bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - My soil washes away and leaves behind the grit

Peat is hard to use as a bonsai soil ammendment. When it gets dry, it is very light and floats away, so you have to keep it moist, which is hard to do without overwatering. Once it gets dry, it is hard to wet or absorb water.

Akadama is great if you can afford it, which many can't. Similar items include Turface, Baseball field soil conditioner, unscented kitty litter, Oil-dry, etc. Basically any fired clay product. I get the soil conditioner from a local landscape supply center for about $8 a 40lb bag and the size it perfect for my soil mix. Beats Akadama at $30+ for a 10lb bag.

You can also use fir bark, which many use to hold additional water to their mix.
Hope this helps.

16-Jun-2006	#2
jjeter bonsaiTALK Adept Join Date: Mar-2005 Location: North Charleston, SC Country: USA USDA Zone: 8 AHS Heat Zone: 8 Posts: 241	Peat is hard to use as a bonsai soil ammendment. When it gets dry, it is very light and floats away, so you have to keep it moist, which is hard to do without overwatering. Once it gets dry, it is hard to wet or absorb water. Akadama is great if you can afford it, which many can't. Similar items include Turface, Baseball field soil conditioner, unscented kitty litter, Oil-dry, etc. Basically any fired clay product. I get the soil conditioner from a local landscape supply center for about $8 a 40lb bag and the size it perfect for my soil mix. Beats Akadama at $30+ for a 10lb bag. You can also use fir bark, which many use to hold additional water to their mix. Hope this helps.