Napa Oil Dry part no. 8822

[_#1_]

Exactly like the one bag I have now. I used it as a filler substrate for a succulant and it turned to this mushy clay like consistancy in about a month. Luckily I didn't try it on anything else.

I will use mine on minor oil spill accident when I do oil chang on my car...

 

[Tommykeolle]

Well that's disappointing. Over the past six months or so I have really been putting more into this hobby as i really do enjoy it. I hacked up a few nursery junipers a year ago and stuck them in the ground, but lately i've really been trying to learn and practice to grow my collection some... I thought after reading this entire thread i had found a cheap potting medium! I wonder if its an area thing or simply a way they've found to cut cost or blah blah blah...

Side note, I have family in philly and im originally from pa, so hello up there!

 

[Underdog]

Mine are always the gray color but, only mush ever was not sifting well first. Some has been thru two harsh winters. Shrug

 

[Vance Wood]

Mine are always the gray color but, only mush ever was not sifting well first. Some has been thru two harsh winters. Shrug

Not meaning to start an argument but here is a crucial point in my mind. Understand that most of my trees are conifers, growing trees in a soil mix that, according to testimony, only has a field life of two seasons to be sure is not such a great point in favor of the material. I understand that many of you repot on a two to three year schedule in which event this would be fine. I have one Mugo that was repotted for the first time in ten years last summer.

 

[_#1_]

Well that's disappointing.

Hello back!

And don't be disappointed, yet. Experiment with it. Sift and put them in a pot and leave it next to a tree/plant you water regularly and water it too. Check back in a couple month. The couple bags I had before the last one was perfect so far. But it's only been like 2-3 seasons with a Goji test subject.

Yours might be ok...

 

[Tommykeolle]

Side note on my test soil. Some of the granules seem to be fine but there is another type/color breaking down rather quickly, leaving almost a residue/mud... I sifted and sifted for fines before I put them in a pot, rinsed and let dry on a sheet before actually starting the test to clean them as much as possible. Good thing I can put the rest of the bag to use for its intended purpose.... may wait a little while longer and pick up another bag to see if I can get lucky.

 

[rollwithak]

I suspect that the trees or sticks going into this oil dry are probably not even worth fooling with. So probably not such a great loss if so. Just use some bonsai soil mixture and don't be a cheap ass you can have it delivered to your door for christ sakes.

I suspect that the trees or sticks going into this oil dry are probably not even worth fooling with. So probably not such a great loss if so. Just use some bonsai soil mixture and don't be a cheap ass you can have it delivered to your door for christ

Perhaps not everyone has your unlimited source of funds and is looking for better alternatives to enjoy the art..... think outside your own little box before you type, just food for thought.

 

[Vance Wood]

I have been doing my own soil mix and working on variations of the same since 1957, and I have yet to find the perfect soil mix. Most of the so called nursery mixes are not much better than half used Kitty Litter with Pretty Kitty plunkets inserted for good will, but few of them are any where near what they are priced at. Any one serious about bonsai should know about soil mixes and the ingredients that make them up and be able to make one with the kind of material available. It's metaphorically like a Jedi Knight building his/her own light saber. It is more or less a right of passage.[/QUOTE]

 

[michaelj]

I was just watching Bonsai Mirai's video on soils, and Ryan Neil said that diatomaceous earth is the best alternative to akadama for folks who can't afford akadama for all their pots. I've been using DE in all my potting mixes for several years now, and it's been great.

 

[Mikee002]

I was just watching Bonsai Mirai's video on soils, and Ryan Neil said that diatomaceous earth is the best alternative to akadama for folks who can't afford akadama for all their pots. I've been using DE in all my potting mixes for several years now, and it's been great.

What local sources should I look for? I only see powders. Even online I’m not finding much for granules. Thx

 

[Sunwyrm]

What local sources should I look for? I only see powders. Even online I’m not finding much for granules. Thx

You have a NAPA Auto Parts store near you! 1005 S Congress Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33445

Order online here and pick up in store: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NFD8822?impressionRank=2 make sure they give you 8822 and not some generic oil dry. The other kind will break down too quickly and be unusable.

 

[Mikee002]

You have a NAPA Auto Parts store near you! 1005 S Congress Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33445

Order online here and pick up in store: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NFD8822?impressionRank=2 make sure they give you 8822 and not some generic oil dry. The other kind will break down too quickly and be unusable.

Thanks, yeah the 8822 is everywhere. I was wondering about the DE granules michaelj was referring to

 

[atlarsenal]

Thanks, yeah the 8822 is everywhere. I was wondering about the DE granules michaelj was referring to

American Bonsai Ultra D.E. Dark ScreenBlend

Ultra D.E. consists of the fossilized remains of diatoms, a microscopic algae. This mineral provides superior water and mineral absorption and retention, absorbing up to six times its weight in water.

www.americanbonsai.com

 

[Timbo]

https://epminerals.com/products/optisorb This stuff also, a little more expensive, but bigger particles. I use both, bought a few bags of 8822 recently, it had less waste than normal. I use Optisorb for my better trees (when it is available). Oreilly Auto Parts has Optisorb up here for $18 a bag, vs $12.75 for Napa.

 

[M. Frary]

I was just watching Bonsai Mirai's video on soils, and Ryan Neil said that diatomaceous earth is the best alternative to akadama for folks who can't afford akadama for all their pots. I've been using DE in all my potting mixes for several years now, and it's been great.

It's superior to Akadama in all respects.

 

[August44]

It's superior to Akadama in all respects.

Mike...that might have been an old Ryan video as I was told that he quit using it awhile back, and I have no idea why. I bought 5 bags a month or so ago and screened it with 1/16th and lost about 50%. What's left looks like this. Akadama on the top and DE (Napa floor dry) on the bottom.

 

[M. Frary]

Mike...that might have been an old Ryan video as I was told that he quit using it awhile back, and I have no idea why. I bought 5 bags a month or so ago and screened it with 1/16th and lost about 50%. What's left looks like this. Akadama on the top and DE (Napa floor dry) on the bottom.

I never screen the stuff.
Use it straight out of the bag.
Never saw a need to screen any substrate.

 

[August44]

I never screen the stuff.
Use it straight out of the bag.
Never saw a need to screen any substrate.

I screen everything for fines, dust, and better consistancy

 

[yashu]

I have been screening the 8822 as well. Size is not very consistent however my local NAPA has allowed me to go in the back and give the bags a feel so that has definitely allowed me to gauge bags with a bigger particle size and I have on average 70% usable yield. The fines go in the chicken coop, garden or driveway and have made their way into our potting mix for the houseplants.

 

[Timbo]

I never screen the stuff.
Use it straight out of the bag.
Never saw a need to screen any substrate.

I actual just wash it in a tub/kitty pool with a homemade square screen, just to get the dust out. It takes about 5 min a bag to get out all the tiny particles. I've used it straight also, it just seems to clump less washing it. It works well here pure to get cuttings going with a decent fiber root system.