Thanks for the info Bill

hows this years crop of cuttings doing? Sounds like you have been potting up a lot of stuff.

Mike

Hey Bill,
OMG good to see you on GW, been so long :)
Hope all is well with you and your patch.
Is Jacks Mix the same as Jim Clarks in Fall Brook???
I cant remember but I think that is it or close to it, might be missing one ingredient that Jim has in his mix, can't remember his mix as its been so long....
Jack if I remember use to have another formula he used when Bret was around that used Supersoil Potting mix, with all this other stuff.

Glad to see you
Cheers my friend

Hi Bill,

Hope you're feeling better!

I thought about doing Jack's mix but it's just too hard for me to manage, so I just used what James is using.

Are you looking for Vera Cruz Rose by chance?

thanks lynn. I picked up a VCR at the garden show and it is rooting now. Mike- all my cuttings (150+) are in various stages of leafing out and look good. I lost one from a sick plant so I was not surprised it did not go but the others look great. Lynn, I think the E,B,Stone mix looks good but I personally would mix in more pumice as I found cactus mixes I used compacted over time because of the fine sand and soils used. I think James is a fanatical root pruner and re-potter so he may not experience that because he is always changing mix. I am more lazy and tend to wait years to prune. James- I feel supersoil and most potting mixes retain too much moisture so I have moved away from them. I did blend in the Unigrow for some time and liked their cactus mix but also noticed that they started producing an inferior product. I wish some University would do a study on this because it could be scientifically checked easier than us doing failure by plant death experiments. Bill

This spring I have been using the 1:1:2 Jack's mix. So far so good. It drains really well and the pots have some decent weight so the wind doesn't blow them over so easily.

Thank you Bill,

Going forward I will add Pumice to the EB Stone Cactus Mix. But can you tell me how much?

Glad to hear you got your VCR. I can't believe you rooted 150 cuttings!! You are amazing!

What is the typical size of the pumice? The closest I can find is lava rock which i have to break up.

I just checked my bags of pumice. The particle size is between 1/8th to 1/4 inches. There's also a product you may be able to find there. It's called Dry Stall, it's used in horse stalls to help soak up the moisture so the horses aren't standing in mud. It's also pumice, but the particle size in that is about 1/16th of an inch. Just measured some in the bag. You can maybe find it at a feed store or some place that caters to horse owners. There's another product called Stall Dry, you don't want that, it's different.

Very interesting! Thanks Bill for the info. Sounds and looks like so much work ;).

Chuy

Lynn- I would mix it 25-50%. Since a bag of pumice from OCFS is about $7 which is a little over 10 gallons (2 home depot buckets) mixing with a 1.5 cu' bag of E.B would be about 25% which might be a good place to start since it has some pumice in the E.B. About my cuttings, you have been to my house so you know I get plenty of cuttings every year. The bottles x 5 in each black 5 gal pot works great and I am good at neglecting them so they root.
Chuy- It is a lot of work but with my neighbors cement mixer, I cut the time greatly.
I like pumice at about 1/4" which creates space and does not break down quickly. My mix from last year still looks fresh.

Thank you Bill! Will enlist DH's help to get some Pumice from OCFS. Thanks for mentioning the 2 HD buckets. That was very helpful. You know me so well. LOL.

Yes you have the whole system going which to me is an amazing feat! You young men are just full of energy I can't barely keep up. 150 cuttings. Simply amazing!

I would love to find Pumice at that price.. We can't find it anywhere here..

Detlon.. I have checked for the Dry Stall everywhere in Va. Since we are in horse country,, you would think...

I have talked to buyers in my area and they have even checked with their distributors and, no luck. They do have the finer product which is the Stall Dry. (DE) i think alot of horse trainers like the finer product for the stalls since the pellets stick in the hoofs.. That may be why it is hard to find here? I just don't know. Good sugestion if one can find the right stuff.. Good Luck!!!

Take Care,

Laura