Fred Meyers and various Oregon nurseries sometimes carry Turface as "Profile Clay Soil Conditioner" repackaged in slick plastic bags by Schulz. Wal-Mart used to carry the Schulz bags. Smaller bags repackaged by Schulz, labeled as "Aquatic Soil", is sometimes available at Wal-Mart, Fred Meyers, Home Depot, etc. Johnson Creek Rental in Portland may still carry Turface "MVP". Play Ball may be available from Concentrates, on 8th Ave. I got some "Axis", at Portland Nursery on Stark street. While Turface is fired clay (ie., sort of minature bricks made from something like kitty litter), Axis & Play Ball is fired diatomaceous earth. If I recall correctly, Axis was slightly more fragile and dusty than Turface. Axis is slightly cheaper in Oregon than Turface, because it is mined in Nevada. I have never tried Play Ball, but I was told that it is finer than Axis (Axis is similar to Turface MVP in size). Elsewhere I read that Play Ball is available in 2 sizes; one a useless dust or fine sand, another similar to Axis. I don't know which to believe. Heck, I may have even read that Axis is available in two sizes; one like very coarse sand, another like Turface MVP (which is the Axis I got). Some orchard and aquarium stores carry a product similar to Axis; way too expensive because it is imported (from Australia ?). Sunmark Seeds, In Troutdale, has Diamond Pro in sacks and a bulk pile. Diamond Pro is similar to Turface; but a different company & a different clay quarry. I never tried Diamond Pro, I just e-mailed Sunmark a few years ago to inquire. Pro's Choice (yet another equivalent to Turface) may still be available in Southern Oregon (Eugene) and Northern California. I never tried Pro's Choice. Auto Parts and Hardware stores may carry oil absorbant. One type is made from fired Diatomaceous Earth (usually made by EaglePicher, the same company that makes Axis & Play Ball). Another type of oil absorbant is made from fired clay. Oil absorbant clay is fired at half the temperature that is used for Turface (= Profile), Diamond Pro, or Pro's Choice; so oil clay is more fragile than Turface or competitors. I don't know if oil absorbant diatomaceous earth is fired at the same temp as Axis or Play Ball. Still other types of oil absorbants are probably useless for us. Kitty Litter is fired at an even lower temp than oil absorbant clay, or not fired at all, and is probably a different type of clay, and falls apart in soil quite quickly. A type of Zeolite is quarried in the Pacific Northwest; in northern Utah, Southern Idaho, Colorado, Alberta, British Columbia, and a little in Oregon (plus a little in Arizona and Texas). I think that it should compete with Turface in our neighborhood since Turface (and its competitors) is mined in the American southeast, and uses a lot of energy to fire and transport. But I don't think that zeolite has caught on yet for gardens (last checked a few years ago). The cheapest source is from Farm & Feed stores as "Sweet PDZ" (about half the price of Turface!); used to deodorize poop in horse stalls. PDZ comes in two forms: powder (you don't want this) or granular (this is what you may wish to try). The latter is about 16 to 40 grit (peaks around 20 grit), which is like a very course sand. Al may think that this is too fine (?), but I think it is OK. I screened out about 1/5 to 1/4 of the finest fraction of the bag (put it in the garden soil) and the coarsest fraction goes into the pots. Next time I get it, I think I will skip the screening -- too much work. You can get coarser zeolite (slightly larger than turface) from aquarium stores -- way too expensive. Zeolite acts as a sponge for ammonium, potassium, calcium and magnesium -- releasing these just as the plant needs them as the plant acidifies the soil. Zeolite retards acidification of soil (acting like dolomite lime). In other words, Zeolite is a better cation exchanger than Turface; while Axis isn't even a nutrient sponge at all. Zeolite is available in 8 to 20 grit (equivalent to Turface), but I found the minimal order and transportation cost from Utah to be too much. How do I know all this? I thought that at $20 a bag, "Profile Clay Soil Conditioner" at local nurseries or Fred Meyers was too expensive. When the season ended, Freddies would offer it on "sale" for $12. When our local Wal Mart discontinued it, it was on sale at $8. Still too expensive!! So I tried to look up all potential replacements from kittty litter (don't try it!!!) to zeolite to Axis to Pumice. About pumice: much cheaper than Turface when found in bulk from several "bark and landscape" stores. Cheap bulk potting mix, from bulk landscape supply stores in Oregon, often contains about 10% Pumice; the largest pieces of white pumice (about marble size) are easily seen in the piles of mix. Screen and keep the middle half for pots (about 1/4 is too large and 1/4 is too small). Screen in a tub of water because the dust is really nasty (and scratched my eye glasses too!). It is hard to find cheap pumice in Oregon that is prescreened into any fraction similar to Turface; while several types of specific screened Perlite fractions are available in four cubic foot bags at Oregon nursuries. Pumice is heavier than perlite; only about 1/10 floats while almost all Perlite floats. Because of floatation, I gave up on Perlite after trying only one small bag. Pumice is quarried in Oregon and Northern California, so energy cost of transport is low and no energy cost to fire (LOL, Pumice was pre-fired by nature). In contrast to Turface or Zeolite, Pumice (like Axis & Perlite) is not a sponge for cationic nutrients.

Just wanted to say thanks for this. Looking to setup my first SF garden here in the next month. I live in Fredericksburg so now I know where to find vermiculite. Thanks again.

We used Shilo in our medium sized kitchen. The price was quite near $30 K, and then we did some maneuvering. First, we got rid of blu motion and full extension drawers. The Shilo drawers extend almost fully anyway. Then we had our contractor buy the moldings at Smoot lumber and stain and paint them. Shilo's price for our beadboard was $1500. We paid Smoot $57, paint was We also opted for partial overlay. Not only is it less expensive, full overlay requires the use of a lot of fillers which also cost a lot of money. Finally, we ditched the appliance garage. Savings: over $13,000. Our final price was around $16,800. Ask the designer for the book with the options and prices. They won't be the actual prices you will pay, but it will give you an idea of the relative cost.

Well, it it’s been a while since I posted here. Here’s the effect of heavy snow on three of my established live oaks in northern Virginia back in Jan. 2022. Had to take them all out. It’s not the cold, BUT THE SNOW LOADS that limit their success here. I still have my oldest live oak (30’ high). For some reason it was not damaged. Maybe because it was less out in the open. And branches could rest on other trees.