Popular Post teonanacatl Posted December 27, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted December 27, 2014 I know the link has been posted in a few threads but I think it deserves its own!Its a great article, the author has done a lot of thinking and whilst he struggles to be concise (I think its translated so thats probably why) the advice and views in it are a must read. The authors view point is very level headed, he makes suggestions (very valid ones) but recognises at the end of the day different people want different things from their cacti and no soil mix is perfect. I do like how he suggests one go about working on their soil mix though. One could consider his article as guidelines and philosophies for determining the right cactus soil mix for you.He suggests that a 100% mineral soil mix (no organics) should be the starting point for any cacti, adjusted by adding organic material to increase growth, or limestone to decrease growth as desired by you. The 100% mineral soil is a freely-draining, low-rot, low-moderate growth but healthy growth soil. It is also a long term medium and fertile medium. He touches briefly upon mycorrhizal associations and soil microbes ability to "mine" the nutrients from the rock for the cacti but there are much better sources for information on this.He gives great advice on a variety of components of a medium and suggests where one could get it from for cheap.I strongly agree with a lot of his statements on the treatment of cacti and their resistance to disease and pests. Basically he makes a case that cacti are adapted to low water, low-moderate available nutrients and high sun conditions, some are furthermore adapted to higher pH conditions. Adaptation to these conditions allow these plants to survive when other perish. In cultivation there is a trend to push the plants growth and whilst the plants respond with lots of flowers and large size they are not necessarily healthy (think obese people) and suffer from pest and disease problems.Lastly the pictures of the natural habitats where some of these cacti grow are amazing. Likewise the "scenes" he does in his pots are cute and look great. Hope those of you who havent read it enjoy it!http://xerophilia.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/The-Stone-Eaters.pdf 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watertrade Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I have never seen this before. its great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teonanacatl Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 Great idea to pin it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostilis Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I read this a super long time ago. Helped me figuring out how to make mineral substrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nut Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I too read this a long time ago.its brilliant.i have used the information to base my soil compositions on more or less and like his ideas on natural plant growth.i think a pumped up strombo is a great example.they look strange and unnatural when they are elongated and globose. Hence the name disciformis I guess.(I do love my lophs with long blonde hair,firm body and a deep blue grey tan mmmm fit lophs ;-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostilis Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I like fat plumped up globulars myself, but also I like the more flattened, habitat looking specimen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teonanacatl Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 This quote is exactly why I love the work in this article."Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away"Antoine de Saint-Exupery 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Cursive Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Roksolid is THE BEST slow release fertilizer I have ever used for my cacti. It is a form of rock dust I believe. For NZ'ers (This site isn't cheap, you can find it cheaper elsewhere but it has all the necessary info):http://www.0800466464.co.nz/plant-nutrition/60-wallys-rok-solid-1-kg.htmlConstituents of it are:Analysis of Rok Solid (Averages)Nitrogen [N] .15%Phosphorus [P] .8%Potassium {k} 1.4%Sulphur .14%Calcium [Ca] 4.4%Magnesium [Mg] 5.69%Sodium [Na] 2.95%Silica [si] 43.0%Iron [Fe] 39,000ppmManganese [Mn] 1,100ppmBoron 55ppmCopper [Cu] 90ppmZinc [Zn] 142ppmCobalt [Co] 59ppmMolybdenum [Mo] 2ppmSelenium [se] 3ppmPlus many other trace elements.43% Silica! You HAVE to see how healthy all my cacti and plants are because of this. Silica plays a vital role in cell development and water retention.http://www.innovationsinagriculture.com/CMSFiles/Gallery/Files/Exhibitor/1/Roles%20of%20Si%20-%20email.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 How much of all of that is actually water soluble? That's is the only problem I have with rockdust and using it in potting mixtures. You are then relying on the very small colony of microbes able to live within the media to break that rock down. But silica is good, especially in hydroponics lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teonanacatl Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Frankly the point with slow growing cacti is they dont need much to be soluble at any given time. They have evolved to survive. Have a read of the article if you havent, it explains everything <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_smile.png 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Haha yes, this was actually posted in the wrong thread, as i believe there was a second one solely for this product. I have read that article a few times, enjoy it heaps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trucha Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 More PDFs of Yoav Bashan and worker's papers can be found at www.bashanfoundation.org. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illustro Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I can attest to the benefits of this methodology. After only six months in a carefully crafted 100% mineral mix (+ slow release ferts) my cacti have doubled to tripled in size while still retaining a natural squat appearance with roots vastly happier-looking than any I've ever seen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiper Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 My cacti have never looked so healthy since changing to a mineral based soil. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mauve Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Even for trichs ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiper Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Yes, my small trichs seem to like it, have yet to pot up the larger ones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I have my trich's in a fairly heavy organic mix they seem to thrive, Afaikthey can be found on higher latitude soils with more organic matter i nature 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanishfly Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 (edited) For silica read SAND. Nice gritty sand is available from my builders merchant - €1 buys a bag I can barely lift !! Edited October 13, 2015 by Spanishfly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matagordamudskipper Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 Great read! I soaked it right up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aether Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 What a great article. I started compiling a list of what I need to make up the mineral substrate and very keen to give it a go. Cost for shipping decent amounts of things like zeolite aren’t cheap though because of weight. Might be a slow process in pulling everything together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auxin Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Hunt around your area. My area is geologically boring but I've still located deposits where I can harvest two distinctly different kinds of sand, gravel, shell, red stone, I even found talc and limestone deposits. When a wind storm blew over an old tree by the river I found rocks the size of kiwis that I could crush into sand in my fist because of the decades of root exudates dissolving the stones support structure. Mineral substrates surround us in fair variety, once we learn to see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cimi Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 DrGreenThumbs is also good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raver Buddy Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) Kick arse, but super long article. After reading and serious hunting I made a post of my exploits (including switching all my plants over to soilless) which you can find here: http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?/topic/46223-melb-vic-creating-a-soilless-mineral-only-mix-or-20-soil-mix-based-on-xerophillia-the-stone-eaters/. I include all the places I found to get my mineral rocks from (Melbourne, VIC, Australia). Edited July 13, 2019 by Raver Buddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishmael Fleishman Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 (edited) I have started to grow LW - I have always understood that LW was glacier slow in their growth and prone to all kinds of disease. I was very lucky to be told about Stone Eaters and after some reading and research on what stones I had access to I made up a suitable substrate. The growth, vigour and plumpness of my LW are nothing short of extraordinary. In less than one month my LWs have achieved measurable root growth and increases in diameters. One month ago they were replanted flush with the substrate now most are 6 to 10mm above the level of the substrate. As much you may fear not having organics in your substrate to nourish your cactus Stone are a concentrated source of nutrients for cacti purified and concentrated over hundreds of millions of years. Edited April 29, 2022 by Ishmael Fleishman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BushCactus Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 12/01/2015 at 5:38 PM, teonanacatl said: This quote is exactly why I love the work in this article. "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away" Antoine de Saint-Exupery perfect quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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