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14-Jan-2006
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#1 |
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bonsaiTALK Master Chief
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What to do with the sifted fines?
I know a lot us out here make our own soil or at least improve on something that we buy. And the smarter ones of us sift it to ensure good drainage. The question is, what to do with the fines that are unsuitable for bonsai potting use?
With decomposed granite, after sifting and washing I am left with about half the volume, even with the fired clay I am left with a significant amount of fines that are unusable and I was wondering what everyone here does with the leftovers. For now, I just toss them into the garden and will work them into the planting beds in the spring, but that seems like a waste to me. I'd especially like to hear from our professionals, whom must go through bags and tons of soil components. Last edited by soonami : 14-Jan-2006 at 12:13 PM. |
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What to do with the sifted fines? |
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14-Jan-2006
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#2 |
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bonsaiTALK ArchMaster
 
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I use them for bald cypress,mucking slabs,tiny trees,accent plants,seeds,top dressing,cuttings,house plants and the once in awhile rock planting.I don't get alot of fines from my purchased materials as I try to avoid buying the ones that have them.Only things like perelite,acrilite,cactus soil and the pine bark do I usally wind up with buckets of fines.But when I do have them I just mix them all together and use them as stated above,sometimes it's good to have them around.
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14-Jan-2006
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#3 |
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bonsaiTALK Master Chief
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Dito Wes,
My sifted compost fines are used for my Bald Cypress. They seem to grow quite happily in it. All the best, Aaron
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Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Muriel Strode Vulpes pilum mutat, non mores! "A fox may change its skin but never its character" |
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14-Jan-2006
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#4 |
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bonsaiTALK Expert
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As Redpine said it is good for making muck for slab and rock plantings.
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14-Jan-2006
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#5 |
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bonsaiTALK Master Chief
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Yeah good for muck, but on a rock planting you really only need a pint of so of it. But what if you buy a cubic yard of landscaper's mix for mulch, you're going to have a lot of fines, seems like a waste to throw it away.
Maybe that means I need to do more forest slab plantings and get a couple BCs then As for house plants, I find that the fines stay too wet and have very poor drainage. Bonsai are in pots just like houseplants so what works for bonsai usually work for houseplant usually. And cuttings, I've tried different mixtures, but the fines stay far to wet, if the soil is too wet the cutting isn't stressed enough to produce roots to absorb water. 1/8-1/16 inch bonsai soil seem to work the best for me to root them. With Serissa and Juniper cuttings, I filled half a tray of six-pacs with a peat based compost mix with sand fines that I use for outside planter's trays for strawberries, and on the other half of six-pacs, I used a coarse sand and mulch mix that is similar to the mixture I use on smaller azaleas and the second half faired much better. Anyway just a thought. |
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