Best soil for developing trees?

Littlejoe919 said:

Thank you to who ever brought up WeeTree.

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Poink88 said:

8*1=8
2*4=8
2*2*2=8
10-2=8
5+3=8
16/2=8
1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1=8
(25-1)/3=8
.

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ceriano said:

so complicated! how about miracle grow cactus mix?

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markyscott said:

I've also been a Boon student for about three years. I'm on a slow schedule - I can only make it out there once or twice a year, but I've had him in my garden on several occasions as well. Haven't met Adair there yet, but I'm sure our paths will cross at some point.

I have all my trees in Boon mix (or are we calling it Kepler mix now?) - tropicals, bald cypress, conifers, and deciduous. When you're one of Boon's students and you're learning his regimen it's built around performing an action and getting a predictable response. Growing your plants in turface or potting soil while following his program will yield less than optimal results. But be prepared for the commitment and additional care your trees will require. It's really more of a lifestyle choice than a hobby. I water up to 3 times a day during the hottest part of the year (which I think lasts from March until December in Houston) and fertilize with cakes and liquid fertilizer 2-3 times a week. I love it, so it's not a problem for me, but it makes family vacations an ordeal and, since there's not an app for it, some people might find that to be a problem.

Boon will tell you, and I think he's right, that there are very few trees in America that are past the development stage. Certainly all of my trees are not - to be sure some are farther along than others and I have some quite nice starter material - they are all project trees nonetheless. And I have too many projects, despite the fact that I've paired down over the years. I think a number like 25 or 30 would be optimal for someone like me with a day job, kids in the house and tax time looming. Which means I have twice as many projects as that which I could reasonably care for.

With that collection in Boon mix, I go through about 30-40 gallons of soil a year. I get together with friends and buy material by the pallet to keep costs under control. We just took delivery of a pallet of lava and a pallet of pumice earlier this year. 40 gallons of soil approximately equates to 4 30 pound bags of akadama at $30 a bag, 2 60 pound bags of lava at $15/ bag, 2 60 pound bags of pumice at $15/bag, and 2 24 oz bags of Hoffman charcoal at $5.50/bag - all sieved to remove the coarse and fine fraction. As an aside, turface costs $15/bag for a 50 lb bag at Ewing irrigation here in Houston.

That's about $200 per year or $17/month maximum in soil costs for Boon mix in my garden collection of about 50 trees. Most years it is less. Cheap considering how much I spend on trees, tools, and flying to California for intensives. As you get good development material and pot it up in boon mix, sieve the leftover material from repotting in subsequent years for your starters and for the material you are growing in the ground.

Scott

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