Egroup

I am trying to construct my own "formula" for bonsai soil so that I can vary the mix a little more for my different tree types as opposed to just buying the pre-made stuff an augmenting as necessary.. That pre-made stuff is SOOO expensive and when you are working wist as many trees as I find myself in possession of... you need cheaper options. I like akadema but again, the cost is outrageous as I can only get it mail order.. tried Kanuma and it is just not my favorite...

I was out shopping and I have never had any trouble finding options to use as the organic component (compost I make myself/ rotted bark...) but for the "grit"/ inorganic component I have always had trouble finding a sufficient/ consistent ingredient... Today I am trying something new that looks good, is 100% natural and has some water retention ability= Oil Dry it is called. At my local hardware/ feed and seed it was the best thing that I and the guy helping me could find. It is cheap, already in perfect particle size, composed of 100% crystalline silica "as quartz"- whatever that means.. I was assured there are no chemicals added to it and I think it should work fine as a soil additive- as one of the recommendations for use was to use as a soil conditioner...

Anybody ever use this stuff?? Ever heard of reasons why it would be good/bad??

I have not used any yet, but I have sifted some and mixed a little with a sifted organic compost to see how they mix and interact. I know looks mean about squat when it comes to good soil, but it LOOKS like good soil... Any recommendations/ ideas/ advice would be welcomed!

treebeard55

If you have what is sold around here as "Oil Dry," it is calcined clay. The difference between that and Turface, on the one hand, and kitty litter, on the other, is the temperature at which each is fired. (Turface highest of the three, kitty litter lowest. The higher the firing temperature, the longer it lasts.)

One of my good friends uses Oil Dry in place of Turface; it doesn't last quite as long, but it costs less. It seems to work fine for him.

I use Turface too, in combination with an organic like bark, and poultry grit -- crushed granite -- for ballast and root diversion. Poultry grit is also inexpensive and available at any feed store. (At least around here.)

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Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

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Phil

If it is indeed calcined clay (which on occasions I have used) where on earth does the 100% crystalline silica enter the picture? It can't be 100% silica and also contain clay! 100% is 100%! Well......at least as far as I know unless basic mathematics have changed! Silica is silica and clay is clay and both are totally two different animals. Either way it should not do any harm unless its 100% something else!

~Phil

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Egroup

Thanks guys, I'm excited- I am going to give this stuff a try...

Paul Williams

Hi Egroup
I have been using Oil Dry in my soil for some time now and it works fine!
Now, there are a lot of things on the market to sop up oil the only one that I can recomend is shown in the picture below.
Good growing
Paul

Attached Images

Soil Story_edited-1.JPG (71.4 KB, 31 views)

Kansai

If the guy at a "feed and seed" sold you "Grit" then it was very likely 100% silica, or quartz, usually in the form of decomposed granite--aka poultry grit.

In traditional horticultural terms "grit" means poultry grit. When John Naka refers to grit, he's referring to poultry grit. It has been used as a soil amendment for at least a century--especially in container culture and propagation.

In bonsai culture it seems that grit is whatever the author wants it to be--sand or pumice or cat liter or whatever--but in the broader horticultural community grit is grit is poultry grit. This is why if you ask for grit at a feed store they will sell you poultry grit instead of oil dry.

The advantages of poultry grit are that it is clean, graded, sharp, hard, ph-neutral and cheap. It's available in several sizes ranging from something like chick size all the way up to ostrich grade. Its only disadvantage is that it does NOT absorb water.

True Turface is apparently hard to find. I have it available at a local place called the Grass Pad for about $9/50lb. 50lb. goes a long way. I would go to the Turface web site and do a dealer search. Sometimes they list quasi-wholesale dealers who are quite happy to do cash counter sales. Another option is to look for Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil at the big-box stores. This is regular Turface MVP in a fancy bag. It's kind of pricey depending on how much you need.

On the other hand good 'ol poultry grit is a tried and true standard. You might just use another margin of organics to compensate for water retention.

It sounds like you already bought a bag. Do you know what size you got? Probably chicken or turkey is my guess. Like I said, this is good stuff. I'd use it myself if I didn't have Turface available.

DR

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Egroup

Looks like we have pretty much the same stuff. Mine was in a different bag- about he same size bag I think, just different labels- but it appears to be the same company and same exact stuff! Glad to hear you have used ti with success!

Egroup

Yeah the store I was at was more of a local family owned hardware store- I live int he city so I would really have to go out a bit to find a true feed and seed, but they had a lot of gardening and farming stuff there so I was actually LOOKING for the poultry grit, but they did not have it. I got the oil dry stuff described above, and I have already made some mixes of soil components with it. I got a $2 bag (HUGE) of some well composted mulch- 100% natural stuff (rotted bark and things)... that I sifted and removed all the big particles. I also have some compost I made in my mulch pile over the last few months that looks ready to go. so, today I am re-potting an azalea or two that have just finished blooming and I am going to make them my first trees to get my new mixes!

I am using the Oil-Dry as the inorganic component and I am mixing somewhere between 50-50 to 60-40 of inorganic- organic for the azaleas as they like it a little more wet and pretty high in acid. I have some high acid ferts that I will use and have always used on them and I have some Aluminum sulfate to mix a little in so that it will be a real acid lover's soil...

Sound a bout right to you guys??

Shady Side Bonsai

E, if your going to use oil dry I would recommend you test it first. Oil dry comes in different qualities ( for the lack of a better word) depends on which plant it was manufactured and if it was fired. Soak you oil dry in water for about two weeks. Add water once it absorbs whats in your container to the level of the oil dry. If it breaks down and begins to form a mush or compresses when you squeeze it between your fingers this particular oil dry product is not for you.

You said you lived in the city. I would check with your parks dept., sure as the sun rises in the morning they use Turface if you have ball fields. They would be a good reference to either obtain it from or they would know where to get it locally.

Kansai, I'd like to point out to you a couple of things that you commented on.
Actually grit in horticultural terms means sand, small rock, or anything that is inorganic and does not crush or decompose in a pot. John Naka actually used river sand, which is a very large grain sand, for the most part in his potting mixes. As a matter of fact Naka's reference to grit is actually a reference to sand such as plaster sand, river sand, and decomposed granite. BY the way #5 pool sand is extremely good too. It is very, very easy to find providing that there are swimming pools in your locale.

The reason when you ask for grit at a feed store is thats what they feed poultry and has been called grit because of the small stones they ingest to help with digestion. Oil dry isn't considered grit by anyone be it in the poultry business or horticultural business. So this could also be a reason why you get "poultry grit" instead of oil dry

Very true. However, it not absorbing water is not a disadvantage, as it is added as a filler for aeration of the soil or to provide a very dry mix for pines. To much water retention as I'm sure you know is bad for roots. The other components you add such as Turface/oildry, Lava rock, and organics serve that purpose.

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Tom
Shady Side Bonsai
Bonsai Vault
4MAAT

Paul Williams

Hi All
Well said Tom! This is how I tested the Oil Dri that I use.
Good growing
Paul