AusBonsai

hi guys,

today while at the big B i looked into richgro aquatic soil, i bought a bag to see what it was like as there was one with a hole in it and i took a peek and it looked exactly like diatomite. anyways i got home and opened up the bag and used it to pot a tree up with, it looked like diatomite, i picked a larger piece up and snapped it in half, it felt like diatomite, the i wet it, and it come up very similar to diatomite aswell, the only difference is it was a little whiter than the diatomite i got from up here, maybe it is a Mt. silivia, i havent used that one, if someone has a pic of mt. silvia that would be great.

there was also a couple of other different looking pieces, they were dark some black i was thinking it moght be charcoal but am unsure. i am going to be emailing them to see if they will tell me the contents.

here is a link to there site

http://www.richgro.com.au/index.php

if anyone else has used it please let me know thoughts on it and longterm use, i beleive it is quite a good mix from what i can tell and see.

jamie

Jamie i have used aquatic mix before waterlilly mix i think, cant remember if it was richgro? . It is nice and granular and a good size for most bonsai. I used it in some of my pines and they seemed to like it alot. Wash it before use to get any fines and dust out but as its made for aquatic plants it holds it shape etc well and hasent broken down much in the 2 years ive had it in pots. I am switching over to diatomite but thats because its available here. Again im not sure what the mix consists of but worked fine for me

awesome mate thats the info i was after

i thought it would work fine aswell and thought the particle size was quite good too. i can see how it would hold its shapes well especially being an aquatic mix.

i have emailed them now so hopefully they will get back to me.

i thought it would be a good idea for people in a similar situation to me (like glenda) who arent close to supplies of diatomite to use it as a substitute.

jamie

I have that at work as well, was thinking of giving a go also, was a bit pricey if I remember correctly.

God guys you are making me feel like I am beating my head agianst a wall. We have talked about this stuff no end. I have used and mentioned it for years, Grant has included it in his medium test. I only recently stated It is what I used for my Diatomite test and we have discussed how KC and myself compared it with Diatomite and for all purposes found it was probably exactly the same thing.
Now you tell me you are thinking about using it. get into it this is good stuff. I reckon a bag of Diatomite would be better value but if that is not avialble or you don't need that much this stuff is the go.

Bretts wrote:God guys you are making me feel like I am beating my head agianst a wall. We have talked about this stuff no end. I have used and mentioned it for years, Grant has included it in his medium test. I only recently stated It is what I used for my Diatomite test and we have discussed how KC and myself compared it with Diatomite and for all purposes found it was probably exactly the same thing.
Now you tell me you are thinking about using it. get into it this is good stuff. I reckon a bag of Diatomite would be better value but if that is not avialble or you don't need that much this stuff is the go.

yea i knew you had brought it up somewhere but for all the searches i did i couldnt find the thread!! i was wondering what your results were with it too! i cant see it being any real difference to that great stuff diatomite and beleive it to be a rather acceptable substitute.

will be keen to see how grants tests go.

brett could you link me to your thread about it?

Mitchell wrote:I have that at work as well, was thinking of giving a go also, was a bit pricey if I remember correctly.

it was a little dear for the size, you dont get as much for the dollar as diatomite. 10L bag was around $10, but in saying that the stuff is quite light and 10L although roughly one third of the size as diatomite bags for $13-$30 depending where ya get it from, is ok-ish in the fact getting diatomite can be hard to aquire sometimes where as this aquatic mix is readily available and i feel will be just as good.

still waiting on an email back to find out the actual ingredients.

jamie

Hope you get one Jamie. I emailed one of the major Qld Family Potting Mix manufacturers five years ago with the same question (I was moving over to WA at the time). Still waiting for their reply.
Let us all know how your experiment goes M8.

Just search aquatic Jamie. Some one found from the manufacturer that it is sponglite but I can't find much about that.

The "Diatomite" in the Richgro aquatic is certailnly different to the Mt Sylvia. Is it Maidenwell? I don't know. I will get "genuine Maidenwell" when I am in Melbourne later in the year.

Grant

I use it and it seems to be going well. It states that it holds nutrients for water borne species, so if it can hold nutrients while waterlogged then it is a winner in my books.
Just for the record, it's white, has different sized particles, and bought from Bunnings (cough!) for $10 for a 10l bag. My gums and deciduous species have been going beserk with it (when mixed with native potting mix and 2-5mm crushed rock).

NBPCA wrote:The "Diatomite" in the Richgro aquatic is certailnly different to the Mt Sylvia. Is it Maidenwell? I don't know. I will get "genuine Maidenwell" when I am in Melbourne later in the year.

Grant

i found the maidenwell (i think it is maidenwell, no brancd on the bag) was more of a slightly tan colour, it did start rather white though so cant be certain.

i did a search for aquatic brett, got a whole heap of other stuff but what i was after. anyways i tend to lean to the point that it will be really good for trees.
i found that the particle size was good, not to big not to small but comes together well. time will tell. i get the feeling it will be fine being designed for water growing!

cheers for the info josh good to hear my money wasnt wasted!

no probs graeme as soon as i fond out, if they get back to me i will post it up

jamie

Sorry, my mistake Jamie I was thinking of the Waterwerks brand which was like triple that price.

I just checked the richgro, seems the goods, will grab a bag this arvo..

Is there anything you would like me to call their tech assist about?

See if you can fid out about other brand names as well.

Absorbalite, Agrisorb etc. Are they all the same product and just brand names?

Grant

absorblite is a product from maidenwell. it seems that absorbalite is just the american terminology for maidenwell diatomite, so the USA brand for it. maidenwell seems to be an of shoot of an american company.

agrisorb is an industrial hemp material made from the soft core of the hemp plant stem. it is produced from the inner woody cellulose structure of the hemp stem.

hope that helps some.

jamie

Jamie, How much was your Richgro? I just this morning got 30 bags of Maidenwell Diatomite - having got enough orders from other members of our local club to make it worth while. I got it from Fernlands in Nambour, as it worked out the same as 30 bags from Maidenwell itself because of freight costs. 40 litre bags cost $24 including the freight. I wondered how Richgro compared.

Glenda