AusBonsai

Hi people,

I had read about the benefits of diatomite, and unable to get any horticultural diatomite like Maidenwell locally, I settled for Septone Dry-up which I was persuaded by the seller was as good. I found it to be mostly clay and have spent many, many hours (about 4 hours for a 20L bag) washing away the clay to get diatomite that was usable. Once it was washed, I was happy with the diatomite as a growing medium.

Maidenwell have no retailers north of Bundaberg, and I have tried to persuade local nurseries to carry it, to no avail. I have almost convinced enough of the local bonsai club members to buy a pallet, but before we do, I need to know I will not still have to spend hours and hours washing it also before it can be used.

Those of you who use it, can you advise me here?

Thanks

Glenda

hi glenda, the diatomite i get i dont bother washing at all, after a couple of waterings it will be cleaned and no problems!

Is anybody buy diatomite online and where is best place? I have enquir local and not getting result. (sorry to sidetrack your thread, Glenda xx)

Anja wrote:Is anybody buy diatomite online and where is best place? I have enquir local and not getting result. (sorry to sidetrack your thread, Glenda xx)

??? what you talking bout willis!

fernlands sell diatomite over the phone, it is best to buy in bulk as it is cheaper so your best bet would be to get a few like minded mates and get together in the purchase if you go ahead with that, some rural stores should stock it.

jamie

Glenda,
I used to use 100% Diatomite mixes but.... lately I have noticed some discolouration in the of Ficus and Clerodendrum leaf, and i put the problem down to the fines in Diatomite possibly causing root rot due to excess water getting held in the mix.
Generally I don't wash Diatomite but I do now and will continue to do so in the future due to fluctuations in the quality of the product.
I will also be using a 70/30 mix Diatomite-potting mix for all Juniper, Pine and Cypress.

Hope this helps.

I believe it is good practice to remove as much fines and dust from most of the "grit" type products.

I sieve but dont wash at the moment.

Grant

Grant Bowie wrote:I believe it is good practice to remove as much fines and dust from most of the "grit" type products.

I sieve but dont wash at the moment.

Grant

I'm not just talking 'fines' here, although this stuff comes coated with heaps of red dust that when washed off is clay, but also lumps of clay (red, white and grey) that are the size of the diatomite. I have to wash it in small batches (1 small soil scoop at a time) through a seive with the hose on full blast through a nozzle to get the pressure as high as I can to break up the clay. It takes about 4-5 minutes per scoop to get the majority of it out, and by that time I only have about 1/2 a scoop of diatomite left. The clay is very greasy feeling, and squashes between your fingers. The red clay breaks up easily, but the others take for ever. However, if I don't remove them, they break down in the pot and glug up the rest of the diatomite.

I take it that Maidenwell brand doesn't do this?

Glenda

Jamie wrote:

Anja wrote:Is anybody buy diatomite online and where is best place? I have enquir local and not getting result. (sorry to sidetrack your thread, Glenda xx)

??? what you talking bout willis!

fernlands sell diatomite over the phone, it is best to buy in bulk as it is cheaper so your best bet would be to get a few like minded mates and get together in the purchase if you go ahead with that, some rural stores should stock it.

jamie

LOL!! Yeah I got a couple of local bonsai enthusiasts here who can help me out

Anja wrote:Is anybody buy diatomite online and where is best place? I have enquir local and not getting result. (sorry to sidetrack your thread, Glenda xx)

No problemo at all, Anja The whole idea is everyone can benefit from this site, isn't it?

glenda, where did you say you got this diatomite? and what was it called? and you said the attendant said it would be good for bonsai use, i ask this as if i went through all that trouble with a product like that that i had been told would be good for bonsai use and got home and had to deal with that i would take it back, put all the clay right down straight on the counter and get my money back.

Glenda wrote:

Anja wrote:Is anybody buy diatomite online and where is best place? I have enquir local and not getting result. (sorry to sidetrack your thread, Glenda xx)

No problemo at all, Anja The whole idea is everyone can benefit from this site, isn't it?

Absolutely, and what a great community we have here

I'm using diatomite in a roughly 50/50 ratio. I don't wash, I just mix in with my base soil and pot. As for figs discolouring because of wet roots.... I have stood all my figs in water trays this entire summer and the growth is wonderful so I can't see how diatomite would be holding excess water enough to disturb figs. Figs that have always been slow to develop have soared ahead since they sit in water. By the end of the day the trays are mostly merely damp but the foliage has now developed to such an extent that I would either need to increase the size of the pot or stick with the water trays. As the days start to cool I leave less water in the trays but still give them plenty to drink.

Jamie wrote:glenda, where did you say you got this diatomite? and what was it called? and you said the attendant said it would be good for bonsai use, i ask this as if i went through all that trouble with a product like that that i had been told would be good for bonsai use and got home and had to deal with that i would take it back, put all the clay right down straight on the counter and get my money back.

I got it from a lady who sells a little bit of hydroponics stuff from her house. Believe me I was tempted to do just as you suggested. I was stupid enought to buy two bags She showed me some in a pot - of course it had been thoroughly washed before hand but she didn't tell me that. When I questioned why it wasn't Maidenwell she said it was but that they had changed the packaging. If I wasn't so desperate up here I would have returned it and got nasty.

Anyway, two bags got washed and ended up with 1 bag of usable diatomite.

Glenda

well diatomite is clay it is a silica based clay so if you washed all the clay out youd have air we usually just pot it straight up and water well all the dust just washes out the holes id say you have somthing different to diatomite or a really bad batch mixed with somthing else

dayne wrote:well diatomite is clay it is a silica based clay so if you washed all the clay out youd have air we usually just pot it straight up and water well all the dust just washes out the holes id say you have somthing different to diatomite or a really bad batch mixed with somthing else

Diatomite is supposed to be the fossilised remains of microscopic water diatoms. I have been reading on the bonsai4me site where they are discussing the different kitty litters available in various countries, and for Australia diatomite is recommended, but it says specifically NOT to use the Septone brand as it is mostly clay.

So I guess I have my answer there. I bought it because it was the only one available in my area, and because I didn't know any better.

Glenda