Gritty Mix Questions

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I've purchased some
succulents lately, then I did a bunch of reading and discovered that the soil
they come in is WAY wrong. I wasn't confident enough to take the plunge
with pure gritty mix, so I mixed 2-2-1 Perlite-Orchid bark-potting soil and repotted
most. Then I started trying to read up completely on Gritty Mix and my
head started spinning!

So, what is
gritty mix anyways? I've read post after post after post and the best
answer I can come up with is that it's a soil-less growing medium. After
that it gets weird. I've seen recommendations for mixes with any of the
following: Perlite/Sand/Decomposed Granite (which around here is
basically the same as sand)/Paver Base/Pea Gravel/Aquarium Gravel/Pine Bark
fines/Pine Bark Chunks/Repti-Bark/Turface/Stall Dry (or Dry Stall?)/Kitty
Litter/Napa Floor Dry/Turface/Chicken Grit/Pumice.....

I'm
thinking about going to a gritty mix, but I'm trying to figure out which
ingredients I want to purchase. I happen to live near and work in Farm
Country Ohio - so Rural King/Tractor Supply/Feed Supply stores are all over, as
are NAPA auto part stores, so I assume most things on the list will be pretty
easy to obtain. I can get what my local rock place calls #9 gravel for
$2.50/5 gallon bucket - it looks like this:

Obviously each ingredient has a
reason for being in the mix, but what is that reason? Can they be put in
general categories? I assume the Turface/Stall Dry hold more water than
plain gravel, so they're there to keep the mix somewhat moist? I think of
the gravel as the "cheap filler" that gives you most of the bulk with
less of the cost. What does the chicken grit do for the mix? Some
people don't use any bark for certain things (like Lithops), so they just use a
2 ingredient mix....

Then you
get into particle size - 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2"..... I've
read it's important to keep the size consistent, but how do I decide which
particle size I want to try to match?

If there
are posts that explain what ingredients are supposed to do what in the mix
(retain water, provide drainage, provide bulk), and which ingredients are
somewhat interchangable (Turface/Stall Dry?), please point me in the right
direction!

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Comments (4)

mesembs
9 years ago
So, your basic gritty mix is going to be the one that Al (tapla) invented. It is a 1:1:1 mix of pine bark, turface, and crushed granite. There are a LOT of variations of this mix, including ingredients like akadama, scoria, lava rock, pumice, etc. What you make depends a lot on the ingredients you can easily get in your area.

I cannot find good bark, so I use perlite instead, which works well for succulents. My mix is about 40% granite, 40% perlite, and 20% oil absorbent (see bottom). The granite that I use is just Manna Pro Poultry Grit, which comes in a beautiful (heh) purple color (see bottom). I just use regular perlite which I screen to the appropriate size. I will get to that later.

I don't quite understand the theory behind the granite, but I know that Turface is supposed to hold the water, and the bark is the cheap filler. Hopefully someone who knows the theory better than I do will comment.

Size. The ideal size will be 1/4 - 3/8 inch. The better you can match sizes, the better the ingredients will mix (as apposed to layering).

Here are some pictures:

Oil absorbent:

Useful Pictures · More Info

Manna Pro Poultry Grit:

Useful Pictures · More Info

Good luck! (You're gonna need it :)
Pluto1415 (6a/b, NE Ohio) thanked mesembs
Crenda 10A SW FL
9 years ago
I get Manna Pro poultry grit - granite only - at Tractor Supply.

You can search for a Turface distributor here - http://www.turface.com/find-a-distributor. I couldn't find MVP in my area, so I bought Turface Athletics from SiteOne, which used to be John Deere Landscaping. It works just fine, but MVP is what is recommended for size.

Perlite you can find in lots of places. You can use pumice in place of the perlite. I can't find pumice in my area.

I make the same mix proportions as mesembs - 2 parts perlite, 2 parts granite grit and one part Turface. I no longer use bark except when I have large pots and I need to lighten the weight of the pots. Yep, a filler. In those cases I use Reptibark that I get from a pet supply store. I use that right out of the bag.
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michael19
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I too used to use perlite in place of bark (bark seemed a huge hassle), but I've shifted away from perlite too, as it is very messy (blows from my windowsill pots into my house, and floats when I water). So now I just use chicken grit (granite grit) and Turface. The proportion depends on the plant, but 1/3 Turface and 2/3 chicken grit seems to work for me as a general mix. (The chicken grit retains almost no water, while Turface holds more, so I adjust depending on how sensitive a plant is to moisture. That's the theory, anyway. :) )
Helen Agius (Adelaide,Sth Aus) USDA Z10b
9 years ago
Hi Pluto. Like the name :-)

I was overwhelmed too when I first started looking around this forum.

So, putting in my 2 cents worth....

Cutting it short, I'm using about 60% perlite with 40% C&S potting mix.

Reasons:- A lot of people on here use the same with no apparent problems, price is ok, I can get them easily using only one bus (no car), they fit in my trolley lol, I've now got plenty of time to think about different mixes/ratios as my succulents settle in their much healthier mix, and I don't have to worry about fertilizers yet.

I still have over half of my succulents in old, general potting mix, but I'm getting there.

I'm not suggesting that you do this, just widening the input.

Cheers