AusBonsai

As the title says, what do you do with the finer particles once sifted? I have a huge tub of sifted fines and it feels like such a waste to just throw them out. It's a mix of UXP (pumice), Akadama, and Zeolite.

Quite a lot of it is very fine dust particles so I could sift further to end up with 0.5mm to around 1.5mm particles (most on the smaller side), so is there any real use for them?

I have a few swampies that might enjoy the more densely packed soil, but I'm no expert with them.

Curious to know what everyone is doing with them!

I'm positive that you are not the first to ask the same question but could not find previous thread with a quick search???

There's been mention of pumice and perlite fines being used for cutting mix.
Fines can be a great start to a seedling mix.
Make a mix for small pots with the larger portion of your sifted material but not likely to use up all your fines in a few small pots.
Kusamono or accent plant pots can use finer mix but that's not likely to use a whole lot either.

Spread what's left as top dressing on the lawn or garden beds.

I use the super fines to plant seedlings and cuttings.

I’ve started re-sieving out the slightly larger particles and put as a top coat of my trees. It seems they grow moss easier.

You should try it as cat litter too haha

shibui wrote: ↑April 5th, 2022, 5:25 pm I'm positive that you are not the first to ask the same question but could not find previous thread with a quick search???

The search function isn't the easiest on this forum. I always have trouble finding things, even when I've posted them / seen them before.

I also thought I saw a similar post a while back but couldn't find it and assumed I saw something similar instead.

shibui wrote: ↑April 5th, 2022, 5:25 pm Fines can be a great start to a seedling mix.

No luck in the past with seeds/cuttings using these fines, but I haven't created a mix with some other soil which might work a little better.

Daluke wrote: ↑April 5th, 2022, 7:13 pm I’ve started re-sieving out the slightly larger particles and put as a top coat of my trees. It seems they grow moss easier.

Interesting idea. I have some forests I'm working on and a sandy style on top might create a cool look.