lava rock

benw3790

benw3790

Shohin
Messages
351
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Location
western north carolina
USDA Zone
7b
The only lava rock I can get locally, comes in 50 pound bags with rocks half the size of a baseball. Can you order online? Its probably really expensive? But is there anyone out there, like me, who has to buy the big bags and crush down the rock yourself? If so, how do you go about breaking it down? Ive tried everything.. Hammers and big rovks , folding the rocks up into a towel and beating it with a hammer.. I'm left over with a lot of dust and a lot of rocks that won't break. I'm willing to put the work in to make a medium for my trees with sifting and etc. But, this is ridiculous. Lol anybody got any good ideas on breaking the pieces down? Thanks.
 
Ben and Jason,

Buy it from the Bonsai Learning Center in Mooresville, NC. Brad buys small sized lava in bulk. You will need to sift, or at least wash, what you buy, but most of the bag is usable right out of the bag.

Regards,
Martin
 
I've bought from eBay with great success.
 
I am lucky enough to be able to buy it in Florida from Bonsai sellers. It is rather expensive though, a small bag maybe 4 pounds for $10. It looks like two bags would fill one of those shipping boxes I seen on EBay. I have never ordered from EBay as the whole set up a paypal thing has me worried about ID theft. The way I look at it is $10 each, as I said it would take two to fill a large flat rate shipping box, may be more expensive but I can buy a few at a time and take it home with me saving shipping costs and not having to worry about who will wind up with my checking account numbers.

BTW, I went the route of breaking your own and what a pain in the ass ! I used the bottom of a plastic 30 gal drum I cut down and set a solid block in and would smash them with a sledge hammer, what a mess and being hit the face with exploding hunks of BBQ lava rocks was just a bonus.

ed
 
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Martin Sweeney said:
Ben and Jason,

Buy it from the Bonsai Learning Center in Mooresville, NC. Brad buys small sized lava in bulk. You will need to sift, or at least wash, what you buy, but most of the bag is usable right out of the bag.

Regards,
Martin
Click to expand...

I thought about that, too. I figured it would be way cheaper to get it myself and crush it tho. But it really is a pain in the neck! How do I directly get in touch with him? The time I went, I didn't get a cell phone number or anything.
 
edprocoat said:
I am lucky enough to be able to buy it in Florida from Bonsai sellers. It is rather expensive though, a small bag maybe 4 pounds for $10. It looks like two bags would fill one of those shipping boxes I seen on EBay. I have never ordered from EBay as the whole set up a paypal thing has me worried about ID theft. The way I look at it is $10 each, as I said it would take two to fill a large flat rate shipping box, may be more expensive but I can buy a few at a time and take it home with me saving shipping costs and not having to worry about who will wind up with my checking account numbers.

BTW, I went the route of breaking your own and what a pain in the ass ! I used the bottom of a plastic 30 gal drum I cut down and set a solid block in and would smash them with a sledge hammer, what a mess and being hit the face with exploding hunks of BBQ lava rocks was just a bonus.

ed
Click to expand...

Pain in the ass for sure!! I'm not lazy and I'm willing to put in work but damn, if it was just a total disaster. I had pieces flying everywhere and youre left with so much dust. Also, the routine: crush it up dump into sifter, back into container, change screen, sift again... So on and so on. After about an hour , I got maybe enough to fill a shohin pot.
 
edprocoat said:
I have never ordered from EBay as the whole set up a paypal thing has me worried about ID theft.

ed
Click to expand...

You have to be smarter than the crooks. Just keep barly over the borderline money in the account to keep the household going. I make my checking account very unattractive to a hacker.

The bulk of my money is in an off shore account that Mr. Romney help me set up in the Caymen Islands.

When I need cash for stuff like soil makins I just look under the third from the left broken bonsai pot, by the dried up remnents of a dead California juniper for some spare cash. Who would ever think to look there?
 
edprocoat said:
I am lucky enough to be able to buy it in Florida from Bonsai sellers. It is rather expensive though, a small bag maybe 4 pounds for $10. It looks like two bags would fill one of those shipping boxes I seen on EBay. I have never ordered from EBay as the whole set up a paypal thing has me worried about ID theft. The way I look at it is $10 each, as I said it would take two to fill a large flat rate shipping box, may be more expensive but I can buy a few at a time and take it home with me saving shipping costs and not having to worry about who will wind up with my checking account numbers.

BTW, I went the route of breaking your own and what a pain in the ass ! I used the bottom of a plastic 30 gal drum I cut down and set a solid block in and would smash them with a sledge hammer, what a mess and being hit the face with exploding hunks of BBQ lava rocks was just a bonus.

ed
Click to expand...

Where in Florida do you go normally? I saw big bags of it at Wigert's for I think $25... I believe they were the 50 pound bags... They were the size of the 50 pound bags of turface anyway, I didn't read the label to see how much it weighed because I knew I didn't have room to drive home with one...

Might be a cheaper option for you in the long run, but they are way down south on the Gulf coast in Fort Meyers.
 
Enough of you guys in the Carolinas are discussing this, why don't you band together and order a pallet of 7-7RQ from Mark Carroll at Colorado Lava? A pallet contains 275 7-pound bags, and was $650 delivered ($2.25/bag). Get enough to sell to some of your club brethren, maybe some nearby Bnutters, and have enough to last you the next 5-10 years.

Last time I did this for our club, it sold out in a month and we ended up ordering and blowing through a second pallet.
 
Brian Van Fleet said:
Enough of you guys in the Carolinas are discussing this, why don't you band together and order a pallet of 7-7RQ from Mark Carroll at Colorado Lava? A pallet contains 275 7-pound bags, and was $650 delivered ($2.25/bag). Get enough to sell to some of your club brethren, maybe some nearby Bnutters, and have enough to last you the next 5-10 years.

Last time I did this for our club, it sold out in a month and we ended up ordering and blowing through a second pallet.
Click to expand...

Brian,

I am trying to support my local Bonsai retailer. To me, this is an important thing that enthusiasts need to do for bonsai to continue to grow in the US.

Regards,
Martin
 
Martin Sweeney said:
Brian,

I am trying to support my local Bonsai retailer. To me, this is an important thing that enthusiasts need to do for bonsai to continue to grow in the US.

Regards,
Martin
Click to expand...
I agree with the principle, but I don't know that it applies if your local bonsai retailer doesn't carry the product you need. I suppose you can support your LBS by sending him the contact info and he can mark it up for you to buy.
EDIT...didn't see they your particlpular local bonsai shop offered it...guess you're set if you're near Bonsai Learning Center. Carry on.
 
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Brian Van Fleet said:
I agree with the principle, but I don't know that it applies if your local bonsai retailer doesn't carry the product you need. I suppose you can support your LBS by sending him the contact info and he can mark it up for you to buy.
Click to expand...

Brian,

I purchased lava from Brad at the Bonsai Learning Center last year. I was there the other day and he was sifting some and making soil, so I don't know what you mean when you say he doesn't carry the product I need. He has a source. Of course he buys and then marks it up.

Regards,
Martin
 
Martin Sweeney said:
Brian,

I am trying to support my local Bonsai retailer. To me, this is an important thing that enthusiasts need to do for bonsai to continue to grow in the US.

Regards,
Martin
Click to expand...

That's true but it is a two way street. Local bonsai businesses must do what they can to promote and grow the interest in bonsai especially in providing a source for soil, pots and wire.
 
Vance Wood said:
That's true but it is a two way street. Local bonsai businesses must do what they can to promote and grow the interest in bonsai especially in providing a source for soil, pots and wire.
Click to expand...
He stated that the Bonsai Learning Center nearby sells lava rock in post #3, clearly I missed that detail.
 
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