Bonsai Jack Soil mix

[Japonicus]

using the soil components on his website are any of you building your own soil? If so, what are you including/what percentages and why?

Mostly conifers for me, but I + an additional part of pine bark for maples.

1 part each - Pumice/Lava/Monto Clay/1/2 Pine bark + 1/2 Fir bark


Fir bark lasts longer and looks a lot better initially, but pine bark holds water sooner after potting.

NOTE: I already had enough pumice on hand before placing this order.

I'm using these components because for most of my needs, it most closely mimics
the soil I was used to purchasing years ago, from Bonsai Monk (less the akadama).
Bonsai Monk no longer ships their soil, or anything for that matter. Their online store is closed.

Anyone got a link please? Just to see what we in the UK are missing out on.

Bonsai Jack © – Ultra Premium Supplies

www.bonsaijack.com

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

We make all our own mixes. Then wash, heat to 400F, sift to size and recycle … almost everything. As Akadama wears down, it is replaced. Lava and pumice rarely if ever need to be replaced. Charcoal, bark or Biochar is added as needed.

Latest experiment… Kanuma is dried, sifted, rinsed, heated to 400F, sifted again to size andremove any foreign material then reused.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[FiestaRed]

Bonsai Jack © – Ultra Premium Supplies

www.bonsaijack.com

Thanks for the link, really appreciated.

 

[Maiden69]

Fir bark lasts longer and looks a lot better initially, but pine bark holds water sooner after potting.

Almost all bark will have a hard time retaining water initially. My trees were drying out too quickly when I bought my first bag of Jack's organic mix. I talked to Brent and he suggested that I slowly submerge the pot into the water until I see no bubbles coming out. That did the trick, I now water from the top until I see no sediments come out, then submerge the pot to ensure all the particles are thoroughly soaked.

 

[Srt8madness]

Thank you all for your replies. I will definitely try it out. The reason I have my trees in akadama mixes now, is that I wanted to have a baseline to compare as I try other things. I will say, that akadama appears to work very well to me. I have not seen that it slows down the growth of the tree. At least not in the size containers I have them in. I only use organic fertilizer twice a year. Once in the spring, then I cut back to two internodes once the trees have fully elongated. Then again in the fall. I will cut back again once the leaves fall. The tree below is a sango kaku on its own roots. The tallest of the shoots in the photo has grown 41 inches since June.View attachment 454204

My sango grew zero inches since June. Such are maples in Texas.

Bonsai jack mix is great, free shipping, second to none customer service. A nice alum chopstick with every order too.

 

[AcerAddict]

A nice alum chopstick with every order too.

I have so many of those things that I could start up my own sushi restaurant at this point.

 

[Japonicus]

Almost all bark will have a hard time retaining water initially. My trees were drying out too quickly when I bought my first bag of Jack's organic mix. I talked to Brent and he suggested that I slowly submerge the pot into the water until I see no bubbles coming out. That did the trick, I now water from the top until I see no sediments come out, then submerge the pot to ensure all the particles are thoroughly soaked.

Another way around that is soaking the bark in hot water for a spell, like 20 minutes
which primes the bark for immediate use,

 

[SC1989]

How do you all feel about the particle size? I have been mostly using small Akadama (up to 5 mm) which is considerably smaller than the particle size from bonsai Jack which I believe averages 1/4 (up to 3/8). Most of my trees are deciduous and are still being developed, but slowly in 12 x 11 grow boxes. I assume you guys aren’t having too much trouble with them drying out overly quickly. Several of my trees will need repotting this spring But I am not sure I can use akadama due to the cost. In 2020 I was purchasing bags from superfly bonsai for 31$ each they are now out of stock and listed at 60$. Of the 3.5 gallon bags at that time I was getting about 1 gallon of fines per bag. Just cant pay 60$ for 2.5 gallons of soil. Here’s a picture of one of my sharp pygme JapaneseView attachment 454086 maples as an example of where these trees are.

Did you buy the cheap "floor mix"? I got one bag on the cheap. It was small particle, but most of my trees are deciduous.

 

[b3bowen]

Ok another question. When I compare the organic mix to the inorganic mix. It looks like the organic and inorganic mix have basically been matched for water absorption and evaporation rates so I would think they would dry out at about the same rate. I know that bark has a high cation exchange capacity and better propensity for mycorrhizal growth, but have any of you compared growth of deciduous material between the two mediums. Why would you choose one or the other.

 

[Srt8madness]

Because some people like turface and others despise it

 

[Maiden69]

Ok another question. When I compare the organic mix to the inorganic mix. It looks like the organic and inorganic mix have basically been matched for water absorption and evaporation rates so I would think they would dry out at about the same rate. I know that bark has a high cation exchange capacity and better propensity for mycorrhizal growth, but have any of you compared growth of deciduous material between the two mediums. Why would you choose one or the other.

Organic mix will hold more water, for longer periods. Mycorrhiza can be cultivated in both, but you need to fertilize with organics in order to do so with an inorganic blend. @markyscott develop awesome mycorrhiza in his pines and he uses inorganic soil.

As far as deciduous trees, it all depends on how you feed them and water them. I think you can develop trees faster in organic material, this is why it is the go-to for nurseries where faster growth is desired versus tighter growth. The downfall is that when you use organics in a pot, you would have to repot often when compared with inorganics, as organic material will decompose and collapse, which is not a good thing for the roots.

Brent@everygreengardenworks - If the organic soil elements compost or decompose before the roots can completely colonize the pot, the soil collapses and loses its drainage and air spaces, and the root growth stops. If the roots fill the container first, the soil will not collapse because the roots will form a structure that will support the plant and the soil, and drainage will be maintained.

Some nice reading material.

Soils for Containers and Bonsai

Aging of Container Soils

Why the Earth Is Not Like a Pot