T. Iboga Germination Soil Mix

[Audacia]

After reading the SAB cultivation guide on T. Iboga, I am slightly unsure about the exact type of coarse sharp sand to use. Would Coarse River Sand or Coarse 'beach like' Propagating sand be the best to use for the soil medium? I am aware of the Sharp coarse sand 'sifting' technique, just not sure of the best type of sand to use.

Thanks everyone.

Edited February 16, 2008 by Audacia

[Vertmorpheus]

that white prop sand is usually silica sand, fine and more or less inert, its for structure and drainage and to provide some weight to prevent cavitation in the seed trays etc.

coarse river sand, brown sand, deco sand etc are granitic, they're usually found n used in slighly chunkier grades, a lil more porous but not by much. They add more fertility in themselves, giving up various minerals etc esp in the presence of acidic humates, etc, so I tend to use them in potting mixes and cacti blends, etc, at a slightly larger mesh than most people use so it has the benefits of sand but affect structure more like perlite. It has a passable feeding effect in itself, which is hwy you rarely see weeds sprouting on the beach but often find weeds going very happily in all grades of deco. Decos usually have some kind of clay fraction assocaited with them too, so bear that in mind, but it will vary on whether you dig it out of your own creek or buy it in bags from Bunnings of course.

Both should germ just fine,probably identically if they're the same particle size and bulk density (weight versus volume) and equally washed and free of self sown seeds etc, but I guess the river sands, inland sands, probably can help you out a lil more in the longrun.

I'd probably go with whatever I could source cheaper, easier and closer to home, and then stick with it and make any allowances you need to as you learn more about it... thats just me. I use deco as I can get it for free (well, get it by the bucket in return for a two day backache), it adds life of its own, and I'm a fan of giving seedlings all the natural love I can, right from day one... makes for hardier healthier plant later on, the breastmilk theory etc.

good luck with the beans

VM

[Audacia]

Thanks for the advice. Any other recommendations from anyone else?

[KlUe]

Hey mate, don't think it'll really matter all too much. I've not grown from seed but had small plants which grow fine in debco pot power.

Peace

KlUe

Edited February 16, 2008 by KlUe

[Torsten]

fine sand [beach like] will rot the seeds as it holds too much water. as long as the particle size range is 0.2mm to 2mm it really doesn't matter where the sand comes from. Commercially available Searle's washed river sand is what we use and it does not require any preparation.

[Audacia]

Thanks Everyone. Sounds great.

[Vertmorpheus]

yeah as T is getting at, theres sand and theres sand... beach-coloured bagged sand is a different kettle of fish to "sand from the beach" which isn't a great idea at all. If in doubt with sand you gather yourself, fill a pot with some sand, pour say 10mm of water in the top, and wait... if it just infiltrates straight up, doesnt hang around in any serious way and doesnt go soupey, it should be passable enough, if you want to bodge something up... but if the water sits on the top for ages, or releases some serious clay slime and fizzes and then half the sand falls out the drainage holes... not so good, for a germ mix you want something that acts a lot like a kitchen sponge... most water just falls straight thru it with an even dispersal across the "profile" and it retains a fine, even all over film of moisture whilst allowing some kind of air exchange to take place to prevent moulds etc.

That searles stuff in a bag, yates etc, are ok if you dont need heaps or dont mind paying up for larger amounts, and its reusable if you like to think like that... but I find some bags need a fluffing up to reblend them and get some air back into the mix, after being thrown about a Bunnings truck etc. Two bags of the Searles Premium blend I purchased were crap... one was mouldy the minute I opened the bag (emptied bag, resealed with tape where id cut it, blew it up and immersed it... no leaks.. it was just shit when they packed it) and the other had a really high level of tiny millipedal critters and a very sour rotten swamp gas smell... the other few dozen were fine, now I just use semi coarse deco sand and coco fines half n half, cheap as shit and half as smelly... everything thus far seems to love it, but you ahve to blend it really well to start with, use fines not the long strandy bits and soem brands of coco have serious rewetting issues if they dry out.

VM

[Audacia]

I buy my Coarse River Sand from a local garden produce shop which they collect themselves. It costs $5 for a 25kg bag, and is always great quality stuff.

[Torsten]

we buy it from searles direct and I don't think we've ever had a bad bag. even after storing it here for up to 6 months it has never gone off. It's expensive, but after stuffing around with unreliable and inconsistent quality from the landscaping supplies place [and losing lots of plants] the bags end up being more economical for us.

For a long time I was making my own CSS by buying he coarsest sand I could find and then wet sifting it through 2mm and 0.2mm sieves myself. tedious, but perfect quality.

We don't generally reuse our sand for germination, but we do recycle it into our cactus mixes.