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Jun 7, 2013 9:53 PM CST

Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
The one concern I have is the moisture control soil. I prefer the stuff that will not go the extra distance to retain moisture.

You may find it interesting that I have tried growing semps in pure chicken grit in a container. No problems outside of it didn't get as large as some of its kin. I use the cheapest topsoil I can get, then add some Perlite, some sand, some sifted pine bark and some NAPA OilDry which is 100% fired Fuller's Earth. I add as much Perlite as I can without it being so much that it rises to the top and gets messy - that's a judgement call from experiences with it. I also add maybe 20% sand and maybe 20 % NAPA FE. Pine bark of the right size is a little harder for me to find, so I add what I can up to about 20% of that if available. The sand I used is as coarse as I can find, which is normally construction sand that has been rinsed. Lately I have been using sifted quartz gravel as a minor component. I use this as a top coat to help display the plants, but some of it gets worked into the soil.

A pointer on how to judge your mix: If weeds break off rather than pull out when you are weeding your semps two years from now, then the mix was not right. You need something that stays loose over time.

Avoid fine sand, such as play sand and peat in your mixes. Fine sand will compact too much. Peat is hard to re-wet if it dries out.

IMO

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