lava rock

jacob.morgan78

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I'm really heavy on the questions lately. I apologize for asking questions that have been asked previously. Some people take offense to that and others are more than happy to chat. So while I do read a lot, I think I'll still ask questions as I usually don't find an opinion about what exactly I'm looking for. On to the question...

Lava Rock. I want to use it as part of my planting medium but not sure how to get it to the size I want. The only stuff I have available are the larger rocks. Do you just bust them down with a hammer or is there a better way. I plan to sift my soil to get the fines out but is it really necessary to get the sieve that will "portion" out the different sizes. I was planning on just using window screen with it dry and then use the screen again to rinse it with a hose.

Similarly, I'd like to incorporate some pine bark nuggets (mulch style) into the mix too. Same applies; it's too big at first. I have an old junk blender that I used to make fish food in that I could use to chop it down pretty fast, would that be okay you think? Then sift the same with the window screen and rinse afterwards?

Thanks for everyone that is so happy to help! It really means a lot and is greatly appreciated!!!
 

jacob.morgan78

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while I'm at it...

I also plan to use Diatomaceous Earth. I found that Napa sells the stuff as an absorbent and many use it for bonsai. It looks pretty good. Would there be any need for the lava rock if I plan to use this? Does 3 parts diatomaceous earth to one part pine bark sound okay? Suggestions are very welcome of course. The trees I plan to use this for (for now) are two types of juniper. One I have always called a cedar but is actually a juniperus virginiana and the other juniper is often found is landscapes and keeps low to the ground. Sorry I don't know the scientific name right now.

Thanks!
 

bonsai barry

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I get my lava rock at a landscape materials outlet. There are several sizes, I get the smallest: 3/8 inch. I then use a bonsai sifter to separate the smallest stuff which I throw out A bonsai sifter has three sizes of screen, but I can't remember their exact sizes. I use the largest screen to sift out the bigger pieces which I use in grow boxes or at the bottom of the pot for drainage.

I don't think sifting through a house screen is going to be particularly effective. Its mesh is too small. You might get rid of the dust, but that can come out of a pots drainage holes if you water it really well after potting the tree.
 

Mellow Mullet

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We have a local supplier here in Mobile, AL for lava rock. He owns a trucking company and gets it out West. Smashing rocks doesn't sound like much fun. Never used the Napa stuff but I hear that it works well for others. As for bark, I use Evergreen Gardenworks pine bark mulch from Lowe's. It is finely chopped pinebark that is perfect for soil. I don't sift anything, unless I need some smaller particles for mame or shohin. I agree that sifting through a screen door size screen won't do a whole lot, what will come out through that can easily be rinsed off with a water hose. As for soil mixture, I use 30 to 40% organic to 60 to 70% inorganic. It has worked well for me with the amount of rain that we receive.

Hope it Helps,

John
 

M. Frary

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I use just the Napa oil dry at 100 % right now and it works well. The thing I like about this stuff is that all my trees are on the same watering feeding schedule. Water everyday in the growing season and HEAVY fertilizer once a week.
 

sikadelic

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I'm really heavy on the questions lately. I apologize for asking questions that have been asked previously. Some people take offense to that and others are more than happy to chat. So while I do read a lot, I think I'll still ask questions as I usually don't find an opinion about what exactly I'm looking for.
Sometimes people get their feathers ruffled around here. It blows over....I think the idle hands get itchy during winter. You know what they say about idle hands..

I tried busting it myself when I started. You find your effort is better spent elsewhere as it takes a whole lot of work for a small amount unless you have access to something better than a hammer.

Buying in bulk is your best bet. Many places ship it by the pallet and if you can find friends to throw some money together, it would be the best bet. I know Beam Clay (beamclay.com) can give you a price quote based on your location. You can order retail as well online but it is extremely expensive for what you get in my opinion. If you only have a couple of trees it isnt too bad.
 

jacob.morgan78

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I think I'm leaning toward crushing some and mixing it in with the napa stuff. I don't have any trees yet so I'm only doing enough for a few pots and shouldn't be too bad.

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions!
 

coh

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I think I'm leaning toward crushing some and mixing it in with the napa stuff. I don't have any trees yet so I'm only doing enough for a few pots and shouldn't be too bad.

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions!

Please let us know how that goes for you. I tried once and...well, never again. As others have noted, it just wasn't worth the effort. You can't really control the sizes of the pieces you get and it's a lot of effort for little return. Then again, maybe you'll come up with a better method!

Best suggestion if you must have lava is to just bite the bullet and buy a bag and have it shipped to you. It will be relatively expensive but at least you'll have a good amount of the right size stuff to experiment with. There are probably people who sell it on ebay in those prepaid postal boxes, about 3 gallons worth. I think Wee Tree might even sell it that way (edit to add - yes they do...see http://www.weetree.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=977). Again, it is quite expensive per pound that way, but you'll have enough to test without having to lay out a large sum of money.

Chris
 
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armetisius

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re: your post

FINALLY
Someone else with some stones. I have regularly
heard this one and that lament the lack of what
he/she wants in pine bark. My take has always
been DIY! I regularly sit and break down pine bark
by hand to the size I want. A few pots of it ain't nothing.
You may want to break this up in a bag heavy to keep it from
flying all around when you hit it.
a.

I think I'm leaning toward crushing some and mixing it in with the napa stuff. I don't have any trees yet so I'm only doing enough for a few pots and shouldn't be too bad.

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions!
 

coh

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My comments were in reference to lava (which is what I thought the OP was referring to), I've never tried crushing/breaking pine bark. I probably wouldn't choose to spend my time doing that either, but to each his own.

Chris
 

coh

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You do want all the components of your mix to be similar in size, so if you're going to use the napa as your base component, the others should be about that size.

This allows the soil to have plenty of air space. If the components vary a lot in size, they tend to pack together more as the smaller pieces fill in the gaps between the larger pieces.
 

fore

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Please let us know how that goes for you. I tried once and...well, never again. As others have noted, it just wasn't worth the effort. You can't really control the sizes of the pieces you get and it's a lot of effort for little return. Then again, maybe you'll come up with a better method!

Best suggestion if you must have lava is to just bite the bullet and buy a bag and have it shipped to you. It will be relatively expensive but at least you'll have a good amount of the right size stuff to experiment with. There are probably people who sell it on ebay in those prepaid postal boxes, about 3 gallons worth. I think Wee Tree might even sell it that way (edit to add - yes they do...see http://www.weetree.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=977). Again, it is quite expensive per pound that way, but you'll have enough to test without having to lay out a large sum of money.

Chris

Chris, I think WT's lava is a bit small for me. I guess it depends on what size trees you grow.
 

coh

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Chris, I think WT's lava is a bit small for me. I guess it depends on what size trees you grow.

Could be a bit on the small side, I haven't seen it in person. Just wanted to point out that there were sources of "reasonably" sized lava out there if someone was interested in trying it without having to resort to breaking up larger pieces with a hammer.

Chris
 

fore

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Could be a bit on the small side, I haven't seen it in person. Just wanted to point out that there were sources of "reasonably" sized lava out there if someone was interested in trying it without having to resort to breaking up larger pieces with a hammer.

Chris

Good point Chris. And yes, hammer lava, once was enough for me lol
 

JudyB

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I tried breaking lava once upon a time too... I couldn't get anything that was a reliable size out of the entire bag.
Hollow Creek sells beam clay by the bag reasonable pricing.
 

edprocoat

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I don't know why you guys are against breaking lava, it only takes 3-4 hours to get a good handful of stuff you can use and I never really miss the left eye as the right one works just fine, the lack of depth perception is barely an issue either .... ;)

ed
 

small trees

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I tried breaking lava once upon a time too... I couldn't get anything that was a reliable size out of the entire bag.
Hollow Creek sells beam clay by the bag reasonable pricing.

I just checked their site out and sent a sample request as well as a request for a quote with shipping. Shipping will probably be a killer, but with a base price of $9.85 for a 50 lb bag of clean 1/4" red lava, I'm hopeful.
 

JudyB

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]
I just checked their site out and sent a sample request as well as a request for a quote with shipping. Shipping will probably be a killer, but with a base price of $9.85 for a 50 lb bag of clean 1/4" red lava, I'm hopeful.

After figuring in shipping to me, and checking all other sources, this was the cheapest I found it per pound. And it's perfect size and nice and clean.
 

small trees

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After figuring in shipping to me, and checking all other sources, this was the cheapest I found it per pound. And it's perfect size and nice and clean.

I requested a sample but it sounds like I won't need it. That's awesome; this is the main soil component I've had trouble finding and I was just going to order it by the box from ebay.







Edit: I was on the beam site itself. I didn't see the stuff listed on the hollow creek site. Where is it?
 
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