From: hermine hermine at endangeredspecies.com> on 2005.12.25 at 17:27:55(13654)
Only thing I can think of better than perlite to open a mix up is pumice,
which is only available in quantity on the far west coast. Smooth
round styrofoam beads, like I see in some commercial mixes, might be
better than perlite if one could find it, but I've never seen it.
Russ
I HATE THOSE STYROFOAM BEADS. hate, hate hate. they eventually float to
the top of the pot and also a dog tears open the bag and the wind blows
them all over town and they never go away. i am still working on soil
mixes, sort of, and believe at least a third of natural brown stuff,
which is stuff found on the ground, which is naturally brown, whatever,
mixed with irregular chunky small stuff, like pumice or calcined clay or
bird gravel, and some small wood chips and a hand full of sand is a good
mix for practically anything. If I could afford it I would be using oak
leaf mold, but that is pricey on the west coast, as punishment for how
cheap is pumice.
things I hate:
Stuff which eventually floats to the surface.
fake composted commercial stuff which smells like THE DUMP and is made of
pulverized lumber dyed to look like earth
Large vermiculite pieces
Unwettable stuff. there is a kind of baled peat which if it dries out you
have to beat the water back into it with a hammer.
hermine
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