OK: I got curious and tested Flaxseed, wheat (hulled) and buckwheat (unhulled). The test consisted of microwaving a cupp full of the seeds, and measuring the temps a couple of minutes after removing from the oven, then every 10 minutes. Flaxseed got hotter in that minute, but cooled off faster (better heat transfer on the small, close-packed seeds). Buckwheat was not as hot to start, but was the slowest to cool (hulls - minimize ability to heat, but also minimize heat loss). Wheat berries were in the middle for heat gain and loss. CONCLUSION: The differences were not significant ... but at 180-195 ALL OF THEM WERE HOT ENOUGH TO BURN ANYONE WHO COULD NOT GET AWAY FROM THE BAG!!!!!!

LM. Just curious. Blind Test in hopefully a modern ~dishwasher~ - aka, run time of 2 1/2 hrs or more..Do you notice a difference in your old goodies (which may have some depleted cleaning ability just merely due to age) versus current good formulas of Cascade Platinum or Finish Quantum. I've stopped hoarding DW a long time ago, under the premise that there is a certain level of ~shelf~ life to these things... I ran out of good "old cascade" and bought some phosphated Bubble Bandit. Was so excited to see this touted phosphate DW deterg......bought like a 6 pack. It got my dishes, etc with dismal results. I tried forcing myself to love it....and after numerous tries, it sat on my shelves for awhile before I gave it all away. Me wonders in this day and age, if the old cascade can compete with a new fresh tablet of my current choices in my DW

Hey Russ - yes, I like not only the outcome of the turface, but the simplicity! I can order a 50 pound bag and it will be enough for a couple years I think. I do filter using a mesh strainer - I know some folks get really technical and use bonsai sifters, but I haven't felt the need thus far. I separate coarse material for relatively mature plants and the fines are used for cuttings. Some cuttings, I use unsifted turface, such as jades: I figured they need the fines to start rooting, but need more drainage than the average cutting. I haven't lost a single jade cutting using this approach. I have some azalea cuttings, euonymous, and bougainvillea that are all doing well in turface fines, simply sitting on my front porch (no extra cover for humidity, getting dappled morning sun). My Fernwood (or japonica) sans put out a lot of new growth including a flower when I switched to turface from Gritty Mix, but I haven't tried my trifasciata or cylindrical in turface yet. Al (Tapla) talks about gritty mix on other threads; I'm going to try to paraphrase, and hope I don't misinterpret anything. Bark is the organic that holds a lot of water, but is slow to abosrb, which is why we often soak bark before using it: otherwise all the water runs right over it and out the bottom. I believe one of his stated reasons for granite, beyond drainage without holding water for longer periods, is that it does hold drops of water on it's exterior after watering which can be absorbed more slowly by bark. AKA, it helps bark absorb/retain water. However, when I've repotted plants in gritty mix, I've found the top to be dry and sometimes more moisture (not humidity) in the lower parts of the pot, presumably because of water sitting on granite. Conversely with turface, it gets absorbed quickly, it doesn't sit in drops or pools, and it gets released slowly/consistently as humidity, which is what roots want: a combination of H20 and O2. That being said, Al is many fold more knowledgeable than me - these are just my musings as I spend way too much time watching my plants ;) Regarding "improve other aspects of care," I think your right, people have more access to ideas and information, this thread being a great example. I look back on the way I approached my plants a few years ago while I was just starting to absorb information from this site and other sources, and I've made great improvements (with a long way to go still). So while I learned here that no amount of perlite will fix miracle grow (at some point, the plants simply fall out of the pot because the perlite is so light!), I also learned a lot of other things, so it is hard to compare the results I had with soil to the results I'm getting with turface.

Ariel Powder from Mexico, still contains Phosphate. At least, the Powder version with a touch of Downy, Original, and RevitaColour. I just had this confirmed scientifically, and have spoken with P&G. Apparently, there's a big push for "Biodegradable" right now, but that mentioned on the bag is worthless. If you spend more time looking at it, you realize it's referring to its surfactants and enzymes being "biodegradable"... which they've always been. Not only that, but FOCA, sold in Mexico also says Biodegradable. The version sold there still contains Phosphates, and lots of them. P&G however, has removed Phosphate from Ace Detergent, Ariel in Columbia and Ariel in Vietnam. It would also appear that the Omo Detergent mentioned a few posts up, by Chris, never had Phosphate to begin with. That product, itself, relies on Polymers and Zeolite. It's also extremely sudsy. You'll also notice on the packages of Ariel from Columbia, that they have a green leaf or white measuring cup that says "Sin Fosfatos" and "0%"... and the same labeling is on Ace. The liquid line of Ariel, and Pod line -- are all Phosphate Free, which is to expected. I'm more curious... to see how this all ends. I wonder how much longer P&G will keep this formula the same. Considering we are in the middle of a pandemic, and the current formula kills bacteria, I can't see them rushing to change it, just yet. Lastly, The Ariel *mostly* being sold here in the U.S. has a extremely similar bag, but completely different formula. Many of you can't even tell the difference, but the a good indicator, is a bag completely in Spanish. You'll also notice the dramatically different dosing directions. 1 Taza (1 Cup) for the Mexican Version, while the US Verison says 1/3 a Cup.