Soil Question from a Beginner

[Iris Cohen]

<< am intending on mixing my own soil. I was wondering:
a) what are all the ingredients that go into bonsai soil >>
<< I have three trees: Serissa 'Kyoto' (note single quotes), Carissa macrocarpa
(natal plum), and Ficus burtt-davyi. >>

All the trees you mention can use the same soil mix. This is what I use:
TerraGreen or Turface. Don't let anyone tell you that you can use cat litter.
It turns to mush.
Chicken grit or natural colored fresh-water aquarium gravel.
Ground pine bark or super-fine seedling fir bark. If these are unobtainable,
you can use sifted compost, leaf mould, or lumpy Canadian peat moss (not the
kind that crumbles to powder when dry).
Small size horticultural charcoal. You can chop up big pieces with a hammer,
but it makes a mess.
Soil-Moist acrylamide crystals.
First three ingredients in equal parts. You can adjust the proportions as you
get to know your trees and your particular conditions. Charcoal about 10% of
the total. Soil-Moist according to the directions - 1 tablespoon to 3 gallons
of mix.
Turface is sometimes available at the large garden centers or from commercial
landscapers. TerraGreen is available from bonsai nurseries. Chicken grit is
available from feed stores. You know where to find aquarium gravel. Ground pine
bark is sometimes available from bonsai suppliers. Superfine fir bark is
obtainable from orchid suppliers. Inquire from your nearest orchid society.
Regular fine fir bark is too coarse. I use it for conifer mix. Charcoal and
Soil-Moist can be found in garden centers.
Most people who make their own bonsai mix sift the ingredients to remove dust &
fine particles. I wash everything except the Soil-Moist and pine bark in a
colander. If you get the pine bark from a bonsai supplier it is already sifted.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"That lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne…"
Hippocrates quoted by Chaucer

[Marty Haber]

i like Iris' mix. One handy device I found is a barrel mounted on a
center axle. It has a scew off top and a gromet under the top to make a
tight seal. I throw my ingredients into the barrel about half way up
and flip the barrel around two or three times. Voila! The mix is
mixed.

i wish i could tell you where to find one., but i bought mine a long
time ago and can't come up with a source.

Of course you could always make one!
marty haber

[Ramone Bakhshpour]

Greetings, You could perhaps use one of those hardy white buckets with a top
(usually fount at paintshops or other hardware stores) that are widely
available.
Just a thught.

Ramone

In article <5328-381...@storefull-102.bryant.webtv.net>,
bons...@webtv.net says...

Ramone Bakhshpour
www.bonsaiauctions.com