Hi, guys. Shannon left a link to this thread, so I came & read through it. This is a picture of the soil most often referred to as the gritty mix. You can see by the particle size that it has tremendous macro-porosity. It's made from equal parts by volume of 1/8-1/4" fir (or pine) bark, screened Turface (hi-fired clay granules), and crushed granite (grower grit - about 1/8" pieces). You can vary the water retention of this soil by keeping the bark component at 1/3 while varying the % of Turface and granite. E.g.. a mix of 3 bark 4 Turface 2 granite would hold considerably more water than 3 bark 4 granite 2 Turface You can also simply add more Turface or granite which has the effect of reducing the organic component. I've started hundreds of different cuttings, many succulents, in this soil, and never had damping off issues, so I would bet that Kashu's issues are other cultural or inherent in the plant. I suggested a sulfur dusting of the cut end and sticking the plant in dry soil for at least a week w/o water, after at least 2 weeks callusing time. Take care - just wanted to say hey. Al

Hey Solstice! If you're are like mine...you get 4 new branches just below the cut line. My only suggestion would be to make sure the cut is an an angle so water runs off freely. I know some people also suggest sealing the cut with chalking but I have never tried that. I am planning a trip to O-town in the next couple of weeks...let me know if you want a bunch of no id cuttings / rooted cuttings. I've got some very pretty rainbows along with a couple of yellows if you want them.

Hi Linda! So you think even the 1 hour that the meat and fresh pineapple were sitting together would cause the problem? It was much less the second time  I just never thought that one hour would make a difference. OK  For my third test, IÂll not let the pineapple touch the meat at all! :-) Jeri

ABSOLUTELY! ITS AN ENZYME IN FRESH PINEAPPLE! COMBINED WITH BROWN SUGAR AND REAL BUTTER ITS THE PERFECT STORM TO DIGEST A HAM.we thought someone put cheese in the meat or it was bad..but it was just digesting in enzymes God it was awful.thank goodness I had more in the fridge.I. put pineapple and brown sugar no butter and took it with us we ate it within the hour so no problems.I should have known better because I use pineapple and strawberries for digestion and pineapple is an awesome anti inflammatory.