Grow stone

[buddhamonk]

What temperature is it fired at? Need to ask because I have no use for something that will break down in a 5-10 year period. Sounds "picky" but conifers really do NOT like being changed out or get "handled' a lot here. I can have plastic soda tops ground and mix that with a rock compond if I need inorganic and get the same results...

If your conifers don't like to be handled more frequently than 5-10 years, you must be doing something wrong...

 

[GrimLore]

If your conifers don't like to be handled more frequently than 5-10 years, you must be doing something wrong...

No, all is well. And to put it in perspective it depends on Climate, Water Source, Substrate choice, and a vast variety of other factors. I have conifers that range from 6 inches to over 30 foot... If collected locally any of them need a long acclimation - up to 5 years. Just what works here Can I toss one in the ground from a Nursury and grow it? Answer is yes! Bonsai my friend is a different story

It is no secret that a Conifer can grow and seem healthy for 2-3 years in the worst of conditions and then simply die - The goal for me is to get them to the 5 year mark and then proceed.

 

[mat]

I got my big bag today. I really like the dark color and it does not float. I will try it this spring on my bald cypress who like to be wet.

Interesting... in that I got a bag today, and it's very light gray. Darker would be better. The chunks are pretty big too - at least bigger than my usual soil components.. Not that that's bad, just something to keep in mind. It can be crushed pretty easily in your fingers. - much easier than lava. I've never had pumice. I'll rinse the grow stones, but no need to sift.

Here's a photo of grow stones/sifted turface/rinsed lava rock/sifted fine pine mulch.

 

[coh]

Mat, is that the growstone, or the growstone aerator? I've ordered a bag of the aerator for testing, should have it sometime next week.

Chris

 

[mat]

Mat, is that the growstone, or the growstone aerator? I've ordered a bag of the aerator for testing, should have it sometime next week.

Chris

"super soil aerator"

 

[lordy]

that's the same bag I bought. The regular growstone is easily 2 to 3 times bigger.
My club sifted and mixed soil a couple days ago using DryStall pumice. About the same size as Turface MVP (a bit smaller, not much), and compared to Turface the Drystall has a lot less dust. I'm thinking I will prefer Drystall just due to the size of granules as compared to Growstone Aerator soil amendment. Thanks for the pic, Mat.
Mat-looks like you kept the large part of sifting the Pine bark fines. We ran it thru a 1/2" screen and tossed what stayed on top, then ran it thru a 1/4" screen and tossed what dropped through. We kept what stayed on top of 1/4" mesh, and some sifted what dropped through 1/4" with 1/8" and used that, mostly for smaller trees.

 

[berobinson82]

"We kept what stayed on top of 1/4" mesh, and some sifted what dropped through 1/4" with 1/8" and used that, mostly for smaller trees."

I thought it was decided and agreed upon that smaller trees didn't have smaller feeder roots and therefore didn't benefit from finer soils.

 

[Poink88]

I thought it was decided and agreed upon that smaller trees didn't have smaller feeder roots and therefore didn't benefit from finer soils.

Huh?

All plants big or small have fine feeder roots. That is the only part that actually take in water and nutrients as far as I know.

 

[jkd2572]

I think he meant that plants feeder roots are the same size no matter the plant size.

 

[berobinson82]

Correct. Perhaps that was wordy.

Big plants and small plants have the exact same size feeder roots. Why should they require different size substrate?

 

[mat]

I wouldn't be comfortable putting my little plants in a mix made up of such large particles. I may toss a few stones in the mix for those, but I just don't feel like a pot full of them would support the tree properly.

Lordy - I only sift once (1/8"), and yes I kept all the large pine chunks (at least for that photo). Maybe I should get a 1/4" screen and eliminate the really big pieces from that. Good idea.

 

[Poink88]

Big plants and small plants have the exact same size feeder roots. Why should they require different size substrate?

This question is for those who sift because it is one of the reasons I don't.

 

[jkd2572]

I'm with Dario. Lot of work, and I don't see it being worth it. Looks nice though if that's what your going for. If it is just for looks why not just top it with sifted material then you would not have to have to sift so much.

 

[mat]

I'm with Dario. Lot of work, and I don't see it being worth it. Looks nice though if that's what your going for. If it is just for looks why not just top it with sifted material then you would not have to have to sift so much.

Because it's not just for looks. Fines can and will clog pots.

I have a couple of little ones that have developed a solid layer at the bottom of their pot. The mix used in those was thrown together quickly - unsifted Turface and some potting soil that was mostly pine bark. A crust has formed on the bottom and the drainage is awful. I'm repotting them this weekend (unless it get colder than expected), and I'll be sifting everything & cutting way back on the organics.

edit: Obviously there are plenty of places on-line where the sift/don't sift debate has been taken up by various folks. I just wanted to add a personal example that helped convince me.

 

[jkd2572]

I wash the fines out using a strainer, but that's it. No clogging problems. The only problem I have with drainage is that my trees grow so well in my mix that they can fill a pot in one season. Any healthier I would have to repot twice a year.

 

[Poink88]

Obviously there are plenty of places on-line where the sift/don't sift debate has been taken up by various folks. I just wanted to add a personal example that helped convince me.

What ever works right? That is how I roll too...once I find a reason to change I will, but as long as it is working for me, I don't plan on changing it. (Don't fix what is not broken).

 

[Poink88]

I wash the fines out using a strainer, but that's it. No clogging problems. The only problem I have with drainage is that my trees grow so well in my mix that they can fill a pot in one season. Any healthier I would have to repot twice a year.

From the few that I repotted, I have the same problem...clogging, if any, is due to over growth of roots...not the substrate. Maybe it is our warm weather?

 

[jkd2572]

The root Problem might be the 8 month growing season. The problem being there is too much growth. Maybe the soil problems happen in cold places where the problems arise from the dormant period. Glad I don't spend those 3 months of cold here sifting aggregate to different sizes. I have too much planning to do for the 8 months of growth. During that down time I have lots of seasonal work to do that does not including worrying about size of aggregate. I go with the KISS method with my soil. Works for me. I do add more organic for deciduous and tropicals, but that's the end of it. I am using grow stone in my mix for super drinkers this year, but really don't sweat it that much.

 

[Jason_mazzy]

The aerator size is supposed to be 1/4 inch. Thats not to big for soil.

 

[KennedyMarx]

"We kept what stayed on top of 1/4" mesh, and some sifted what dropped through 1/4" with 1/8" and used that, mostly for smaller trees."

I thought it was decided and agreed upon that smaller trees didn't have smaller feeder roots and therefore didn't benefit from finer soils.

A finer soil mix is more water retentive which is good for those small trees since they don't hold as much water in their small pots.