Crushed granite, you don't want the shell chicken grit.

I use Manna Pro Poultry Grit that I get at Tractor Supply, being careful to get the crushed granite with no vitamins, etc. Maybe you have a similar store? Cherry Stone and Gran-I-Grit are other grits some folks use.

Thanks so much pagan and Crenda. It makes perfect sense. I'm going to enjoy looking up crushed granite and see what's around here.

What grade or "size" granite grit do you buy, or does it vary depending on the type, size, root fragility etc.

Lol @ pagan. I have to agree! - fresh corn on the cob with lots of butter and a bit of salt mmmmmmm

Wow we have heaps of crushed granite all over Adelaide! And I bought some stones from a place that probably sells it lol. Surely granite would be really really heavy though :O

...size of chicken grit/granite chips for the mix - approx. 3-6mm:

Rina thanks. I've been comparing sizes online that sell it. Those that have good websites have their stone pictures just like yours including the ruler, so there are a few places I'll be ringing. It's looking good :)

So here ''grit'' is the same as some ''crushed granite'? Is this different from the simple, cheap ''decomposed granite''?

It's the same thing.

Albert

I don't know how much is the Manna Pro, Cherry stone or Gran-I-grit, but the chicken grit we buy in Canada (Ontario) is just under $10/50lb bag.

Was wondering what decomposed granite could be lol.

Is crushed quartz just as good? Seems to be quite a bit of it around here too.

What I meant was, is granite grit just as good for the plants as quartz grit? Grit meaning around 3-6mm chip size.

As long as it is inert, it should work. I know a couple people here that use it in their mixes.

Thanks mesembs. By inert, do you mean that it doesn't leach anything into the mix?

Yeah. Basically, it shouldn't change the pH of the soil, or leach anything harmful into the soil. This is why we don't use chicken grit made of shells.

Thanks Mesembs, that's what I was thinking you meant. Just wanted to check. :)

I bought a bag of decomposed granite to try to use for my grit mix and I ended up giving most of it away. First of all it is very dirty/muddy, but mainly the particle sizes ranged 1-2mm to > 1inch pebbles, so I was having to wash, sift, and sort!! I ended up buying pumice off amazon and have been using that with vermiculite and shredded pine bark.

Goodness! What a hassle! Nearly everything has different names here. I'm not worried about it now. I've got my C&S mix plus perlite, so just slowly researching what's around for if/when I want to change or experiment.