Mike423

I know there are a few of you who are fellow members of The Midwest Bonsai Society and I have a question. I was wondering if anyone remmembered the name and address of the place where I could buy Turface MPV. I think It was called Conserve FS or something like that. I though it was mentioned in one of the past few months news letters, but for some reason I cant find it.

fore

Hi Mike. Go to Distributors | Turface Athletics
Enter IL, and it'll open up with all the Conserve FS's phone numbers. Plus, be sure to check out the John Deere link as it has more J. Deere dealers; for me, who lives in the city, I believe the Downers Grove J. Deere is the closest location. But there are Conserve FS's in quite a few places. In fact, I'm going to call them tom and see if they have it. If they do, I'm driving to Downers Grove

Good Luck!

Btw, I just joined Midwest Bonsai Society this mos. Went to my first meeting and I had a nice time. A lot of friendly and knowledgable people.

Mike423

Yeah I actually went there that day, and they do sell it, I think it was $8 for a 50lbs bag if I remember right. I bought 4 bags since after you sift it you will only have about half of that, that's the right particle size. One word of caution though is that the location I went to (Wauconda ) closed at 4pm every day and I think it said they are closed on Tuesday or some weird day like that. I should have posted back sooner buy I had the same thread on another site and forgot about this one.

Welcome to the MBS, I've been a member for a while myself. I was at the meeting last Monday but I came late.

fore

Hi Mike423, my name is Chris and I'm sure we'll meet up sometime. And Thanks for the info, and all I can think of sifting 200lbs?? Btw, do you mind me asking what sizes of Turface you used? I'm new to Chicago, and I'm also new to inorganic media. So I'm curious. I found a website selling 'japanese style soil'/100% Aggregate, that varied from 1/16 to 1/4. Is that in your range?

I appreciate the help Mike423, especially now with the weather, I'm looking for indoor bonsai work lol

Mike423

That size sounds about right, I have used a home made sifter but since the thing ways a ton Im going to have to buy one from one of the vendors at next months show. You could sift it a second time keeping some of the finer particles if you plan on using it for a tree that fits in your palm prbably not worth it though. I only save the next size smaller with my Akadama, since its so expensive. If you see me I'm not that hard to spot I'm 6'4 and probably one of the youngest guys there.

-Mike

treebeard55

I'm not a member of the MBS, but the August show is a regular annual event for us. If any of you recognize me from my profile pic, come up and say "hello!"

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

Mike423

Sure thing.

fore

6'4 eh?? Yeah, I can't miss you I'm 6'0 and just turned 50 last week, I felt I was 'middle of the road' in age lol
Mike, Akadama comes in various sizes, a website says that 1/4 to 3/8 is best for conifers. Perhaps 1/16 to 1/4 is for shonin?
And, do you use Turface as a 100% soil or do you add other inorganics like lava rock, and even say a 10% pine bark mulch to help acidify the soil?
I'd really like to make my soil for both conifers and deciduous trees.

I'll look for you Treebeard at the show! I'll def. be there. But I can't bring too much money or I'll buy tons of plants LOL

Mike423

Around 1/4 is best and if your not sure about sifting and your not in a hurry to repot anything (which you shouldn't be this time of year unless its an emergency or a tropical) I recommend you also buy a sifter at the August show, I think its $25, then you cant go wrong when it comes to particle size. Some sites that have 'pre-sifted' are not as good of a deal as you might think, either making it more expensive , or some dont really sift all that well either. I prefer to do it myself.

I'veonly been into Bonsai for about two years now and since it probably will take at least a decade to get a feel for how a mix works I can only say what I use has worked good for me. Some people say 100% turface works well (same goes for Akadam but I prefer to have a rounded soil mix. For soil components for my Deciduous tree I generally use

Turface (3 parts)
Haydite or gravel (2 parts)
Fine fir bark (2 parts)
Sifted sphagnum Peat (1-2 parts)

But it's just kind of a touch and feel thing. I have a Maple and a sand cherry in a 50/50 mix of turface and sifted sphagnum peat and they are doing great. I think you just need to find out by experimenting, and having the three component ingredients present (porous rock, non-porous rock and an organic compound). you could also ask around at the next meeting, Cat and a few others should be able to give you some real useful insight on what they use. If anything I would highly recommend asking Ivan next time he shows up.

As far as PH I've found that if you are potting an Acid loving plant like Azaleas the mix also works quite well since its soil less and pretty inert. Again I really dont use Akadama too much since I dont really have any trees past the 'training' stage. There will also be a lot of vendors selling soil components as well as Akadama and Kanuma at the show. If you do go the expensive side and buy some Akadama be sure you buy the high fire type like the red line brand. High fired Akadama clay last a lot longer where the cheaper low fired type can be crushed and crumbled easily by hand and breaks down way quicker. As far as particle bag size you can buy Akadama bags in three sizes large, medium and small, I recommend buying the small particle size bag.

fore

Thanks for the information Mike. Your mix for your deciduous trees sounds about right. And I'm to infer that you use 100% Turface for your conifers?
1/4" sounds about right to me too. Thanks.

I don't plan on any repotting now, I just wanted to get the materials to start sifting as it's an indoor activity Then by spring time, I'm set to go.

For Azaleas, do you use an acid fertilizer for these or something else. Someone told me using fish emulsion acidifies the soil but haven't heard it from many people. So who knows??

I'm looking forward to the show as well. And I hope I run into Ivan either at our meeting in Aug., or the show. He's a great guy and am sure he know's what's best for this area. But no Akadama for me as I too don't have any 'done' bonsais that deserve that right now.

Btw, I just got home from Conserv FS in Wauconda....beautiful area up there. But a long drive. So I really stocked up on Turface, as well as 2 bags of Chicken grit to try out as well.