Budget bonsai items.

bonsaial1

These are two new items that I am testing. So far, they have been working pretty good.

First, I have found a very good substitute for cut wound dressing. I am not talking about cut paste. (which BTW I us paneling putty). This is the wound sealer that you would normally buy in the toothpaste type tube, and use for sealing small branch tips and grafting wounds and sealer. I have found the stuff in the automotive dept. and it is gasket cement. Its made by Permatex. Get the non hardening type. It is dark brown in color and you can hardly see it. Cost is about $3.49 a tube vs. $12.00 at the bonsai store.


Next is some fertilizer. I am trying this and cannot be real specific as to its merits yet as I am just starting to use it. It seems to be breaking down real well and I think that is a good sign. Oh.. oh yea the stuff. Well here goes. KOI FOOD.
I found this at the pet store while buying bird food for my wife's conure. I was buying koi food for my own carp and was comparing ingredients on some new food they carried.

Ingredients: fish meal,soybean meal,ground corn,poultry by-product meal,wheat middlings,fish oil,corn glutin meal,flash dried blood meal.
Now this stuff is made with all organic items. It comes in real nice a little larger than a BB size pellet, breaks down with watering, and should disolve right into the soil. What more could you ask for. And... it's only $3.99 for 1 1/2 pound bag!

Time will tell and I will let you know. Oh yea, I did set up two small juniper specimens of equal size as a test medium. I will follow there progress over a growing season.

best regards, Bonsaial

__________________
A tree a day...thats all we ask.

Advertisement

Jay

Al, Thanks for doing the research on these, substitute, Bonsai Products. Its great to be able to find things that work at a more reasonable price!
Jay

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing