River Sand - from my creek...

Joined : 02 May 2008 Posts : 88 Location : Bendigo Victoria

thanks for the info on serilising the sand. I've been microwave my potting mix exp if it has been used for something else. a couple of supermarket bags one in side the other and a large cup of water added. high for 8 minutes then sit out side so the steam goes right through the mix and the bag cools. not sure if its too long but 5 gets seeds gerninating in the bag of mix if I dont tip it out for a whilehave to get some more ant gravel so better give that a blast too..

Age : 35 Joined : 26 Apr 2008 Posts : 181 Location : Cairns

What have you been doing this morning?

Well, I've already biked down to the river and got a bucket of sand and now it's in the oven roasting... Smile

Will leave it in there for around 35-45 minutes.

The sand as shown....

So is this any good? It looks more coarse than the stuff i got at bunnings though. But I think when mixed with potting mix it could be pretty good.

Moderator Joined : 06 Apr 2008 Posts : 354 Location : oz

Sand looks good. You might want to sieve it to break out the different sizes for different vars. Eg ariocarpus course. Lithops fine

Age : 35 Joined : 26 Apr 2008 Posts : 181 Location : Cairns

Thanks calycium... I might do that.

What ratio do you use when you mix with potting mix?

Moderator Joined : 06 Apr 2008 Posts : 354 Location : oz

Me, I normally put a cup of sand in with each cup of professional potting mix (bunning type) because I believe that it is not sandy enough and too general.

Sometimes I throw in 10% pertlite too for aeration. With Astros I use 70% sand.

Then I normally put a layer of fine sand (for Lithops or tiny seed) or course sand for astros and arios and the like.

It depends on the seed and plant type.

You can really go into it with granite chips, limestone and all sorts of mix to mimic the natural conditions of the seed. Depends on how much effort you want to put in, it can get awkward, but the more rare and difficult the seed, the more you should mimic all conditions.

Age : 35 Joined : 26 Apr 2008 Posts : 181 Location : Cairns

All cooked and ready for action Smile

Turned a nice brown colour... will look awesome. I will get a seive I think from the hardware shop and use that to filter out the fine and the coarse.

I found a landscaping place that sells those 20L whit buckets with lids for $2 each, so I will fill a few of those with the varying sizes maybe.