seysonn, I had the same question about some of the DE products. I bought a bag of the NAPA Floor Dry and also a bag of OptiSorb to compare the two products. I'm posting a photo of them both as a comparison. Product on the LEFT is NAPA Floor Dry #8822, product on RIGHT is OptiSorb #8925. Both were screened with wire insect screen to remove dust and very fine particles. As you can see in this photo, the products are very similar and both come in #25 bags. The OptiSorb particles on the right are slightly larger than the NAPA Floor Dry on the left, but not by very much. The bag of NAPA Floor Dry I bought seemed to have more fine particles that were lost in screening compared to the OptiSorb, however this could vary greatly from bag to bag. The NAPA Floor Dry costs about $9.00 and the OptiSorb was about $13.00 I believe. Being new to this gritty mix and 5-1-1 mix world my thinking is that both of these DE products would work equally well in soil mixes. Maybe some of the veteran members here would have different observations but I think these two DE products are basically the same. Thanks. TYG

Lol - because they grow so fast, I use the 5:1:1 mix for brugs & datura. There is no way I would go 2 years with these plants in the same soil. They really need root work beyond potting up every year. Those are also one of the few plants that I give a little extra Mg to - both in the ground and containers (I grow them in the ground as annuals & take cuttings every summer to winter over for next year's plants). The 5:1:1 mix is very good for houseplants and holds up much better/longer than peat/coir/compost-based soils, but the gritty mix would still perform a little better. I always judge what soil to use by how long the plant will be in the same soil. Even though the 5:1:1 mix is much more durable than most packaged soils, I still hold pretty tight to the rule: 1 year in the same soil = 5:1:1. 2 or more years in the same soil = the gritty mix. In the end though, it's whatever you feel is the best choice for you. I'm not selling (you on) soil recipes, I'm selling the importance of aeration and durability in your soils, and showing you various ways to achieve those ends. After I've helped folks understand those points, it really doesn't matter to me what they choose to grow in, though it always pleases me to learn of people having improved their effort:reward ratio because of something I might have shared. ;o) Take good care. I know you'll do well! Al

Tj- thank you! Thank you! thank you! I'll be going out there tomorrow! I called them and they have 25lb bags for $7.99! What a steal! It kinda sucks that I already bought a 5lb off of Amazon for $17 though. Oh well, lesson learned! How did you find that place? I Googled for chicken grit in my area and called all the feed stores. Anyway, you are awesome, so thank you again!! Jpaz- your cacti are beautiful. I don't really stick to one type of cacti or succulent. I just buy what I find attractive or what I'm interested in (which is everything really). I'm still a newbie, so I'm sure as I learn more, my taste will become more refined. Here is a couple pictures of the majority of my plants. A have about 8 or so that are in my garage that are waiting to be repotted, so those aren't pictured. I like to buy my plants as babies so I can watch them grow. Although, I think next spring I may but some bigger ones. They aren't anything like yours, obviously cause I'm not am expert and I'm just getting started, but I hope one day I'll have the knowledge and experience like you do. The weather here in Lemoore, Ca. Is very hot during the summer and pretty cold cold during the winter (to me anyway being that I'm from South Mississippi), so I am going to give the pumice a try. It can't hurt. Thanks for all of your help. :) Josh- Yeah, I do need to get on a better watering schedule. Right now I water about every 4 days or so and I am thinking I need to water more than that when it is as hot as it is here. How often do you water? Nil- The way I see it is, turface has high water retention and lava rock is medium and chicken grit is very low. I like having all three because it gives it a better texture and it's really hard for me to bust up lava rock small enough to mix in with the turface perfectly. I feel like the chicken grit balances the turface better than the lava rock because the size... If that makes any sense. This post was edited by Sbgibbons on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 23:07

Hey 2LittleFishies, I too love marble, but don't much mind the wear patterns it develops. I've been in houses with 60 year old soap stone and find it quite charming. Heck, I've been in houses with 200 year old marble counters - and still find the wear quite charming. My own Victorian has soapstone around the heat registers. They're a little dinged up but quite beautiful in my opinion. I have a large, cutting board, bit of carrara marble that I use to roll out dough - maybe start with that and see where it takes you. Don't know how old your house is but one of the good things about an older home is that nothing is really perfect and if it is perfect it looks rather out of place. So...things look fine when they are a little worn. I remember going to England and staying in a house that was built in the 1400s - wear just means people have come before you and will come after you, it is a good reminder. So get what you like and what you want. If wear patterns and noticeable age on your counters isn't what you want get something else. Remember, even durable things break, pit and fall apart.