Finding a good soil mix and getting lost in translation

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velita
Posts: 49
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2012 6:41 pm

Finding a good soil mix and getting lost in translation

Post by velita »

Hello there,
I've been having issues growing cacti and succulents from seeds because I think the soil mix I'm using is failing me. I was able to successfully grow a lot of cacti from mixed species packets but I'm pretty sure the mix I'm using for my adult plants is pretty bad for them.

I live in Buenos Aires (Argentina) where we have a really hot and humid climate. Spring average temperatures 20~25 C (70~77 F). Summer reaching 35 C (95 F) or more with little or no rain. Falls and Winters are usually around 5~15 C (40-60F). I grow my plants indoors since I live in a flat and they are all sitting next to my window with plenty of light and no chance of getting wet when it rains.

I know the soil is really important when it comes to succulents and cacti but I'm having trouble finding some of the materials I read on the main page of the site. On nurseries you can find the regular Cactus mix which I think is pretty bad because it's mostly sand and pieces of... I dont know what it is. Bark maybe? It looks like black sand to me. On the label it reads "arena" (sand), "turba" (peat?) and "arcilla" (clay?). Ph: 5.8 - 6.3. I also use a lot of perlite in my pots.

I've read about using coir, but no one in the nurseries knows about coconut fibre either. I'm not sure what Pumice is. When I google the name I get pictures of the pumice stone that is used to scrub your feet, is that the same Pumice? Is it sold like pebbles or a big stone? There's also gravel which I suppose I can find in a store that sells aquarium supplies.

Any suggestions you can offer? I'm planning on planting some Faucaria seeds I bought and I don't wanna make mistakes and make them rot :cry:
Thanks!
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Saxicola
Posts: 1759
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:31 pm
Location: Los Angeles area, California

Re: Finding a good soil mix and getting lost in translation

Post by Saxicola »

Coir isn't all that great in my opinion. If you are going to use organic material in your soil it would be the thing I'd use, but if you can go completely inorganic that is probably for the best. The pumice used for foot scrubbers is the exact same thing as the pumice we are talking about, except the stuff we use is pulverized to about the size of perlite. It is much heavier though, so you don't get the floating problem that you get with perlite. I just did a quick search for "pumice" and "Argentina" and it looks like your country has a lot of it naturally occurring there. I even found a mention that Argentina exports something like 3 million kg per year, so there has to be somewhere that carries it. I've attached a picture of one of my plants growing in a pot of pumice to show you what you are looking for. Good luck!
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Brunãozinho
Posts: 424
Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 1:33 am
Location: Paraíba, Eastern Brazil

Re: Finding a good soil mix and getting lost in translation

Post by Brunãozinho »

That's some good questions you pointed there. Sometimes I also have the same problem when translating what these material names mean.
Bruno
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