Anthony
Imperial Masterpiece
Oh so vulgar 
Akadama, Pumice with Humic & Fulvic acids
- Thread starter AutumnWolf13
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- fulvic acid humic
MrFancyPlants
Masterpiece
I thought it was climates that had a freeze/thaw cycle that would be worst for 100% akadama?
Waltron
Chumono
reid, curious to know what you do for water. hose? rain? filter?
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
People claim freeze/thaw cycles turn akadama to mush but I haven't seen evidence of that yet and I've been experimenting with it for about 3 years. We have a lot of freeze thaw cycles. I don't use 100% akadama for anything, generally use something similar to the Boon mix.
The issue I can see in Florida...akadama is highly water retentive. What does Florida get a lot of...rain. So, maybe too much water around the roots with 100% akadama.
quietobserver
Omono
I used to live in FL and believe there's validity to the fact that akadama likes to dry out a bit between water or it starts to break down more quickly based on my experience. Also notice a huge difference in akadama brands. A cheaper brand versus double red line or another better brand is like comparing oil and water.
Waltron
Chumono
wonder what Smoke's current philosophy on humic acid is after another season in the books? i tried it due to his logical reasoning he covered somewhere along the way.. certainly didn't hurt anything. I think it helped, but that's just my current thought on the topic with no hard evidence. I tried a product called humax, potent stuff. now ive read somewhere you can actually OD on humic acid. *cough mike cough* haha jk but somewhere i read a plant can od on HA, or maybe it said that too much HA caused some other problem i cant remember. now i see reid is saying its hog wash nonsense. I think smoke's idea was that it helps the plant uptake nutrients, in several ways but mainly increases the uptake via misting leafs.
akadama, well Dr soil mark scott has dropped a lot of knowledge on the subject. you should go read his soil thingy. my personal thought on akadama is that it is pretty good, not necessary, but its good shit. i think its great (in my application) for smaller trees, (due to cost) that are a bit finicky. main problem ive seen with it, is its very light weight. need a heavy pot, tree, or other additions. does hold a lot of water, does break down. does grow great roots.
akadama, well Dr soil mark scott has dropped a lot of knowledge on the subject. you should go read his soil thingy. my personal thought on akadama is that it is pretty good, not necessary, but its good shit. i think its great (in my application) for smaller trees, (due to cost) that are a bit finicky. main problem ive seen with it, is its very light weight. need a heavy pot, tree, or other additions. does hold a lot of water, does break down. does grow great roots.
parhamr
Omono
One hundred percent, quality Portland Municipal tap water from early 20th century piping.
Anthony
Imperial Masterpiece
Isn't Akadama, a material that is breaking down into pumice and clay ?
What happens when your tree ages and the core is filled with clay ---------- do you continue to
hose out the interior of the core ?
How many professionals have been growing their plants for say over 30 + years ?
Or do we ignore the Old Timers who may not have - well designed show material ---- but have
healthy trees ?
Would it not make sense to find the folk with say 50 to 60 years of growing healthy trees?
Just wondering.
Anthony
What happens when your tree ages and the core is filled with clay ---------- do you continue to
hose out the interior of the core ?
How many professionals have been growing their plants for say over 30 + years ?
Or do we ignore the Old Timers who may not have - well designed show material ---- but have
healthy trees ?
Would it not make sense to find the folk with say 50 to 60 years of growing healthy trees?
Just wondering.
Anthony
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
You took the words right out of my mouth.
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Whats akadama?
Vin
Imperial Masterpiece
HAHAHAHAHA!! Did you mean "What's" as in "What is"?
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Eric Group
Masterpiece
Vin
Imperial Masterpiece
Could be.. I was led to believe it was the be all and end ell of inorganic soil components. However, since it compacts so well it may be more suited to pave roads with.
Vin
Imperial Masterpiece
Since we're experiencing similar results, DE is not doing it for me either.
Eric Group
Masterpiece
Vin
Imperial Masterpiece
Ditto!
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
The only soil component I've used at 100% is pumice - have had a couple of collected trees that arrived in 100% pumice and they did great. I know every so often you'll hear about someone growing some species in 100% akadama (usually in Japan) and I did just pot up a couple of small air layers in 100% akadama, but for more established trees...100% of anything seems risky to me. What if you get a bad batch of akadama (too soft) for example, you could have a mess on your hands. Probably less of a problem if it is mixed with more stable components like pumice and lava.
Vin
Imperial Masterpiece
Before this thread started I had already decided to only use three and four component soil mixes for the next couple years and see how it goes.
parhamr
Omono
One important diatomaceous earth note is it's alkaline! I always add supplemental iron when my mix has a lot of DE.
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