Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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The article in this url below explains a lot about the physical properties of commonly used inorganic components. Even though it is from a website pertaining to orchids I found it to be very informative on the micro structure and internal porosity of turface (lightweight expanded clay aggregate), diatomaceous earth, pumice, and scoria.
Mineral Buildup in Inorganic Media › First Rays LLC
Mineral buildup in inorganic media can be reduced by following a few recommended cultural techniquesfirstrays.com
First Ray's website is quite the resource. The fertilizer information in the "free information" section of his website is priceless. The fertilizer calculator is a great tool once you figure out what levels of nutrients you want. I've known the owner, strictly through "the internets and email" for over 30 years. Ray Barkalow is a stand up guy and a materials engineer. He has the science background to really back up the information and products he sells. You can tell which products he believes in, and trusts the science. And which products he stocks because his customers want them, that he doesn't use himself. Ray mostly is just orchid plants, but to a large degree, orchids and bonsai are both plants grown in synthetic substrates, which means because the substrates are synthetic, they have similar nutrition needs. Ray is the source of one of the better brands of Kelp available.