Now, this is what remained

Now I have to sift it through a 1/8" screener that I bought from Amazon

Opinions and criticisms are welcome. Thank you. MY main concern is that this 1/8" screener seems too small. I'm afraid that nothing will fall through, as all the pieces are rather large to pass through

I purchased the same product you did about 2 months ago because it was premixed. I didn't have anything to use for sifiting unfortunately but did dump it into a large container & stirred it until most all of the smaller parts fell to the bottom. I like ewwmayo's idea of using the smaller bits for propagating or seedlings...will definitely do that with the 2nd bag I ordered yesterday & will be getting a screen for future sifting needs. I don't really have any complaints other than it seems a bit on the heavy side especially when used in terracotta pots (not sure if different GM's weigh less). I'm a newbie to succulents & GM but I've had pretty good luck so far.

Well done HKguy! I agree with Kevin on keeping the smaller sifted soil for seedlings and more moisture loving plants. I now mix my baby jades with the smaller sized soil, as apparently they dry too much with the regular scale.

My next advise would be purchase some perlite - sift away the powder and fine dust, add them to the mix. Your plants will thank you for them. So far my best plants all have perlite sifted into my gritty mixes.

I think my sieve was 3/16", anyways if you need them, I can lend you mine for now. It's not like I will be doing much repotting for the upcoming months ahead.

Bernardyjh, Thank you so much. I didn't want to bother you with a private message, but I was hoping you would see this thread and comment on it.

I wish I could post a video that I made while I was sifting on the roof of my building. I was sifting for a lonnnnngg time, and I loved it. Sifting has actually been my favorite part of my plant hobby. I'll let you know if I need to borrow your sieve, but I think the ones I have are sufficient. I'll post a picture later of what I used.

In that planter that I showed earlier, I'm going to put my Sansevierias. I would definitely purchase some high grade coarse perlite if you think it's appropriate. I hate the thin Miracle Grow perlite, because it floats like styrofoam

hkguy, is your mix 5-1-1 like I mentioned before? I don't think your snake plant is a desert plant. This mix/or the mix we recommend here is generally for succulents/cacti desert type plants that needs very little water to thrive.

You'll probably have to add more bark/turface into the mix than perlite. Perlite is to make the soil even drier!

Not saying your plant will die in it, but you'll probably have to water alot more often if you use this gritty mix for a tropical plant like your Sansevieria.

oh and btw, make sure you put on a mask when you sieve, you don't want to inhale toxic dust just for the love of your plants. lol

I guess I'm wrong, certain types of Sansevieria are consider succulents and enjoys free draining soil. You just need to identify the right one to know what mix works best for it.

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29690

It's one part turface. One part bark, and one part calcinated clay from BonsaiJack. They sell it as their succulent mix

If this mix is not appropriate, I'll just throw it out in the garbage and get a bag of miracle grow. Miracle Grow has always worked in the past before I became interested in soil quality

Don't throw it in the garbage - throw it under a tree in a park. Personally, hkg, I'm not a fan of the gritty mix which contains bark as its sole organic component. However, there are many successful growers here who do - it's what you have access to, right? I WOULD, however, use the MG you mention, after sieving it finely to remove the bark chunks. Along with a 20% base of that, I use 40% Turface and 40% granite (#2 poultry grit or the like). The environment that you grow it in, along with your watering practices, really determines what you can get away with. FWIW, if I had your Big-City conditions, I'd lean closer to a more-non-organic mix. And go easy on the watering when it's to be cold, meaning watering your plants only about 2x a month or so during winter.

This mix that I made is my last stop. If it's not appropriate, I won't be mixing anything else. I would just get a bag of MG and use it straight out of the bag

I think what you have is perfectly fine, and a large improvement over bagged miracle grow with any manner of amendment.

It may not be perfect (whatever THAT is - clearly environment + grower goals/pref defines that), but it should allow you to water fairly freely and never drown roots. Use a skewer or similar to test moisture of rootball to get a feel for each plant, and water only when it's either slightly damp or completely dry, depending on what you are growing and the season.

You will need to provide nutrition on a regular basis, in the form of either CRF or liquid fertilizer.

This media should give you an idea of what watering something primarily made of large particles is like, and then if you want it to hold more or less water. Once you have an idea of that for each plant, you'll be in a good position to figure out how to achieve it by either making your own similar mix or amending what you have.

Daniel

I think the mix is good. Don't get discouraged. It is as Daniel said much better than bagged soil from BBS.

Just don't obsess with it (I think most of us did at times :) and pot up your beauties. I would use plastic to stop draft from the window - hopefully it's not too 'ghetto' for you. Nothing you can do about the building, so try to improve. Plastic will stop draft to quite extent, just make sure you tape it so there isn't any draft. You may not have to move plants after that.

Succulents will overwinter in colder temps (while not necessarily draft). I know, I kept them in about 48*F for 2 winters, under some shoplights (Canada, zone 5). They get less water in colder temps. I wasn't living in same place at the time, and 'visited' with my plants approx. once every 2weeks. I wasn't watering them unless they needed it (probably every second visit). Out of almost 200, not one of them died of cold.

Rina

Same plant, large rocks removed, more of gritty is visible. New growth on lower right - in less than a year (two pups, smaller is not so visible). It spent whole summer outside, in partial shade. Got watered whenever it rained, no fertilizer:

I grew a sansevieria in a gritty mix (1:1:1, granite grit/turface/bark) unsifted. It was happy enough to even put out new babies. Sansevierias are already very hardy plants - they would probably outlast any other plant in regular MG, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting the perfect mix. You don't need to spend any more money buying perlite or MG.

hkguy.. I'm sorry. I don't mean to discourage you and to be honest there is no "right" way to go about mixing the perfect soil, but it's certainly ALOT better than using those nasty MG peat soil straight off the bag (there are all sorts of fun goodness and pests eggs packed within -- if you like that sort of stuff, by all means go ahead. ^-^).

That's the fun of it, you add a little bit of this and a little bit of that, experiment with your plant and watch how your plant grow differently. The learning curve in the beginning is always tough, but after a while, you will get the hang of it. Trust me.

In retrospective, I take back what I said about not using your 1-1-1 gritty mix for your Sansevieria/snake plant. I have no prior experience to such plants. You also have to understand the beauty of the 1-1-1 gritty mix is that it is a very versatile soil. If the mix dries too quicker, add more bark or vermiculite/regular peat into it, the mix will naturally retain more moisture.

Please do not toss away the mix, you spent lots of investment in time and money into it in order to provide the best for your plants and you are on the right track! Do not be intimidated by whatever advises are given here. What may work for me or anyone else, might not work for you. However, you can always jot down and take these "pointers"/learning experiences here given to you and keep them at the back of your head, and certainly try it out whenever you have time to experiment it.

All in all, this 1-1-1 mix will mostly benefit all your new succulents that you had bought that is sitting by the windowsill within your ingenious shower caddy plant shelf. I will still stand by what I say, adding perlite into the gritty mix will make these plants even more happy.

here you go hkguy, a success story of a snake plant in the 1-1-1 gritty mix and flowered twice!

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1386088/gritty-mix-success-stories?n=8

hkg,

Your mix looks fine to me, but it's all dependent on how well your plants grow. I'd not use now as the benchmark, given the lack of sun and ambient warmth - spring's a much better measuring season. I meant to mention about the suitability of the mix earlier.

Bernard, as you yourself indicate, you don't have experience with Sans - they're hands down the easiest plants in the succulent world to grow, IME. They shouldn't necessarily be used as models for what's a good potting mix and what isn't. And if you have to add perlite to gritty mix, there's something inherently not right with the mix.

Jeff, I know I'm probably not at the best position to advice about growing Sans, but I do try to help with complete best intentions.

Introducing perlite into gritty mix was something Grace advised me before, and it works better than the original 1-1-1 mix itself. I can't rule out what exactly is my problem, but I'm guessing it the bark component doesn't absorb water so well, or my heavier hand at watering.

Hkg, winter is the worst time to judge how well or poorly a mix is, most plants are just hanging out waiting for brighter and lengthier days to start on up.
The gritty mix works really well for some people and it doesnt for others its all subjective and relevant to the types of plants you grow and the environment you can provide.

As much as miraclegro is frowned upon, I recently discovered that one of the best growers and educators of mesemb plants grows most of his stuff in it, I had to ask twice to make sure I wasnt reading it wrong. The aizoaceae family of plants are different than other succulents and cacti though.

Soil mixes and preferences are something developed with time imo, if you find that your plants root systems are poor the next time you repot- evaluate the medium and go from there.

HKG,

Sorry for your frustration, but sadly sometimes it's part of the learning curve. I too am in NYC (actually Brooklyn) & grow lots of Sans in my own C&S mix w/plenty of perlite. I am not a fan of gritty mix, when I tried it for my Hoyas, it didn't work well for me or my routines.

I think some folks here make this unnecessarily complicated. Bernard, Sansevierias (Sans for short) ARE succulents, originating in S. Africa (I believe), but also growing in tropics (where I grew up). They also DO grow in arid, desert-like situations as well.

I wish I'd seen this sooner, as I would have made plain special mix is simply not necessary (in my opinion & experience growing them for 15 yrs.+).

To clarify for Bernard (I think sometimes you assume some things & also pass on misinformation, even if unintentionally). Perlite is NOT to make the mix drier, it's to make it AIRIER & more breatheable (by opening up air space btwn the other particles).

Sans. are some of the few plants on which I use my own recycled mix as it's my firm opinion that they just don't care.

If you'd like confirmation for this, go to Sans forum & look for posts by Pirate_Girl, a fellow NYer who also recycles her mix for Sans & has posted Sans. pix through the years. She also gave a talk/lecture here at her NYC Gardening Club some years ago on growing Sans. She, Jeff & Norma taught me a lot.

Indoor Gardening takes time to get adjusted to. It's hard I know, but pls. give yourself time, be patient & keep on plugging.

I would think hoya would grow better in 5.1.1 mix? I have only 1, so not too much experience, that's why I am asking the question.

I have many succulents and all of them are in gritty - except I don't use the bark any more. I use perlite. turface and chicken grit - all easily to get for me. I really like that kind of mix for succulents.

I keep all succulents outdoors during warm weather, and don't have to worry about them getting rained on (which is watering they receive - very seldom I have to water them myself, only if there isn't raining for a while). If necessary to water them, I use rain water that I collect in rain barrels.

Same indoors - if I happen to be little 'generous' with water, pots drain well.

I find sans very tolerant of soil mix, light and even watering. I have 1 plant that is still in the mix it came in (quite some time ago) and it is growing and pupping just the same. I will re-pot it thou, since I prefer the look and funktion of gritty mix.

Rina

Rina, do you use MG perlite or something else?

I see a lot of movement on the thread I started. Have had an extremely busy couple of days. I'll catch up with everything tomorrow, Wednesday.

I don't want anyone to think I'm not appreciative. Nothing bad happening, just very busy. Thanks again. I'll read all the advice tomorrow

I just potted up my newest batch of plants with sifted perlite mixed into my gritty mix. Hopefully it should help improve my mix to get faster water absorption/saturation.

Rina's mix of perlite/turface/grit is quite good. The pot that I have from her seems to be a very good balance between retention and aeration. I believe perlite is playing to her advantage because bark takes a bit longer to absorb water and a quick rain shower can easily saturate her mix (a good thing).

At least that's my current theory - maybe I'm completely wrong! All I know is that it works very well in the pot that I have. =)

There is so much activity because we're the type of community that gets very passionate about potting mediums. It's not a bad thing lol.

Kevin, I've tried Rina's mix too. I would say most of the plants that bloomed are those with perlite/turface/grit. The runner up to those are the ones with bark/turface/girt and perlite added into them, this option was a test because I didn't want to waste all the GM that I had bought so I threw perlite into them to improve air flow.

Lastly, I've lost 3-5 plants that are in the pure gritty mix of bark/turface and grit. They either hold too much water or dehydrate too quickly. Not the best results, but could have been worse than peat pudding.

Fortunately, I'm in zone 9 where I can leave my succulents out all year. Kellogg Palm Cactus and Citrus mix works for me. Sometimes I put extra perlite in to increase drainage.

sunb75

I buy perlite in bulk, large bags (they are about $38 here in Canada-probably less in US)-sorry I can't recall how much is in it (a lot). I sift that with a kitchen sieve and use all that stays in the sieve (I throw dust/too small particles onto compost heap).

My succulent mix consist of chicken grit, turface and perlite.

Here is the photo of the exact bag (that I posted back in 2012):

Next time I need some I will pick it up at Hydroponic store, they have bags of small, medium and large size. I never tried any from the Hydroponic store yet, but few members here mentioned it.

Kevin

I am glad you like the mix, that is what I have just about all of my succulents in now - only few have bark in the mix, those are my first attempt on mixing 1.1.1. I find it quite difficult to get bark of small size, so eventually I decided to skip it.

Bernard

I think mix you mentioned as 'runner up' is very good, I just save the bark (if I find suitable enough) for a 5.1.1 mix that I use for plants other than succulents (ficus Benjamina, figs, olives, brugmansia, hoya, and so on).

lg

I leave all my plants outdoors as soon as it is warm enough.

Rina