How to make a good soil mix with these ingredients?

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david90531
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Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2014 5:20 pm

How to make a good soil mix with these ingredients?

Post by david90531 »

So far my succulent mix has been pretty basic: 50% C&S soil and 50% perlite. I have limited resources and so far can't get all the ingredients needed to make "gritty mix".
But recently I was lucky enough to find some turface on ebay. So I'm wondering if with the following items, how much % should I put each of them in to make a good mix?

-C&S potting soil
-perlite
-turface
-unpolished aquarium gravel (quite small in size)
-vermiculite (I think most people are against it for succulents)
-horticultural sand (ditto)

I have heard some people really against sand but some say it's okay to put some in, so that confuses me quite a bit.
Also should the potting mix % be a bit different if I'm dealing with mesembs?

Any help is greatly appreciated! 8-[
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CactusFanDan
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Re: How to make a good soil mix with these ingredients?

Post by CactusFanDan »

Without knowing what the C&S soil is, I can't comment too much, but I'm going to guess it's very rich and dense, like most bagged soils.

Personally I'd go:
20% C&S soil
50% turface
30% gravel (although if the gravel has very round, uniform, small grains then I probably wouldn't use any and make up the rest with turface)

I'd probably try and locate some nice chunky grit with varying grain sizes to make the mix more heterogeneous, but that's just me. :)
-Dan
Happy growing!

There is always one more glochid. Somewhere.
My C&S blog
david90531
Posts: 75
Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2014 5:20 pm

Re: How to make a good soil mix with these ingredients?

Post by david90531 »

CactusFanDan wrote:Without knowing what the C&S soil is, I can't comment too much, but I'm going to guess it's very rich and dense, like most bagged soils.

Personally I'd go:
20% C&S soil
50% turface
30% gravel (although if the gravel has very round, uniform, small grains then I probably wouldn't use any and make up the rest with turface)

I'd probably try and locate some nice chunky grit with varying grain sizes to make the mix more heterogeneous, but that's just me. :)
Sorry C&S soil is just the generic "cactus and succulent soil" from brands like Miragro, Fafard, or Schultz.
Thanks for the recipe! The gravel I have (could find) is irregularly shaped, unpolished aquarium gravel, and it says dust free, so I figured it should be somewhat suitable for soil amendment.
david90531
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Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2014 5:20 pm

Re: How to make a good soil mix with these ingredients?

Post by david90531 »

I also just found out that there's a local store that sells coir bricks.
Is this the right kind? http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index ... 9?Ntt=coir" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And how would I add coir into my mix with the ingredients I have?
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CactusFanDan
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Re: How to make a good soil mix with these ingredients?

Post by CactusFanDan »

david90531 wrote:I also just found out that there's a local store that sells coir bricks.
Is this the right kind? http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index ... 9?Ntt=coir" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And how would I add coir into my mix with the ingredients I have?
Yep, that's horticultural coir. :P Personally, I'd replace half of the C&S soil in your mix with the coir, since coir doesn't hold nutrients very well without being mixed in with other substances which do hold nutrients quite well. Coir isn't necessary though, and I'm not convinced it's beneficial for cacti or succulents. However, it is quite a consistent product, unlike other bagged soils and composts you usually get.
-Dan
Happy growing!

There is always one more glochid. Somewhere.
My C&S blog
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