Yes silica sand can be used as a substitute for grushed granite. The size is similar and both work equally well I believe. I have used both silica sand and granite Al's gritty soil mix and plants seem to do well in both. The best place to find silica sand is pool supply stores (it's used for swimming pool filters) or perhaps in the swimming pool section in large big box stores (HD, Lowe's, Menards, WalMart, etc.). Typically it's available in large 50lb bags. At the local feed store I can purchase either 5 or 40lb bags of granite. I think the big bags of granite are roughly $10 or so, about the same as silica sand. I've included a link so you can see what the silica sand bag looks like but there are many other brands. HTH, Dave Here is a link that might be useful:

Hi Phal Pal and all, My tracking system has been evolving since last April. It has two parts: PART ONE consists of a grow list, alphabetical by genus, and kept on the computer, so that notes can be added each quarter as needed. After each name I try to note the following, where known: *Whatever I know about plant's origin (in brief). *Where purchased/from whom; Date and Price paid. *Pot, medium, or mount at purchase; repot history. *Spike and Bloom history w/dates *Color and Scent. *Notes Here is the entry for my Neofinetia falcata: Neofinetia falcata: clone (not mericlone) sib cross ~from seed; Scott, of White Oak Orchids at Sac.Orchid Society (SOS) show 4/19/2008 $22.00. 1.5" terracotta; media is Sphag & pearlite. Already had 5 tiny lower axillary spike tufts. Bloomed 5/19 - 7/4/08. 2 spikes had 6 blooms ea.; 2 had 5, & 1 had 4. Beautiful crystalline white, long "tailed"; vanilla cookies scent wafts two rooms away at night. 1 day more freq. water when blooming. PART TWO consists of a water/fert/flush (W, w/f, flsh, etc.) grid for day to day care. My collection is still small (13 plants) so that I can make an abbreviated list of orchids across the top and number each day of the month down the side. I can add the lines by computer, but don't know how to make vertical lines, so I mark them in with a ruler, after printing the page. This gives each plant a small box for care symbols. I use a fine lead mechanical pencil for marks and notes (easier to read) and keep the sheet in the room from which I work to water the plants. Ample space is left at the bottom of each monthly sheet for Notes. Here's an abbreviated sample. Maybe you can imagine the column lines and notations: ......... OCT 2008 ~ "All" refers to other plants. Docs are P591 Flask babies; BB is seedling. Ph1 BigP Baby Slipr Neo Cym Milt Morm Jewl BB651 Doc1 Doc2 Doc3 Onc All 1_______________________________________________________________________ 2_______________________________________________________________________ 3_______________________________________________________________________ 4_______________________________________________________________________ ......... This draft I save on the computer, so that I can make any changes and print a new sheet for the next month. I make the left margin only wide enough to accommodate the numbers and use the extra space in the right and bottom margins to make brief notes. I use pencilled asterisks within a box to show that there is a note corresponding to that plant in the margin or at the bottom of the sheet. (Come to think of it, this probably could be done just as well on the kind of graph paper we used in chemistry lab. I may do that...just thinking out loud here :) As said, the system is evolving.) Anyway, I save these monthly sheets, so that every few months I can incorporate any significant notes into the PART ONE grow list on the computer. Monthly sheets definitely work better for me than my memory! Sweetcicely

I agree... we have the right to exist, too... it's just such a shame that it has to be at the expense of such wonderful natural habitat and its inhabitants... those of us that understand how to co-exist with other creatures aren't the problem... it's those that lack common sense! Feeding a hungry little squirrel in your backyard is not the same as leaving your car in Yellowstone Park to feed a bear! More and more stories appear on those reality/home video shows... stupid people doing stupid things, and ending up hurt... or worse! Corner any wild animal, or even a few domesticated ones, and the worst scenario is the usual result... but people don't think before they do things... Ever see those video clips where people climb the fences in zoos, and usually get mauled by whatever animal is behind the fence? Or, video of people feeding the bears or other wild animals in a park, and they get attacked? Or, the video clip where the animal control officer approaches large protection dogs on their home turf with nothing more than a neck noose? Doh! Stupid people who deserve exactly what they get, in my opinion! What bothers me even more is people who make pets out of non-domesticated animals that are larger and have more strength than they do... like large cats or bears or apes... and then they end up with limbs torn off... again, doh! I love nature and animals as much as anyone... but I know that it's important for most animals to retain their fear of humans for their own survival. Man can be cruel and unthinking... even with domesticated animals, there must be mutual respect... I know what my dogs are capable of, and that's why they're treated well, trained, and contained responsibly! I think it's perfectly possible to co-exist with the surrounding nature... as long as we give it the respect it deserves.

Since I now know the right medium and watering habits, among other things, are the keys to successful bulb growing, I have it all under control... my problem is, I've been lazy in re-potting some of my earlier purchased bulbs... I should have re-potted most of them this past spring, but was too busy with outdoor gardening work. Before it gets too cold out, I will re-pot several of the more needy bulbs, which are the ones in poor medium mixes. The ones that don't require a new medium can wait until next spring. Orchids... ah, yes... what a thrill it was to walk into the doorway of 20,000 square feet of glassed greenhouses filled with every orchid imaginable! It was like a trip to heaven for me! I only went to the show for one day, the opening day, which was Friday. I didn't expect it to be too busy or packed with people, since Friday is a work day... I was right! I had the whole place practically to myself, and I wandered the different glasshouses for hours, snapping photos and choosing orchids to buy... what a great afternoon! For those who love orchids, Oak Hill Gardens in Dundee, Illinois is the place to go! The prices are incredibly fair and reasonable, almost downright cheap! The selection is incredible, and the owners are wonderful, helpful people! I got a chance to visit with the owner of Cal-Orchids for a bit... and walked away with a new Paph, in bud, for a great price! I wandered through the guest grower area, scoping out everything they had to offer... nice stuff! Even Larry had a good time, exclaiming over the weird and wonderful world of orchids! I came away with about a dozen plants for the whopping price of around $60.00! I got 3 Phals, a Paph, a Cym, 3 Catts, 3 Encyclias, and 1 Epidendrum! Not a bad haul, if I do say so myself! Several of the plants are in bud or sheath, and one of the Phals is in full flower... just gorgeous! I had a wonderful time at the Orchid Show! And then... the car broke down. Yep... we wound up staying an extra 2 days because of car trouble. It gave us two extra days of visiting with the kids and grandkids, so it was actually kind of nice! And my son helped Larry fix the car, so it all worked out in the end. I can't wait until the next Orchid Festival in the area! You can bet I'll be there! And now... I have to save some dollars to put toward bulbs... I would have had some leftover from the orchid show, but alternators for Fords aren't cheap!