New better Product on the market to replace Akadama

[weetree3]

Yep it is.

That would be great as a side by side comparison over time with four to six similar sized trees in similar sized containers.

I actually wash/heat/sift and reuse the my media and find 1/3 to 1/2 of the akadama remains useable of size, So that should factor in. Is this product of the same durability as akadama over time?

Here’s images of media recovered from a big California Juniper tree that had been in the pot for 4 years. I just finished heating the lot. Yesterday I blended it into a 3:1:1 media for our new Mtn Hemlocks.

View attachment 420453View attachment 420454


Factually Sakadama lists as 14L bags and Akadama is shipped in 13 L bags. So 3.21 vs 3.53 a liter. Yet I’m not excited as the shipping for me, which should be similar to you, was 37.00 from PA vs the 21.90/bag from CA (UPS vs USPS I’m guessing as all my akadama & Kanuma comes via USPS ). This more then makes up the difference in volume.

Looking forward to seeing the results in 3-4 years.

cheers
DSD sends

What method do you use to heat the media?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

DSD media recovery process

First step water washing - initial water washing 4x pouring the waste water out through a colander to catch dry pumice …and then draining the result outside. ( I use a wheelbarrow and small hole colander on the ground the water goes through…and give a final rinse in the colander.)

Put the media in a baking suitable pan and heat in the oven. I use 400 degrees for one hour and let the result cool. The resulting akadama should be hard and dry. If the media is moist heat some more.

Put aside for a day in a dry spot.

Next sift. Afterwards spread out a couple samples of the result on white paper and estimate how much akadama is in the mix In each sample. Do the necessary rough math and add akadama (I also add H. charcoal) to make up your final mix and…. Bob’s your uncle!

A couple very important notes.

You may not experience the same results due to different climatic conditions. It’s worth a try as at the very worst you recover all the pumice and lava. At the best you might save up to a half on your akadama.

Buy the better half nice new baking pans you won‘t use first!

Be sure to drain well before baking. Run an exhaust fan to move the resulting steam out of the house.

Also…I use variations of “Boon mix”. 1:1:1, 2:1:1, 3:1:1 and rarely 1:1 AP. If the mix you use contains wood, there will be a wood burning smell if you haven’t gotten most of this out by water washing. WW usually gets most wood/roots in the first two rinsings. Our exhaust fan handles this wood smell, but beware. One year I didn’t notice some bigger bark chips in the mix. It cost me a nice dinner…. Not that this was a problem. The up side is you will have some charred wood in the mix. Not H. Charcoal, but clean and still good for the media.

Some folks say a400 degree temperature is unnecessarily hot. Suggesting below 300 degree. Tried that. The water doesn’t boil out of the mix in the baking pans I use within an hour at these temperatures and I prefer to have a drier final mix. Without boiling off the water the media does not sift well at all. Higher heat the better is my motto. (Please don’t go above 400 degrees though.)

Get you own dander oven if you envision a production model! I do perhaps six full oven loads a year a max (47 liters). This expands to being a whole lot of resulting media. I’ve found that’s about all any sensible partner (if you are so blessed) will accommodate with a few nice dinners thrown in.

Good Luck and be safe!

DSD sends

 

[roberthu]

Just ordered 3 bags from Superflybonsai with their 15% off discount. I will report back once I get them.

 

[roberthu]

Just ordered 3 bags from Superflybonsai with their 15% off discount. I will report back once I get them.

Got my bags today. Small grain, color looks like turface but shapes are quite different. Turface is mostly flat while Sakadama is more round or 3D if you will. They mostly have tiny holes. Feels pretty hard when dry. I am able to crush them using wood chips. When they break, they don’t become mushy like Akadama. But rather they turn into smaller grains and I can still feel the texture. After soaking in water, the color turns dark brown. And I am able to crush them using my thumb nails. Note that I said thumb nails because they are thicker and harder than others. I tried to use other finger nails without success. This is definitely harder than Akadama. I am going to pot a Seiju elm in this Sakadam and see how it goes. My guess is it’s going be better at aeration and nutrient retention. But worse in root development cause I don’t think roots will be able to break this even in the long run.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Got my bags today. Small grain, color looks like turface but shapes are quite different. Turface is mostly flat while Sakadama is more round or 3D if you will. They mostly have tiny holes. Feels pretty hard when dry. I am able to crush them using wood chips. When they break, they don’t become mushy like Akadama. But rather they turn into smaller grains and I can still feel the texture. After soaking in water, the color turns dark brown. And I am able to crush them using my thumb nails. Note that I said thumb nails because they are thicker and harder than others. I tried to use other finger nails without success. This is definitely harder than Akadama. I am going to pot a Seiju elm in this Sakadam and see how it goes. My guess is it’s going be better at aeration and nutrient retention. But worse in root development cause I don’t think roots will be able to break this even in the long run.

Hmm... wondering/interested in what type akadama you are using as a comparison?

I've got three types here myself. One is softer, the other two are hard and harder.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[roberthu]

Hmm... wondering/interested in what type akadama you are using as a comparison?

I've got three types here myself. One is softer, the other two are hard and harder.

cheers
DSD sends

茨城赤玉double red line

 

[HorseloverFat]

I'm leery... The product seems realistic, but....

What mines do you think they are using.

Think about it.

I would think twice.. or request more information before supporting a South African Mining company, but that's ME.

Could be entirely legit..

There's a BUNCH of legitimate, ethically-run mining operations in Africa, right?

I still would like OP to touch on this... because potential consumers SHOULD know..

In the limited research I've done... a great deal of mining operations in this part of the world are... suspect.

What goes on in South Africa is their business, I'd just like transparency.. so the consumer can make that ethical judgement his/her self.

(Sorry for my 'bleeding heart' )

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Thanks…. A testing against akadama types can be confusing… and expensive…

This seems to be the product you are using?



I’ve got that on board. If so, I’ve found it to be a bit softer then this product which I also have onboard that I normally use. Got the former as I was in a jam.



Don’t ask me why it’s softer… both double Line haven’t got a clue.

The hardest akadama I’m testing is much harder then either of the above. It’s shown below.


Very interesting to seeing what your side by side results are.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[roberthu]

Thanks…. A testing against akadama types can be confusing… and expensive…

This seems to be the product you are using?

View attachment 421211

I’ve got that on board. If so, I’ve found it to be a bit softer then this product which I also have onboard that I normally use. Got the former as I was in a jam.

View attachment 421210

Don’t ask me why it’s softer… both double Line haven’t got a clue.

The hardest akadama I’m testing is much harder then either of the above. It’s shown below.
View attachment 421213

Very interesting to seeing what your side by side results are.

Cheers
DSD sends

I have the first 2 brands. I tested against the first one because that’s the shohin size soil I have. And the Sakadama I received is also shohin size 1-3mm. I just ordered another 3 bags of 3-5mm too. I want to see how much dust it has in each bag, do water absorption, drainage and retention tests. I will post more with numbers and pics.

 

[penumbra]

Well, I got on the bandwagon and have a couple bags of the 3-5 mm Sakadama coming from Superfly.
We'll see.
I had a bag of Akadama once but returned it. Too many variables in hardness and I like to keep it simple.

 

[SeanS]

If it means anything, I’m in South Africa and just received 42L of akadama for next season. Not sure I’m willing to experiment with such a new, unproven medium when we have akadama readily available from local suppliers.

 

[roberthu]

If it means anything, I’m in South Africa and just received 42L of akadama for next season. Not sure I’m willing to experiment with such a new, unproven medium when we have akadama readily available from local suppliers.

I planted some the wife’s green onions in it. Not going to break my heart if they don’t make it.

 

[penumbra]

From another perspective, I am always willing to try something new if it makes sense. And it always makes sense.
I think it is great to try new things specifically because there are those who will not. I know I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket, even if its from Japan. It is simply a geographical place, albeit a lovely one.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

I wasn’t aware that soil could directly effect internode length. That’s interesting. Could that be with only specific species

 

[penumbra]

I love this Sakadama. I did some re-potting yesterday and it is hard fired yet absorbent, it is very consistent in size and granulation and I used it straight out of the bag. The mid size grade matches up very well with Napa 8822 and Bonsai Jack Pine Fines.

 

[roberthu]

I love this Sakadama. I did some re-potting yesterday and it is hard fired yet absorbent, it is very consistent in size and granulation and I used it straight out of the bag. The mid size grade matches up very well with Napa 8822 and Bonsai Jack Pine Fines.

Yeah same here. It is harder than akadama and more fragile then turface. The shape is smiling to akadama and the pores seem to be bigger than akadama as I can feel the coarseness with my fingers. The bag has little to no fine dust so I didn’t sift. Used it straight to repot a dwarf crabapple. Will use it to repot a ficus too and see how it goes.
Wife’s green unions are doing great in it too…

 

[zero]

I love this Sakadama. I did some re-potting yesterday and it is hard fired yet absorbent, it is very consistent in size and granulation and I used it straight out of the bag. The mid size grade matches up very well with Napa 8822 and Bonsai Jack Pine Fines.

I’m excited that you were willing to check it out. I bought some as well- you are in a somewhat similar climate as me and I’m hoping to continue learning from you in the future!

 

[Sakadama]

It took a w

I also found it for sale on the Willow website in SA. It seems that many would try it if it were available in the US but it's not. It's interesting to know about but until it's available I have no reason to continue reading about it.

Thank you for sharing and I'll look forward to knowing when it's for sale in the U.S.

Hello,

Sorry for this very late response. I did put promoting Sakadama on this forum (and other places) on the back-burner for a while, as we were doing additional research and getting the product available everywhere in Europe and other places. Sakadama is now for sale almost everywhere around the world and also in America. If you are interested, please send me a mail at info@yougo-bonsai.com.

With kind regards,

Hugo Hazebroek (Comercial agent of Sakadama)

 

[Sakadama]

I received your email, thank you. I am going to pass and, I have to say, mostly for reasons unrelated to the product itself.

Hello,

Sorry for this very late response. I did put promoting Sakadama on this forum (and other places) on the back-burner for a while, as we were doing additional research and getting the product available everywhere in Europe and other places. Can I ask what other reasons? If there are any concerns and/or questions I would really like to be of assistance.

 

[Sakadama]

Have there been any comprehensive studies on Akadama being a superior substrate?

edit: found this https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=6f0b256d0201451483f224d313109010

Yes there have been done studies and we do have technical data. We also did tests with freezing. If you would like additional info please mail me at info@yougo-bonsai.com

With kind regards,

Hugo Hazebroek (Comercial agent of Sakadama)