Bark in your soil mix..

[Mitty]

I have been using bark in my Bonsai soil mix , trouble was that even Orchid bark is too large. Well , I went out today and bought myself a coffee and herb grinder (6oz capacity ) This cost £17 from Argos. It is made of stainless steel , except for the cover. This was just what I wanted , and is just perfect for the bark. In a few seconds it was down to powder. So I managed to get a perfect size ( about 3 seconds ). But you can make your minds up on size. You don't want it too small as it could cause blocking of the drainage hole. And as long as its dry the results are ideal .

 

[Shima]

Orchid seedling bark is a perfect size. About 1 cm. Same as pumice and cinder in my mix.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Glad it worked for you. Ready-made bonsai soil is fairly expensive, so anything you can do yourself helps. I've been using Hapi-Gro. 100% organic compost from Lowes. It sieves out to about 60% of the particle size I use. The fines and larger pieces go in the vegetable garden.

 

[Mitty]

Thanks for replying. Yes , it seems to work quite well. Along with Lava , Akadama , Pumice and Kyodama at the bottom.

 

[Anthony]

We just use sifted compost, that has been kept
just moist in a covered barrel for about a year.
Weed seed will germinate and die in the dark.

No need to grind and we are lazy.
Good Day
Anthony

* Beware using ingredients that roots can crush or
be prepared to bare root x- years down the road.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I'm going to try beech flakes next year. They're sold in +/-140L bags for a little less than 20 euros. They come in sizes 3-6mm and 1-1.5cm.
I have used them in the past, and I really don't know why I never did that again. Good food for fungi.

 

[peterbone]

You really want composted bark, which orchid bark isn't. As uncomposted bark breaks down it leaches nitrogen from the surrounding soil. I'm using Melcourte composted fine bark, but I understand that this or something similar isn't easy to find in the US. A good write-up here.
https://www.colinlewisbonsai.com/Reading/soils1.html

 

[0soyoung]

As uncomposted bark breaks down it leaches nitrogen from the surrounding soil.

And this is a worry in a bonsai pot or any pot to which nitrogenous fertilizer is added?

 

[Anthony]

Hydroponics ------- yummy.
Any studies on lumber - plant internals.
Just curious.
Or are these just plants and not children of love.