Use oil dry. It is basically the same thing which is high temperature fired clay. I know many people that use it and I have been using it for a year now.
I buy 40 pounds for around $6.00. Thing is you have to sift it. There is a lot of dust and small pieces that is not usable. Well the small stuff is great for cuttings.
Anyway out of the 40lbs I get about 25 usable pounds.
Check out your local auto part store. I get mine from Napa autoparts.
Which reminds me I need to buy some more!
Unfortunately from my experience I have found that akadama is the way to go. I used oil dry then I tried MVP Turface and neither of them seem to serve the same function as Akadama. My trees are a lot healthier after I switched. My trees would grow well in Oil Dry and Turface, but they grow better, faster and stronger when I switched that part of my mix to Akadama. Wow $55/bag is pretty pricy, where do you purchase it from? Also are you mixing it with something else? I just bought a bag I think for $35 in the Bay area. If only someone could start refining it in the U.S! I know there is akadama(a volcanic material) in the U.S. I believe the demand is not high enough yet to make the production worth it. But hopefully someday!
Not meaning to be argumentative but it is my suspicion that Akadama should be ranked right up there with Super Thrive according to the legendary qualities of its ingredients, and the questionable results of its uses. But then I may be wrong. I just can't understand spending and literally throwing money in the dump for a product that may or may not be worth the price of it.
Not meaning to be argumentative but it is my suspicion that Akadama should be ranked right up there with Super Thrive according to the legendary qualities of its ingredients, and the questionable results of its uses. But then I may be wrong. I just can't understand spending and literally throwing money in the dump for a product that may or may not be worth the price of it.
I know some folks who were buying it in pallets in anticipation of the price hike............some very reputable people in the bonsai community.
Lol I know... We used up a pallet worth already at Elandan .... we were hoping to get another one or two.... its great stuff but not akadama... I actually like it better (and how long can a thread really go on about the price of a commodity??? )
personally I think any hard clay will work... when buying the way i described it turns out to be mostly pretty affordable (I hate Oil Dri personally but it works great) ..... if I could get my hands on it I would prefer to use Cal-dama .... ne one know if Royola Pacific is producing Cal-dama again???
so in my case I can tell you it has NOTHING to do with what the Japanese use.... it just happens to have the properties that work well and is available more easily here.... in the Midwest USA you should totally use something else... cuz $50/bag is down right robbery....
I live in the land of cali dama, in fact next weekend I will be digging 100 year old grape stumps at the farm that has the crusher. There is a lot of cali dama around. You just have to know who to ask. If you want it shipped, that will make it cost prohibitive. Just too heavy.
I have been using akadama for over twenty years. Cali dama is no substitute for akadama and cali dama "is" just clay. Akadama is not. Akadama has an organic component to it that no other clay product on earth has. Just because it comes from Japan does not mean it fits the "Japan it has to be good" badge. If it came from Syria I would still buy it because I know what it can do.
Those that think it snake oil, don't buy it. Leave it for me since I get it cheap and readily available.