Hey folks, Been awhile since I dropped in. Now that spring is practically here, I'm going to be in need of some new potting media for some re-pots that are badly needed. I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in some kind of arrangement where I pay for ingredients or pay for the mix that you make. I live in the middle of Seattle, but would be willing to drive a ways for this, if I could bring back enough mix. The reason for this is that I have a disability that makes sifting ingredients nearly impossible to do myself without causing some strain. Living in an apartment doesn't help much either, although I've made that work. I've tried some labor saving measures mainly by designing some simple conical basket sifters that can be spun, but that still wasn't enough, and the sifters aren't that effective or all that reliable. (I've thought about trying to motorize this or another setup, but doesn't really seem worth the effort involved when handling the sifted ingredients can still be trouble.) By the way, I already have some ingredients (partial bag of turface, repti-bark, some properly sized grit) and mostly know where to get them locally. If anyone has come up with some good "lazy" alternatives to Al/tapla's gritty mix, that'd also be useful. I'd considered just getting a bunch of pumice and trying to use that with minimal sifting, but looking into water retention tests that have been done on this forum, it probably wouldn't be up to the task. Weight of the medium in a pot is also a consideration, as my poor lifting strength is one of the issues I deal with. Failing any of this, I'll probably just try to get a higher quality (and lightweight) store bought mix of some kind, in spite of the drawbacks. Probably heavily amended, in any case. Thanks, -Bryan

Good Morning! Thanks for all the input! Al~ I had to laugh at your post! I was so tired last night that for the life of me, I could not remember buying a Euphorbia.(I'm used to thinking succulents when I see that name) I had to go out and look. LOL! Yes, that is the plant I just got. ;-) And I was thinking of giving it to mom, which means it would be in with petunias and mums and maybe a Lobelia or 2. I wanted to add the zinnias to the back to give it height. I was thinking along the same lines as you Al, but just thought I'd ask. For myself, I wouldn't worry, but I want it to be nice for mom. ;-) It makes sense that as the PWT drops so would the need to separate plants. I totally agree with looking at this with the same "raised eyebrow"! I have basil seeds sprouting in a 10" pot right now! lol.. so that shoots the "overpot" theory all to heck. lol. Now I would have never thought about the dry dormancy. So thank you for that! I'm aware of it where succulents are concerned by never would have thought about it with flowers and such. ;-) ""I should try an experiment where I grow something like one of the Coleus varieties that will tolerate some sun, in the same container with a number of succulents. If I remember, I'll do it this summer - just for grins."" LOL! Your starting to sound like me. I do alot "just for girns" and you can't forget the giggles. lol. ;-) Jodi~ I agree we are open to more options when using the free draining mix that we do! And I take tag/growing instructions with a huge grain of salt! Now that we have the internet, I much prefer to look up the growing care! And will gladly accept the help and advice of a few close friends. ;-) I'll try and get a picture this evening of the herbs I mixed. Al, we'll have to remind each other to get back here and post pics of what we experiment with. ;-) A Very Happy Easter to everyone! From me and my rock bunny. ;-) JoJocolor>

Do not get me wrong I was not complaining about Al's gritty mix. I have seen, and heard thousands of testimonials, and I know it works- I was, and still am, worried that I missed some key ingredient that I was missing. With that said, for the time being I ordered some ph paper, and I will play with that thought once I get it. Ohiofem I have a couple questions for you because I have seen some of your posts in the Clivia forums. I bought some clivia plants off of ebay recently, after I had made my big batch of gritty mix. Some of my leaves are slowly yellowing- I know the plants were in duress because of being shipped bareroot. Besides gritty mix and foliage pro are you adding any other amendments, and in your mix are you using floor dry or turface? mandarin1- if my lily comes back, I think it will be a long time from now. It is completely laying on its side with about 15 out 20 leaves being yellow. However I still have hope- the rhinezome ( can't spell) looking roots on the top of the soil are real green. Hopefully it will bounce back when I gets warm and it go to it' annual outside summer vacation. I am glad your lilies are coming back Jala4260 I think you have a point. I have always manhandled new plants, I usually use a razor knife and cut an x Like pattern on the bottom of the roots to free them from their previous square or circular pattern from being root bound. But With Al's gritty mix it is the first time I have tried to remove all soil from starter plants. Plus what is up with that foam circular or square piece that now seams to be attached to the root base of all new starter plants. Anyways I have 4 large hayrack window boxes. I replace the liners and soil every 2-3 years. Last time around I had spagnum moss and all the plant roots dig in to it when I pull them out a large part of liner when with it so I went to the coconut liner this go around. I have filled them all with 1-1-1 gritty mix hoping to longevity and gorgeous flowers. Here is my question. Is it necessary to completely bare root starter plants for these window boxes. As I said earlier- I had pretty bad luck bare rooting and re potting a fuchsia and lantana- they dropped every leaf and half their stems- they look like potted sticks now, lol. I thought that maybe leaving some soil will help them slowly adjust to the gritty mix. What do you guys think or do in this situation? I want to thank all of you for responding to my questions, and pleas for help- it is a really friendly atmosphere

I live in Manitoba and couldn't find turface either so I went to a pet store and bought fish tank soil to use instead. I'm talking about actual fish tank soil that you would plant underwater plants in not those glass stones. also picked up reptile bark while I was there so I got two of the three ingredients for my Kumquat soil at a pet store, go figure and my tree loves it. As for the perlite, I believe that some people will substitute some of the granite with it to help lighten the mix because when its all said and done it is very heavy.