cant find builders sand

doody

I have started to make a my own soil mix. So far I have 1part fired clay (automotive oil absorbant) & 1/2 part peat moss & 1/2 part pine bark. I wanted to add 1part builders sand but I cant find it. Can I use aggriculture sand or pea gravel instead??

__________________
"What we see depends mainly on what we look for", because "Creation and art are defined only by the boundaries we confine ourselves"

both quotes written by authors unknown

Advertisement

ripsgreentree

Pete: It has been my experiance that when ever you use oil absorb or cat litter in your soil mix you end up with problems. The fired clay holds water to the point of drounding your plants, this is compounded by the fact that you have over 60% organics in your mix which will also over time hold water as it decomposes. It is my openion that you will eventually run into trouble with this mix. The mix that I prefer is one that is heavy in particulats like lava pumice and concrete sand and only 25% organic material. I use redwood humis that is under 1/4 in and sifted to remove all fines. This sounds bleek but with a little furtalizer the trees thrive in it. It takes this mix 4 years to break down and I have been using it for 10 years, both in growing pots and bonsai pots. Good luck with your soil experiments and let us knnnow how things go.
ripsgreentree

__________________
ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.

Jay

Pete, I use the Saf T Absorbent, fired clay, in my mix. I do sift out the small particles and I do not use it more than 30-35% of the mix. The other parts of my mix are chicken grit(crushed granite), and pine bark mulch sifted to small but not timy particles. It works for me in Zone 5b/6a but as a novice I can only give you a years worth of reports....before that I spent the bucks for the 'good stuff'.

As it is said above my organic is (only) 30-35% of the mix.

__________________
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

TreeBay

Try going to the aquarium store and ask for aquarium sand (the river sand not the ocean sand) It looks like mixed quartz - small round pebbles. And comes in bulk in large bags. It's not the dyed material usually packed in poly.

It should be washed thoroughly before use to remove the dust.

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

bonsaial1

If you have a home depot in your area, get the bags of play sand. They come in a white bag with orange and green lettering on it. From time to time they run out of the white bag and sell the brown bag with red lettering on it. The latter is to fine. The white bag has sand larger than 1/16 inch and up to 1/8 inch. It is washed and there is no dust.

__________________
I been kidding the last seven years.
no.... really!

TreeBay

There may be some regional differences in what they're selling as "Play Sand" depending on where it's quarried. You do want to avoid ocean sand in any case,

And watch out for the bags labeled "fence post concrete"

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

doody

Thanks everyone. I'll take all this info to heart. I am going to try to modify my mix, but use what I have(it's a low income thing). How's this sound 25% fired clay (oil absorbant) + 15% pine bark + 10% peat moss + 50% aquarium sand or the Home Depo play sand mentioned above.

__________________
"What we see depends mainly on what we look for", because "Creation and art are defined only by the boundaries we confine ourselves"

both quotes written by authors unknown

denny

i have the white bag and it seems much finer than what you said.
it seems to want to wash right thru the pot.

__________________
Denny
Still Growing in zone 9
So.Cal.

TreeBay

I don't think you want to use that Denny, it might be silica sand, or ocean sand. *And it's definitely too small *I'm not all that far from bonsaial and have seen bags similar to what he's talking about.

I'm pretty sure his (our) sand is packaged by Basalite (Pacific Coast Building Products) as either Utility or Play sand. They may repack it for certain vendors. * They don't have any specs that I can find, but the
webpage is here

If you can't find this, you might go the aquarium sand route, or call a builder's supply that sells to masons (brick and flue tiles and stuff like that) and ask for #3 washed sand or something about that size. *I think the primary use for washed sand is sandblasting, but it also finds some use in masonry. It's a good idea to throw it out on a window screen and spray it to remove dirt and salt or perhaps even soak it. If it falls right through the windowscreen... well, you have your answer right there.

Regards,

Matt

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!