Akadama

D

Diane Lund

Seedling
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Location
Philomath, Oregon
Regarding Akadama, we've been importing akadama direct from the double red line manufacturer for at least 7 years.

Our recent shipment from Japan of akadama was held up by the United States Department of Agriculture for an inspection. They found organic material in the akadama such as root fibers and will not allow the shipment in. It has to be destroyed or returned. It remains to be seen whether it will ever be clean enough for the USDA to allow it to be imported again.

We are researching options for replacement products. Kiryu is one possibility. Some people use Turface as an akadama substitute and some use bark. What else is being used? Thanks Diane, Wee Tree Farm
 
Diane Lund said:
Regarding Akadama, we've been importing akadama direct from the double red line manufacturer for at least 7 years.

Our recent shipment from Japan of akadama was held up by the United States Department of Agriculture for an inspection. They found organic material in the akadama such as root fibers and will not allow the shipment in. It has to be destroyed or returned. It remains to be seen whether it will ever be clean enough for the USDA to allow it to be imported again.

We are researching options for replacement products. Kiryu is one possibility. Some people use Turface as an akadama substitute and some use bark. What else is being used? Thanks Diane, Wee Tree Farm
Click to expand...


HA! Told you all that akadama is organic. People just thought I was a crazy ole coot. That is why the Japanese have been putting "PUMICE" on the bag for two decades. I can't believe we got away with importing dirt into the USA for fifty years.

There is no replacement product, here or in Japan.
 
Any Kiryu I've seen is river sand...it won't act like akadama in a pot, no retentive qualities to speak of. But it is beautiful as a top dressing.
 
The harder material is fired to a high temperature and that should neutralize any weird stuff that could be hitch hiking in it. I'd be asking the Agriculture Inspector at the port it was turned away from if heat doesn't denature it. You should have no trouble getting a certificate from your supplier stating the temperature it was exposed to.
 
Could it be quarantined for a length of time like imported trees, and then released for sale? Seems like the akadama users would have a hard time replacing it. If Cali-dama would become available and reasonably priced, I might give that a try.

Hi Diane!
 
Diane Lund said:
Regarding Akadama, we've been importing akadama direct from the double red line manufacturer for at least 7 years.

Our recent shipment from Japan of akadama was held up by the United States Department of Agriculture for an inspection. They found organic material in the akadama such as root fibers and will not allow the shipment in. It has to be destroyed or returned. It remains to be seen whether it will ever be clean enough for the USDA to allow it to be imported again.

We are researching options for replacement products. Kiryu is one possibility. Some people use Turface as an akadama substitute and some use bark. What else is being used? Thanks Diane, Wee Tree Farm
Click to expand...


This does not sound good! I’m sorry to hear. However, there has to be other ways of importing it. I would think that whether they allow it or not depends greatly on who is working at the time-might be different if it’s imported to another state or something like that. Listening to the people I really respect and from my experience with Turface, there is no good substitute for Akadama currently available for purchase. I have also heard from those same people that there is Akadama(a volcanic product) that there are sources in the U.S. However, it would be a huge project for someone to actually process and begin selling it.
 
Last edited:
I received this in an email from the Monastery Bonsai shop
"We're celebrating spring by rolling back the prices on Akadama! The Double Line Brand is reduced 20% to $44.00 and the Red and Green bag is reduced 15% to $29.75. "

Of course you still have to pay shipping unless you live nearby as I do,

Frank
 
"This does not sound good! I’m sorry to hear. However, there has to be other ways of importing it. I would think that whether they allow it or not depends greatly on who is working at the time-might be different if it’s imported to another state or something like that."

Importation depends on federal law, not state. All imported goods come through federal ports of entry.

Interesting that they turned this shipment around, yet obviously others are getting through. I know that some akadama is fired, some is not. Depends on the "grade." Quarrantine doesn't seem to be an option to me, since seeds and other no-no's can remain dormant in soil for decades...
 
The only reason that I thought quarantine would be a possibility, is the fact that they do allow imported trees to enter with those restrictions in place...
 
rockm said:
"This does not sound good! I’m sorry to hear. However, there has to be other ways of importing it. I would think that whether they allow it or not depends greatly on who is working at the time-might be different if it’s imported to another state or something like that."

Importation depends on federal law, not state. All imported goods come through federal ports of entry.

Interesting that they turned this shipment around, yet obviously others are getting through. I know that some akadama is fired, some is not. Depends on the "grade." Quarrantine doesn't seem to be an option to me, since seeds and other no-no's can remain dormant in soil for decades...
Click to expand...

From my feeble memory. Double Red Line Akadama is fired or heated to 800° C. That will kill any organism in it.

Again, the importer needs to have a conversation with the Dept. of Agriculture supervisor at the port of entry. Find out if their regulations recognize this and then get a certificate from the shipper who gets a certificate from the manufacturer that states the heat treatment. The stuff is well sterilized and I don't think it needs to be destroyed. The key is to be humble and try and get the order reversed. Don't know how far the importer is from the port, but if they use a Customs House Broker for importation that Broker can have the conversation with Dept. of Ag rep on behalf of the importer. I wouldn't let this go if it were my investment.

BTW, the shipper should have offered and provided the certificate up front. It should have been attached to the shipping documents. If it had been Agriculture would have had it in hand when the shipment landed.
 
Last edited:
Diane Lund said:
Regarding Akadama, we've been importing akadama direct from the double red line manufacturer for at least 7 years.

Our recent shipment from Japan of akadama was held up by the United States Department of Agriculture for an inspection. They found organic material in the akadama such as root fibers and will not allow the shipment in. It has to be destroyed or returned. It remains to be seen whether it will ever be clean enough for the USDA to allow it to be imported again.

We are researching options for replacement products. Kiryu is one possibility. Some people use Turface as an akadama substitute and some use bark. What else is being used? Thanks Diane, Wee Tree Farm
Click to expand...

Permatil is a substitute but not the same. It is an expanded shale product mined and processed in North Carolina. There may be equals to it on the West Coast. Do a web search for Permatil and you'll find it.

It being produced in North Carolina makes shipping costs a whole lot less expensive in bulk than Akadama, even if you are on the West Coast.
 
From:

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Circular
Q-330.300-1
Soil (01/2010) Revised


How is soil packaged for movement from point of origin to its US destination, and subsequently treated?
Soil must be shipped in a securely closed, watertight or leak-proof container (primary container, test tube, vial, etc.) which must be enclosed in a second, durable watertight or leak-proof container (secondary container). Each container must be able to contain the soil independently. Three categories of treatments are authorized for soil: (1) Dry heat at 250o F. for at least two hours, or (2) Steam heat at the same temperature for 30 minutes at 15 lbs/p.s.i. pressure, or
(3) Other treatments and conditions such as: (a) destructive analysis, (b) acid washing, (c) hydroclave, and (d) incineration. Under facility specific conditions, small amounts of soil in water may be flushed into sewage drains if the water is processed in a tertiary treatment system, (such as a municipal sewage system).

Soil from all foreign countries, U.S. territories and areas within states that are under Federal quarantine can be moved into or through the continental US only if conditions and safeguards prescribed by the US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) are met.

NOTE: All shipments may be inspected at a US port to identify the material and verify it is free of pests and prohibited contaminants. A shipment may be refused entry or require treatment based upon inspection findings.

This is the USDA publication on importation of soil products. I think Wee Tree Farm needs to have some further conversations.

What this publication tells you is that soil products can have contaminants in it. That there is a way to make them harmless. And that specified treatment makes it acceptable to import into the US.

I used to handle importation and exportation of all manner of products and have dealt with similar issues before. You should have an 80 ton piece of all stainless steel machinery held by USDA because they want to look for bugs.

There are reasonable people at the ports and their goal is not to prevent you from getting your imports, their job is to make sure you do.

Again, Wee Tree Farm needs to have some conversations.

From a web site of a seller of Double Red Line Akadama:

This is burned by 850°C for app. 30minutes. Because of this process, the Burned Akadama is very clean and the plants can grow in very healthy earth.
 
Last edited:
Thank you for the info. It is my understanding that Double Red Line comes from one manufacturer. Any importer of Double Red Line will get the same product. Is this not true? Is your Double Red Line heat treated? Thanks, Diane
 
The Double Red Line that we have been importing for years is not heat treated. I don't know of a Double Red Line that is heat treated. Does anyone seeing this import a Double Red Line that is heat treated?
 
"The only reason that I thought quarantine would be a possibility, is the fact that they do allow imported trees to enter with those restrictions in place..."

Depending on the species, the trees are required to be bare rooted at import with no soil remaining on the roots...


BTW, I've used permatill. It's OK, but it is COARSE with a lot of large grains. It is also no longer called Permatill (from what I can tell the Permatill web site has been hacked and compromised). The product is now called "VoleBloc" and is aimed not so much at soil amendments, as rodent control. The wee beasties don't like to burrow through it as it cuts their widdle paws.
http://www.permatill.com/home-garden-products.php?cat=10
 
I don't think quarantine would work. The organic materials have to be removed. I have to look into Cali-dama. Last time I checked no one was interested in producing large enough quantities.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Asymetrix
Akadama question regarding particle size.
Replies
3
Views
151
pandacular
pandacular
Japonicus
Akadama - 2 or 3 line, small or medium
Replies
5
Views
365
Japonicus
Japonicus
BillsBayou
Mexadama vs Akadama (The dark horse vs The gold standard)
Replies
15
Views
619
Desert O'Piñon
Desert O'Piñon
Attmos
Akadama Water Loss
Replies
18
Views
669
Deep Sea Diver
Deep Sea Diver
D
Question About Using Sphagnum Moss and Akadama for Forest Raft Composition
Replies
3
Views
496
Deleted member 47471
D
Back
Top Bottom