soil

[Wesley]

What is the easiest soil mix for an adelea and a spatulata?

 

[homer]

Easiest?  I guess the easiest in terms of availability and cost would be to buy some peat.  If you want to do things right, add some perlite and/or rinsed sand.

-Homer

 

[goldtrap2690]

peat and perlite or you can try pure lfs .

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

I prefer live LFS for Drosera adelae and a 50/50 rinsed peat/silica sand for D. spatulata.

 

[Joseph Clemens]

<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>Actually most of us use no "soil" in our media whatsoever. These are called soil-less media. Not one of the common ingredients used in CP media are actually "soil", neither is "soil" contained in any CP media I have ever used. "Soil" can only be formed by natural processes: Encarte Link to Soil

I feel that my Drosera adelae and Drosera spatulata grow best for me in 100% Sphagnum peat moss.</span>

 

[Wesley]

you know what I mean LOL. So 50/50 peat/perlite and or sand? or 100% lfs? also with the sand, can you use white sand from the local masonry(sp)

 

[jimscott]

Rookie here: What is LFS and what kind of sand is acceptable? I work at Home Depot on Saturdays and they sell all kinds of sand. What is appropriate? Also, I have a creek tributary right behind my residence. Is that safe - even with boiling?

 

[Guff]

LFS = Long Fiber Sphagnum

I use a combination of LFS and Peat Moss

 

[Guff]

oh yeah .... Home Depot carries a brand of Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss.. brand name Better-Gro. Had to get some bags Wednesday.

 

[Copper]

Peat/LFS/Perlite/sand -50/20/20/10. This works well for me.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Quote[/b] (jimscott @ Dec. 27 2003,16:52)].....what kind of sand is acceptable?

Quartz sand.

Quote[/b] ]...... I have a creek tributary right behind my residence. Is that safe - even with boiling?

Boiling water just concentrates the disolved minerals and salts that are in it.  The only thing that boiling removes is chlorine which you shouldn't have in your creek (I hope) and micro-organisms which won't affect your plants anyhow.

BCK

 

[jimscott]

I know that boiling concentrates the salts if I wanted to use the water, but if I am rinsing out the the boiled sand / water with let's say deionized water and only using the sand - would that be a problem?

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Sand varies all across the country so there is no way to say. Acceptable sand is silica sand: white and mineral free. Sources are swimming pool supply companies, sold as pool filter sand or construction companies where it is sold as sand blasting sand. Be sure it is pure white.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Quote[/b] (jimscott @ Dec. 28 2003,06:31)]I know that boiling concentrates the salts if I wanted to use the water, but if I am rinsing out the the boiled sand / water with let's say deionized water and only using the sand - would that be a problem?

Ok. I see.  I'd skip the boiling and just rinse the sand with tap water until the silt and other debree are removed, then rinse with pure water a couple times to remove minerals and chlorine left by the tap water.  It might be a good idea to clean a small batch first and test some of it with vinegar before cleaning a large batch and then finding you can't use it.  As Tamlin pointed out, sand quality varies from one place to the next.  So while this method works for me, it may not work as well for you.

BCK

 

[jimscott]

Quartz sand. Thanx! Let's see what my Saturday employer (Home Depot) has that fits the description.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Quartz or silica sand.  Same difference

. You can find it labled either one.

BCK