. Mind you, my collection was still small and consisted mainly of Mesembs and small cacti.

Then my family moved and we bought a house. That's when all hell broke loose. I had space, resources, bought a greenhouse, etc.

I started experimenting with perlite for the bigger stuff because it was light and cheap. I also incorporated Turface in lieu of the garden soil (I like a clay component).

My basic mix for anything in small pots that does not need to be repotted often (Mesembs, small cacti, etc.) is equal parts fine gravel, Turface and lava rock. I mix in some clayey garden loam depending on the species. This works exceedingly well. I like that I can drench without fear of waterlogging, and that the clay and Turface bind some water during times of drought.

For everything else (Cycads, Aloes, Pachypodium, big succulents, Palms, Plumeria) my mix is equal parts perlite and Turface. I like it for the same reasons as above. Perlite keeps the weight down. I increase the perlite for more sensitive plants like Aloe dichotoma or Aloe pillansii. In this mix I feel safe leaving them outside all spring-summer-fall. Even if we get lots of rain, the mix is never wet.

These mixes are highly stable. They do not decompose. If something is repotted I can re-use old soil mix. I have full control over nutrition. pH is basically neutral.

I have some Bromeliads and orchids that I grow in pure fir bark. Otherwise, perlite and Turface are the main ingredients. They are just so damn dusty, you have to work with them outdoors.

Pine bark fines seem like an interesting additive, but I can't find it anywhere around here so I can't speak to it's benefits. If I had access to it, I would use it only for the large things like my big Aloes or Cyphostemmas. I would never use it for a Lithops. I can't get pumice in large quantities either, but I don't need it.

x

If some of you guys are concerned about the particle size, skip screening the Turface &/or step down a size in the grit, or use very large (>1/16") silica in its stead.

The reason I selected the ingredients wasn't for the grower's convenience. I realize you need to water more often when using the gritty mix, but I view that as a good thing. Oh yes - back to the particle size thing ..... I use this soil for bonsai, too. It's imperative that soils hold no (or very little) perched water when you're using it in shallow containers. Shallow containers are much less forgiving of heavy soils. The perched water table disappears entirely as the size of the particles in the soil approaches 1/8". The beauty of the soil is that even after the PWT disappears, you can STILL regulate the soils water retention by increasing the Turface and decreasing the granite. You can also decrease water retention by increasing the granite & decreasing the Turface.

There was a lot of thought and experimenting that went into the soil, and I realize it may not suit all applications, but I've yet to find a plant that doesn't do exceptionally well in the gritty mix - and that's not personal bias talking. ;o) Of course, I don't grow the wide variety of plants you guys grow, and wouldn't presume to suggest what's best for you, but I've tried a blot of ways to improve on the basic principle of the gritty mix and I'm still using the equal parts by volume of fine fir bark, Turface, and crushed granite.

If anyone has any technical questions, I'll be back to look in on the thread later. Great discussion, btw - I enjoyed reading it.

{{gwi:1295}}

Al

Welcome to our group, Al! Were your ears ringing?

x

cactusmcharris:

"-R may be basing his opinion on his soil mix for the collection of Euphorbias and other plants he grows quite well, which in itself is telling us he knows plants and what they grow well in."

I was just a bit freaked out by the addition of bark, which seems contrary to everything I've ever read...but I could be very wrong. Wouldn't bark drag down the pH severely and also break down quickly?

-R

X,

Thanks for the history. Mine was more trial and error and erratic as to figuring out what's best for a particular species/genus. Heck, I'm still rotting Crassulaceae I'm trying to root.

Al,

Glad to see you here.

-R,

I tried to shy away from pine bark because I can't think of any cactus/other succulent, other than perhaps the new one (Digitostigma caput-medusae) that have pine trees growing with it. Doubtless I'm missing some plants, but yes, it also seems to me to making soil acidic with pine products; perhaps there's a way they remove the resin, or perhaps that's not a concern whatsoever.

Pine leaves are acidic probably because of the resins, but pine bark decomposes so slowly that in small quantities I would doubt that it contributes much to the pH, especially if you keep nitrogen low, which is what the bacteria need.

Also, in an essentially soil-less mix, the microbiology in a pot is radically different than in the ground and probably greatly reduced. There is nothing organic for the bacteria to feed on. That's also why "organic" fertilizers may not be as effective since they require bacterial breakdown.

By the time the bark would decompose and potentially "threaten" the plant, it is probably time to repot anyway and introduce a fresh new mix.

I'm no expert. Others should chime in.

x

X, you are quite correct.
Bark is on the outside of trees, exposed to the elements, and so of course it is tough!
In a container, with the forces of decompostion greatly reduced (as you pointed out),
bark lasts a long time...
probably longer than one should go without re-potting (which you also pointed out).

Even with heavily bark-based mixes, the pH is easily adjusted with Dolomitic Lime.

Josh

The search function on this site has room for improvement, so I don't have much background information about this mix. Maybe someone can fill in the blank spots?

If bark decomposes so slowly, what is the point of using it? Does it release something in small quantities that cacti etc. need, or what? Or does it release organic acids that affects pH? I think I will make a few experiments over the next days ...

What is the function of the gypsum? Calcium and/or sulphate source or something else?

Personally I don't think it is something for me, I stay away from bark (except for epiphytes) as I have seen it being attacked by fungi occasionally and I also suspect that wet bark attracts sciara flies.

Good Morning everyone...

tj..
I found a link for you to read.
I'm too new to using this mix, to be explaining it..:) Hopefully others will be along.

This is a link that will explain everything. Lots of reading but well worth it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Understanding Gritty mix

"Also, in an essentially soil-less mix, the microbiology in a pot is radically different than in the ground and probably greatly reduced. There is nothing organic for the bacteria to feed on. That's also why "organic" fertilizers may not be as effective since they require bacterial breakdown."

would compost tea be a good option for this mix? As I understand it, CT contains microbiota that are 'good' for plant health.

The bark holds moisture and nutrients. Its ability to hold water is roughly the average of the water-holding ability of Turface and granite combined. It's much lighter than Turface or granite, and on a per volume basis, much less expensive. I grow some plants in a mix of granite and Turface only, and they do fine. The bark does acidify the soil slightly, but that is a good thing, as ideal pH for most container applications is about a full point lower than mineral soils. IOW - a pH of 5.0 seems to work much better for most applications than the 6.2 so often quoted as ideal in the garden. This is supported in most texts on container production as well. I won't presume to know what is best for you folks heavily into the cacti & succulents - I'm just a visitor here, though I do grow probably 15 different cacti/succulents in the gritty mix and all are superbly healthy.

The bark breaks down so slowly because it is comprised mainly of lignin (the material that's left after compost is 'finished') with a healthy dose of suberin, a lipid that makes it extremely difficult for microorganisms to cleave the hydrocarbon chains. Whoever mentioned that the bark/soil will remain serviceable well beyond the point where it would have been prudent to repot was right. It's an extremely durable soil, designed specifically for it's porosity (aeration and drainage) and long service life.

Because the medium pH comes in at a favorable pre-lime level, I elect to use gypsum as a Ca source because it doesn't noticeably affect pH. I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 on almost all the plants I grow in it, and they all respond well. I also include a small amount of MgSO4 (Epsom salts) in the fertilizer solution to help keep the Ca:Mg ratio favorable. I've tried not using the gypsum and Epsom salts when using FP fertilizer because they contain them - the plants treated this way respond well, but if you use MG or other soluble fertilizers that do not contain Ca and Mg (most soluble fertilizers don't) you really should have a Ca source other than dolomite.

I limit N by limiting the amount of fertilizer I supply. It works well because the 3:1:2 ratio of the FP 9-3-6 is extremely close to the ratio plants use. This allows me to keep soluble salt levels at their lowest levels w/o nutritional deficiencies.

I don't have the variety of soil pests that many of you have (flies mentioned), but I've never had anything other than an occasional pest take up residence under the pot. Of the thousands of repots I've treated plants in the gritty mix to, I've never found anything significant living in the soil - it's just not a hospitable soil for insects.

FWIW - soluble fertilizers work much better than organic soil amendments and additionally help to minimize soil breakdown because they don't encourage abundant soil life. I look at this as a good thing because soil structure is much more important in container culture than is the small amount of nutrition provided by decomposition of the media.

Al

For fun:
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Thanks Al, for the detailed explanations and info. Especially for posting your GREAT pictures!!

Like Jojo, I can't explain it well enough to people that have questions...all I know is I LOVE this mix and has worked very well for me and my plants. If my plants do well in it, that's all the endorsement I need to keep using it. Appreciate you stopping by, great to see you on this forum!

Roots don't really care what they grow in as long as they can breathe and take up nutrients and water, and bark is a common substance that provides the conditions that roots need to do that. I think it doesn't really matter that cacti don't grow around pine trees any more than it matters that they don't grow in perlite, or in the other hemisphere, or in Britain.

There is one thing I wonder about when it comes to the gritty mix. Since it's so open and breatheable, would roots be more vulnerable to changes in temperature than they would be in a typical denser compost?

Well - thanks to all for the warm welcome. I probably know enough about soils to speak about their physical and chemical properties with a fair amount of authority, but where I'm lacking lies in the fact that I've devoted most of my studying to improving my abilities at developing and maintaining bonsai trees that are (hopefully) emotionally evocative in the stories they tell. Had I devoted the time spent in that endeavor to learning a commensurate amount about raising C&S, I wouldn't be so ignorant of your specific needs and would be better able to contribute. I do know though, that if I hadn't caught the bonsai bug, that I would be much more involved with C&S. I really enjoy the ones I tend. They have soo much more character than your every day houseplants - don't you think?

I was pretty pleased yesterday when I discovered the A. obesum seeds I bought and had been spritzing several times per day for two weeks (I'd almost given up) were starting to sprout. My eventual goal is to have a plant with a trunk/exposed root structure as gorgeous as the one Nancy has. We'll see .... MI prolly isn't the best place to grow it, but I'm sure I'll learn more than a little along the way. ;o)

Take care - thanks again.

Al

Hi Al..:-):-):-)

A BIG welcome here from me and I am with Nancy on this one..

Nancy you took the words right out of my mouth....Lol. Al, I would like to have all my plants look as great as Pugs...Now she has the green green thumb..

Thank you everyone for the explanations on this thread, and Linda, I owe you and Bo..I haven't forgotten...Just been crazily tied up..

Mike..:-)

Al - Adeniums are very challenging to grow well because they (in particular the obesum hybrids) really need lots of heat for a long growing season to reach their full potential, especially the flowers. But the attempt is just as fun as the results.

sutremaine - that's an interesting point. On the one hand, the roots probably are exposed to slightly greater temperature fluctuations. But on the other hand, they may handle it better since they are healthier.

One thing's for sure - no matter what the mix, roots in a pot can cook easily in the hot sun, and get dangerously cold even if the ambient air temperature is not so cold.

I like to plunge some of my pots into the garden where this is feasible, but in a large collection, most plants inevitably suffer from root-zone temperatures that are not ideal. Luckily, our cactus and succulent friends have a high tolerance for torture.

x

Hmmm...Repotted several dozen plants into gritty mix.

My echinocereus was in bad soil for nine years. Watered all year long. Bloomed every year. Washed out old soil several months ago. Repotted in gritty. After one watering, a few weeks ago in the new mix, it croaked. Same with an adenium.

Losing faith.

Al I am so glad to meet you, and read about your terrificc mix.
X only 27 suggestions, if I can find my book that they are in, I will be able to list 50. lol
I hve a dear friend who plants all of here plants in pure pumice, not a bug to see any where, and the most beautiful plants that I have ever seen, they are given a liquid fertilizer after each watering. All the mesembryanthemum that I saw growing in Africa where in quartzite, on rocky small outcrops, decomposed granite, the lithops hiding beneath the white rocks, temps. 105F.
I think we all have our favorite mixes, and we adjust our watering and fertilizing to accommadate the plants. We have been fighting over this every time the subject comes up. I just give up on this subject. Respectively Norma Lewis

Great information in this thread!

With a few exceptions, I've settled on a combination, in various ratios, of screened Scotts Topsoil and washed Napa 8822 for all of my succulents/cacti. Part of that is due to availability...for example, I've been unable to find a local source of coarse sand. Part of that is due to consistency/predictability...these two products are the same from bag to bag and year to year. And mostly, it's because they work...for me :)

-R

tinyplants, how did you treat the Echinocereus during and after the transfer? I did the same thing to an Echinopsis that had been in bad soil for longer than that and took most of its roots off as well, and while it took two months in full shade to recover, it has done.

I didn't wash the roots though, or apply water at any stage -- the compost was taken off with fingers and a toothbrush, the plant hadn't been watered for six months or more beforehand (but the core was still very slightly damp... good job that water was running right down the inside of the pot really), and the roots were covered in cinnamon and given a couple of days to dry off anyway before repotting.

When did you do the repotting? Your post indicates that the soil was taken off several months ago but that the first watering was a few weeks ago.

I can't say anything about the Adenium, since I don't have anything with a caudex. How are the rest of the several dozen plants doing?

I also have another question about transferring a cactus from peat to gritty mix. How common is it for a cactus to abandon the original roots in favour of sprouting entirely new ones from the base? A lot of mine seem to do this. There's a mention of 'soil roots' vs. 'water roots' on this page of waterroots.com, but I haven't been able to find any more information about it.

Are you asking about roots that actually FORM in water? Plants adapt to hydroculture by forming roots that are considerably different than the roots in solid media. Parenchyma cells primarily make up the root cortex of plants grown in soils or other solid media that are well aerated, but a different type of cell groupings called aerenchyma forms in roots that are subject to periods of anoxia (w/o air) when they are submerged. Aerenchyma tissue has elongated air channels that allow the oxygen roots need for function/metabolism/growth to diffuse (move) from the foliage to the roots. This difference in tissue is why rooting plants in water you will eventually move to soil is not as productive as rooting in a well-aerated solid medium.

Al

What happened is a mystery and confusing. I thought my cactus was going to be safer in the gritty mix. Sadly, it would have been better to have left it alone. When I repotted several months ago, I hosed off all the old dense soil. The roots were healthy. I did not water when repotted. Something went wrong.

The mix is equal parts very fine orchard bark (the bag says it is Douglas fir bark) purchased at an orchid nursery and diatomaceous earth and perlite. This bark has much smaller pieces than those in the pictures above.

The same thing happened to the adenium which had a very large grafted caudex. I did also lose another succulent. I am worried as all my plants are in a version of this mix.

What was the particle size of the diatomaceous earth?

The DE Napa #8822 particle size is 1/8 inch and many more small finer particles. I did not strain.

The bark particle size is approx. 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch, thin, and flat rather than round and chuncky. I did not strain but with a kitchen strainer of 1/4 inch holes, very few pieces fall through.

Tinyplants: Could be the fine particles in the #8822. I would take a transparent bottle, make some holes in the bottom and cut it to the shoulders, and fill it with whatever the Echinocereus mix was. Then do the same with another bottle, but this time screen the #8822 before measuring and mixing. Then soak both the bottles and see how they dry off.

Al: Not roots that form IN water -- the site uses the term 'water roots' to refer to the roots that grow after the transfer to the clay granules. Since the water level should always be below the level of the roots in that system, it's closer to a gritty mix than it is to true hydroponics.

Cacti don't root too well in water anyway, but I use clay granules for rooting and then transfer into mix that's equal parts grit (~1/8" - ~1/4"), perlite (1/16" - ~1/8"), clay granules (1/16" - ~1/8"), and pine bark (1/8" - 3/8"). Things that have already been grown in nursery peat are sometimes given a little time to root, but normally go straight into a gritty mix. After that they sulk for a while, usually, and then start growing. The only ones I turn out and examine are ones that do nothing at all for a couple of weeks or even shrink a little, and most of maybe half a dozen were putting out thick white roots from the base of the plant. The exceptions were a Teprocactus that grew some wispy roots from the areoles instead of the base, and an Eriosyce that is still taking its time putting out any roots at all but now growing at least. (It's not E. aurata or one of the other Eriosyce species notorious for poor reestablishment, but it's being very sluggish nonetheless.)

Perhaps it's more a function of initial root size than species? Most of the cacti I buy come in 2" pots, so even if they start their roots from scratch they're not losing much. I'm also quite new to the gritty mix, so I'm not too sure about what's normal. Al, I've seen pictures of your succulents (they're very nice), but I don't recall seeing any cacti. Do you grow any?

I've picked up common cacti @ big box stores & grown them until they got so large they needed their own containers (see picture upthread), at which point I gave them away. My focus is mainly on bonsai, though I do enjoy the c&s.

You're probably right about the fines in TPs mix; + the calcined DE holds more water than Turface on a size for size basis from the get go. The reason for screening is to eliminate the source of any perched water in the soil - the fines. If you don't make some sort of attempt to keep the particle size uniformly >.100", it's not really fair to say you've had a problem with excess water retention in the gritty mix. Additionally, if there WAS excess water retention, it's easily remedied by increasing the granite fraction and decreasing the Turface.

Al

Thanks to sutremaine, tjicken, al, for clarifications and responses to my post.

I just replanted my cacti and succulents - saguaro, pachycereus pringlei seedlings and pachypodium geayi in Al's mix. (Nice to meet you, Al) before I moved back to China. I used dia. earth, which is poisonous, as it is used as an insecticide, crushed granite, 'bark', bought from a garden store and can't verify if it is fir or not. I'll let you know how it went if my friend sends updated pics. I also used some crushed volcanic briquettes, as my research tells me that cacti need a slightly acidic soil, not alkaline, so I won't add any crushed limestone or any calcium.

I have a question about Kitty litter. My friend has cats, and could have used kitty litter, but I was unsure if all products are the same or not. Any particular brand should be used and any other's that should not be used.

Al, love you cacti pics (all of them of course, but I wanted to single them out).

Sagebrush36

sagebrush36: >I used dia. earth, which is poisonous, as it is used as an insecticide

I think we need to be a little careful here....diatomaceous earth is not poisonous. As its name implies, it consists of the skeletons of diatoms, and when ground into a power, acts as a mechanical insecticide. In larger particles, such as the Napa product, it's completely harmless, and absorbs and releases water well.

-R

1. Diatomaceous earth is not poisonous, it works like broken glass, the effect is physical rather than biochemical. It is supposed to puncture the skin of small pests (or the intestines, if they eat it).

2. No, there are many types of cat litter, few are suitable as soil amendment. Avoid everything that is clumping, made from organic materials, or crumbles if you squeeze it. The useful ones are very similar to products like Turface and Napa Floor Dry. All I have seen have been pinkish.

I went to the local garden center here and bought a container of 'dia earth'. Said so on the container. It had pictures of ants and other insects on it and said it was an insecticide. The can said 'use in a well ventilated area', 'harmful to children and pets' and there may or may not been a skull and crossbones on it, but don't quote me on it. I tried to get Napa 22 but had no need for 25 lbs of the stuff.

Sage

Really?
25 lbs. is a drop in the bucket, so to speak.

Josh

There is a food grade of Diatomaceous earth . I found it at a feed store.

The stuff at the big box stores is highly toxic and the label scared me! Check health food stores and feed stores for food grade.

"...said it was an insecticide. The can said 'use in a well ventilated area', 'harmful to children and pets' "

It's harmful to anything. Imagine fine-grade sandpaper without the paper... do you want to breathe that stuff in? :) The reason it's particularly useful as an insecticide is because it's the insect's exoskeleton that keeps the insides nice and moist. Damage the exoskeleton, and they start losing moisture. Death of a thousand cuts indeed.

FWIW - the DE we are talking about that is used as a soil ingredient is calcined (fired at high temperatures), so it is stable and much larger in size than the fine powder used as a mechanical insecticide. It looks like small pieces of pumice, but it's lighter and much more porous.

Al

can someone enlighten me about what Al's mix is all about, like the ingredients and proportions?

I looked through this entire thread and others and couldn't find out how to make it.

Exactly, and that is why the fired product preferably should not be referred to just as "diatomaceous earth", it is misleading and confuses people. This is similar to "clay pots", clay is the raw material but the finished product is not clay anymore, it is "fired clay" or "terracotta".

Maxthedog, the link below has a recipe...about the third post down has some pictures and the ingredients/amounts for succulent potting mix(Al's)

Here is a link that might be useful: Succulent Soil mix

Thanks for posting the link, Pug!
(And for posting pics above in this Thread).

Since the ratio for The Gritty Mix is 1-1-1, the images above do describe the "recipe," as it were.

So, Max, look upThread a short ways and you'll see the ingredients perfectly described.

Josh