Gimme that recipe your so proud of...

Bonsainut

O kay Gentleelmen,

Since we have all formulated our own mixes over the years lets hear what you have come to select as your best bonsai soil mix.

I'm interested to see what local components are being used and what we have in common, etc...

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Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce

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Bonsainut

I used to use:
Third-pumice,
third-silica sand#12,
third-Sifted pine bark.

But I couldnt keep up with the watering here in the southwest hot dry summers that go from May to November with no relief!

Now I have simplified:
half- black volcanic cinder(called scoria)
half- sifted Super soil, a steam sterilized compost

I use this for everything Now that I grow.

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce

Soildoc

Ok, This is what I'm using right now (I've been using this for about 2 months now and so far so good)

1/2 commercial topsoil (this is actually about 50% organic, 50% inorganic (boatloads of sand)
1/4 patio/sidewalk underlayment (coarse sand )
1/4 sandbox sand.

The underlayment and sandbox sand are strickly for water permeability while the topsoil has a pretty good blend of organic matter and clay for water and nutrient retention. This mix works very well here in Mississippi and has cut my outdoor watering schedule considerably. I'm anxious to see what happens during the summer. It has caused me to reconsider my indoor watering schedule as I tend to water more frequently than I should. I'm watering every three to four days inside and I think I could cut that to once a week.

TreeBay

I am using a basic mixture of about 1 part each:
[*]fine orchid bark (fir bark)[*]red or brown lava (about 1/8-3/16)[*]#3 washed sand[*]sometimes shale rinsed very well when it is available

For deciduous trees, and particularly fruit trees, I add in a part of unfired akadama

For pines and most other conifers I add 1-2 parts of fired akadama and perhaps a bit more sand

Azaleas - always 100% kanuma

I keep each ingredient in its own 30gal rubbermade can, so I have a half-dozen of these cans all lined up. The tall, dark green garbage can with wheels. I got a note from the Town the other day informing me that it was illegal to collect garbage. I had to write back and tell them it was bonsai soil.


On the subject of sand - I don't believe it is a good idea to use sand smaller than #3. Even #3 tends to settle out somewhat and anything smaller might compromise the drainage.

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Bonsai soil

1 part turface
1 part coarse sand
1 part composted pine bark
[everythig sifted to 1/8" -1/4" ]

For most deciduous trees I'll add 1/2 part sphagnum peat moss, I really need it with the summer heat we get here.

Bonsainut

Wow ,
* This is very interesting so far.

Tree bay,
* * *I can only find black lava in my area. *You say you use brown also. *Is this for pot or trunk color matching or just what available at the time? And where do you find #3 sand thats nealy a quarter inch size pebbles. *We call it pea gravel, am I recieving you correctly? *
*
Soil Doc,
* That seems like a lotta Sand my man. *If it works dont fix it but whoa...

Tony
* Talk about turface. *I have heard about it for years but never experienced the stuff.

Keep them coming guys!!!

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce

KZitzewitz

With work, and my hectic life, I don't have time to make soil from different types, nor do I have time to sift, nor do I have space to place all these wonderful components. So I go down to the local garden center and get either cactus mix (which seems to work the best in my busy schedule) or bonsai mix (you know the witney farms type or whoever makes it), which does not seems to work, with that though, I see alot of stuff in pbooks say sand loam silt (or whatever the thrid is) and have parts, you all don't ave differnt ways to mix, 2:2:1 and 1:1:2 per different plants (thats part of each per quantities). and with the sand sizes, what makes the differnece with the #'s how does the scale work, I know sand as, well sand the small little particles of rock that get stuck in your eye and really hurt (especially if they get stuck under a contact), as far as all that though, this is good information to help make the bigger better soil! no where is walter and wolfgang so we can get thier secrets...

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--Kristopher

Doc, the stuff I use is "Shultz's soil conditioner" AKA Turface, which is the name most know it by. They are the exact same product both made by Profile LLC. The difference is that Turface is mainly sold to large grounds keeping outfits like for golf coarses, football fields, etc. It is particles of clay that have been fired in a kiln at high temps so what you end up with is like small ceramic particles, most between 1/8 to 1/4". It has tiny pores on the surface which hold moisture that I think helps with fine root development. It's a good component for bonsai soil, give it a try if you can find it.

I'm also trying a mix with crushed brick that looks promising but I haven't used it long enough to recommend it to anyone. I would like to try crushed lava but the smallest I can find is around 1 inch and I seem to have lost my sledge hammer LOL.

Tony

Soildoc

Bonsainut,

It sounds like a good deal more than it really is. The underlayment is closer to small pebbles around 1/64 to 1/16 of an inch. I had to add this to make sure I had good aeration. The topsoil tended to be highly organic and held water a little to long.