After sifting soil, do you use the fines for anything?

[KennedyMarx]

I recently sifted a couple bags of soil mix ingredients and am left with a large plastic storage container nearly full (after throwing out almost another full container). Is there anything that you guys use them for? I figured I could put them on Craigslist's free section if they actually had any use. It feels a bit silly to just throw them out if they do have some use. Maybe they'd be ok to root cuttings in?

 

[JudyB]

If its turface, you could use it for what it's designed for, as a soil conditioner, that's what I do with mine. Good for lawn or garden.

 

[Gene Deci]

When I have really small accessory plants and pots it makes good soil. Also I occasionally use it as top dressing in bare spaces around the moss for trees that are going to be shown. It looks nicer than the ordinary course mix.

 

[Lancaster]

Kennedy - That is exactly what I use it for, cuttings.

Seedlings grow great in this sized stuff, and you can always use it for mame sized plants...

 

[HotAction]

You sift soil? I mix turface, chicken grit, and about 10% anything organic into a big tub. No sifting. This is for anything that is not in a Bonsai pot. Most of your trees should not be in Bonsai pots. For your nice trees. (these are the ones that cost several hundreds of dollars). Buy some good Bonsai soil.

Dave

 

[dpowell]

I use them for rooting cuttings and filling in holes the dogs dig.

 

[Fangorn]

You sift soil? I mix turface, chicken grit, and about 10% anything organic into a big tub. No sifting. This is for anything that is not in a Bonsai pot. Most of your trees should not be in Bonsai pots. For your nice trees. (these are the ones that cost several hundreds of dollars). Buy some good Bonsai soil.

Dave

I make my own soil because of my nicer trees. I like to know what goes into it and the control the percentages of the ingredients. The only time I can see me not making my own is when sifting it gets to be too much for the old back.

I use my fines for adding to potting soil for our flower boxes and adding it to my vegetable to loosen up the soil

 

[jk_lewis]

Buy some good Bonsai soil.

I don't spend money on "dirt."

Besides, what is "good" bonsai soil. I use a different mixture for almost every species of tree I have.

 

[mrcasey]

As an experiment, I planted a shimpaku juniper in left over fines. The fines are comprised of pine bark mulch, crushed granite, and turface. To be honest, I can’t tell any difference between the health and vigor of this shimpaku and that of my others growing in regular mix. The tree has been in a 2 gallon pot in this mixture for 2 years.

Granted, this could say more about my gardening abilities than appropriate soil granule size…


Casey

 

[Brian Underwood]

I use it to grow moss. Put it in a blender with a good amount of your favorite moss and a can of beer and blend til smooth. Then, spread it with a putty knife on a few cement slabs or bricks and set in a shallow pan or dish of water. I like to cover everything with a clear plastic tub so it still gets light but the mixture isn't washed away by rain. When the moss grows, you will have PERFECT sheets to simply scrape off and apply to bonsai soil for shows.

 

[KennedyMarx]

You sift soil? I mix turface, chicken grit, and about 10% anything organic into a big tub. No sifting. This is for anything that is not in a Bonsai pot. Most of your trees should not be in Bonsai pots. For your nice trees. (these are the ones that cost several hundreds of dollars). Buy some good Bonsai soil.

Dave

It's hard to tell from the picture, but there are a lot of sand sized particles in with the larger ones. I think it would clog the drainage in the bottom of the pot if I didn't screen the smaller pieces out, or at least lead to worse drainage and less air to the roots.

All of my trees are in little training pots, save for one that needed an emergency repotting a few days ago. They all need a lot of growth and development still.

I think I'll stick to mixing my own soil. For one it saves so much money, especially considering the fact that any bonsai soil I could buy would have to be online, as well as allowing me to tailor the mix to my specific environment and trees.

 

[lordy]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but there are a lot of sand sized particles in with the larger ones. I think it would clog the drainage in the bottom of the pot if I didn't screen the smaller pieces out, or at least lead to worse drainage and less air to the roots.

All of my trees are in little training pots, save for one that needed an emergency repotting a few days ago. They all need a lot of growth and development still.

I think I'll stick to mixing my own soil. For one it saves so much money, especially considering the fact that any bonsai soil I could buy would have to be online, as well as allowing me to tailor the mix to my specific environment and trees.

AND you should still sift what you buy for the purpose of getting the powder out. It WILL clog the soil to obstruct air and water from circulating.
When I separate Turface into various sizes I toss most of the small stuff onto my lawn, the neediest areas getting the lion's share. Like Judy sez: that's what it's for. If you dont want to do that, find a baseball field. That's what it was developed for.

 

[monza]

After starting a thread here regarding sifting and the answers I got back, I also stopped sifting.
All the fines will wash out.

If you do keep the fines I've heard it's good for making a 'slurry' for edges on tray or flat surface planting- pots with out edges? I'm sure there's a name for them I cant recall.

 

[GrimLore]

I use it to grow moss. Put it in a blender with a good amount of your favorite moss and a can of beer and blend til smooth. Then, spread it with a putty knife on a few cement slabs or bricks and set in a shallow pan or dish of water. I like to cover everything with a clear plastic tub so it still gets light but the mixture isn't washed away by rain. When the moss grows, you will have PERFECT sheets to simply scrape off and apply to bonsai soil for shows.

Drink the Beer and use Buttermilk

 

[Brian Underwood]

OR, drink one and use one for moss. Beer smells far better than buttermilk after a few days...

 

[KennedyMarx]

I just remembered this thread and thought I'd update it with what I decided to do with the fines. I didn't have any landscaping use for it, but realized that it would make a fine "amendment" to mix in with the cat litter at my girlfriend's house. I've got so many fines after sifting all of my soil ingredients that I think I can delay purchasing any new cat litter for the foreseeable future.

 

[fourteener]

Break up my clay

Not sure what your smallest size screen is. Anything smaller than my smallest screen is used in my flower beds to amend my nasty, worthless, life-sucking clay in my flowerbeds.

 

[Poink88]

Not sure what your smallest size screen is.

Yep. Try using window screen as sieve and just remove the finest pieces. It should be minimal.

I am new so I do not even sift my soil yet but will do the above when I am ready. JMHO.

 

[Vance Wood]

I make my own soil because of my nicer trees. I like to know what goes into it and the control the percentages of the ingredients. The only time I can see me not making my own is when sifting it gets to be too much for the old back.

I use my fines for adding to potting soil for our flower boxes and adding it to my vegetable to loosen up the soil

You can also spread it in shallow containers and grow moss for your trees.

As a side comment about buying bonsai soil. I suppose you can do what you want and what makes you feel comfortable but as for me I make my own bonsai soil for everything. Why would someone want to make themselves, and their premium trees, dependent on the work of someone else, trusting them that they know more about your trees' needs than you, shows a lack of understanding about what's going on. If I found myself in this position I would quickly remedy the situation.

 

[daytona1911]

I use it as granular material in my driveway, in my garden mixed in with my compost, in my chicken coop to freshen the top dressing, in my mist bed to grow moss spores,under and between my walkway bricks as a fill and to settle them. I also use it in my penjing displays between the moss/ water areas to function as a "sand" element and give the moss a place to fill up to.
Ill also screen it one more time with 32nd to get really nice fines for shohin top dressing and seedling top level germinations.