Akadama lava pumice 111

[JudyB]

but I have not opened it to check how much harder it is than the regular akadama.

Could you maybe? Enquiring minds want to know....

 

[Erndogy]

Could you maybe? Enquiring minds want to know....

JudyB,
This is embarrassing,.

When I got home from work this morning I saw your post so I said "what the heck", now I was curious too. It looks like I remembered wrong! Again..

It looks like I have a bag of some large akadama but it is not the hard stuff. The hard stuff comes in a bag that looks different from the regular stuff.

Here is a pic of both


Here is a size comparison


And the bigger akadama seems to crumble just as easily as the smaller akadama.


Sorry about that. Hopefully some one else can give you a better description of the hard akadama.

I also don't remember what size the smaller stuff is but the bigger stuff I don't think is the medium on the HOB website.

Ernie

 

[nathanbs]

These are some pictures I just took in the dark of tridents, IN FULL SUN still pushing new red growth on Sept. 25 with a few months still to go till significant cooling.

Anyone that grows trident, and I mean lots of tridents understands that tridents push red growth in the spring turning to green and then later on in late spring and summer will produce new growth that is significantly green. It is not untill the fall spring here that the tridents begin to again push new red growth. It is a pleasing sight from the past hot summer.


Cheers all.

The last few months have been pretty crappy here. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer three weeks ago, and will undergo a single mastectomy next Tuesday. I was in the Emergency room last Sat. with 8 Kidney stones. The largest was equivilent to three grains of rice. THATS HUGE!! I suffer with the stones constantly and pass around 5 to 8 about every two years. I'll update on my wife next week.

keep your chin up and thank goodness you have such a wonderful passion as bonsai to distract you slightly during this rough time. I thought i had it bad with only a couple stones in my life, now I feel grateful I dont have it bad like you. Wish you and your wife well. The stones explain why you can get especially crabby from time to time

 

[nathanbs]

I'm out in Ontario. Would it be possible for me to get some when you get some if it costs about the same as akadama? That's if it's not any trouble. I get my akadama at HOB. Its the only place around here I know has it.

Thanks

Ernie

ill PM you his phone number. He usually comes down for bonsai-a-thon in february.

 

[Vance Wood]

Get well Al, and your wife too. I wish there was something more comforting or profound to say at this point. Sometimes the road ahead becomes less smooth as I recently found out for myself.

 

[Poink88]

The last few months have been pretty crappy here. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer three weeks ago, and will undergo a single mastectomy next Tuesday. I was in the Emergency room last Sat. with 8 Kidney stones. The largest was equivilent to three grains of rice. THATS HUGE!! I suffer with the stones constantly and pass around 5 to 8 about every two years. I'll update on my wife next week.

Very sorry to hear that. Hope she recovers fast.

 

[Smoke]

Thanks all for the well wishes. My wife is in good spirits as one can be under the circumstances. She has made her decisions with help from the surgeon and that is OK by me. This has to be something she is comfortable with and not be distracted by even a husband. This is just a small hiccup in our vacation plans for this year but there is always next year, and if she heal quickly we might even make it this year since the Eagles come to Northern Califonia during winter to roost. My wife follows all the Eagle cams and loves the raptors. It was here dream to head to the Klamath Basin, on the California-Oregon border. Best time is DEC. to March, so maybe we can still make it.

Get well Al, and your wife too. I wish there was something more comforting or profound to say at this point. Sometimes the road ahead becomes less smooth as I recently found out for myself.

Thanks, Profound, I think you have sold yourself short. When the time is right I will spring forth with the Official Vance Wood Quotes Page. I think it is up to about 4 pages now.

 

[Vance Wood]

Thanks all for the well wishes. My wife is in good spirits as one can be under the circumstances. She has made her decisions with help from the surgeon and that is OK by me. This has to be something she is comfortable with and not be distracted by even a husband. This is just a small hiccup in our vacation plans for this year but there is always next year, and if she heal quickly we might even make it this year since the Eagles come to Northern Califonia during winter to roost. My wife follows all the Eagle cams and loves the raptors. It was here dream to head to the Klamath Basin, on the California-Oregon border. Best time is DEC. to March, so maybe we can still make it.



Thanks, Profound, I think you have sold yourself short. When the time is right I will spring forth with the Official Vance Wood Quotes Page. I think it is up to about 4 pages now.

It sounds like you and I are chewing on similar grit, vacation time too. I hope the two of you can make the Klamath Basin as is your dream. Sometimes something like this can have healing properties. I believe it was John Muir who latter in his life decided to take up farming and started a health decline until he finally decided to run off to the Mountains again.

 

[Vance Wood]

I truly do hope you and your wife recover and prosper, and be able to complete your vacation.

At times like this I am always awestruck at how much pain and damage we can cause and inflict by a simple word said in error or out of spite;-- or--- how little healing and comfort we can provide at times when we desperately wish to do so. I wish I could help to not only make you feel better but make you well. I guess you will just have to settle with the fact that I desire it to be so.

 

[cmeg1]

Well it seems I am liking the medium grade and the small grade soft akadama.The pots I am growing in are only around an inch actually.It seems alright with a double layer thing.the topmost layer is the small grade( after I screen the really small particles out).Just a quarter inch of it cause' it is really water retentive.it proved to be essential cause' without it ,they start drying around 2:30pm.I am going to moniter this small pot of akadama and see what it is like watering in the winter,like how often.It actually would seem better in some respects cause' The excess water would drain away quicker which is important to me in winter when I water.I am probably going to try it with three trees first and see how it goes.Maybe all of them.If I cannot keep it watered I can always just slip pot into colanders with my usual potting soil and aggregate blend.It is almost tempting to do that anyway cause' it has proved to be very beneficial to my elm tree.The tree is just thriving,as long as it is in a colander cause' the potting soil and aggregate blend does not do well in deeper bonsai pots.Just colanders.I bought some 111 akadama,lava,pumice,but I did not really like it as it really had some smal particles in it and I did not have a screen that small.I am going to keep it though.I may pot the elm in straight soft akadama in a large bonsai pot.The larger particles I screened out of the medium bag.I believe that elm will handle anything I throw at it.Or it may just get repotted in the colander again with potting soil,and aggregate.The colanders are great for growing out trees.I use 2/3rd ocean forest potting soil and 1/3rd lightweight aggregate.It is tempting to just grow out my trees in colanders till' I retire in twenty years.Talk about easy root pruning.Here is pictures of the elm after root pruning in spring and now.I fed it Earth Juice fertilizer.

 

[JudyB]

Can you take a quick pic of the two sizes for comparison, pretty please? Maybe with a ruler?

 

[cmeg1]

Sure,Judy. Here is a pic of the medium then the small.You end up getting two sizes in each grade.In each grade you get more of the bigger particles.The small really hold on to moisture.It makes a great top layer,for me.

 

[cmeg1]

I was considering using the small for just a thin top layer since it is way too water holding,but I wonder how it does in a small 8" colander 100%.I know from experience in a colander the water evaporation is completely faster.If it is acceptable I am going to pot all my trees in colanders with akadama.Probably consider a harder drainage layer just in case these small particles break down on the bottom.

 

[cmeg1]

I won't be able to keep soft akadama in a colander.Way too much aeration ,even with a top layer of white sphagnum.The shallow bonsai pots did great.Only about an inch deep of soil with a white sphagnum 1/4" top layer.medium grade on the bottom with small grade on top.Although the soft akadama works great in bonsai pots,I have decided to use my mix of potting soil and dyna rok and plant everything in colanders.I have learned that this mix will do great in a colander.I am still going to keep the shallow pot of soft akadama and take care of it over the winter to see what it is like for when I finally consider actual bonsai pots.

 

[JudyB]

Thanks for taking the time to document how this worked out for you cmeg! And thanks for the photos...

 

[Erndogy]

House of Bonsai

So ever since the other day when I commented on this thread I had been thinking of going to HOB and was finally able to go today. (I was just looking for any excuse to go)

I double checked the sizes of akadama I posted pics of and found that the two sizes I posted are the small and medium just as cmeg posted. I compared the size of the balls from my bag and the bags she has on her shelves and noticed the ones from my bag seem to be made up mostly of those on the larger side. Vicky told me that some batches seem to be mostly on the larger size and some not so large.

I was not able to check the hardness of the hard-baked akadama but Vicky describes it as hard as a rock and only really only recommends it for use in places that receive a lot of rain and very good drainage is needed. But, as we all know, soil is one of those subjects everyone seems to have a different opinion on and what type of ingredients go into is a personal choice a lot of the times. So since people ask for it she sells it. She has a list of mixes recommended for conifers and deciduous trees as well as an organic mix.

There is a bonsai swapmeet taking place there on Nov 9th and 10th. just thought I'd pass it along. Details are on the events page.

So since I was there I ended up picking up a couple trees. A cork bark oak and a JBP. I will post pics in their respective threads tomorrow after I take some pictures of them.

Ernie