Cheap premixed bonsai soil

I think certain types of people get real satisfaction out of the utmost precision in the things they do. I have no problem with that. It's just that , that level of precision is not always necessary for good performance. I really don't think it matters to a tree if the particle size varies by a couple of millimeters or so. Now, I think the smaller the container is, particle size does become more important.
 
So, to continue this thread -- at risk of greatly embarrassing myself -- my order from Bonsai Jack showed up the other day and the soil is wet. I've never received wet soil before and it's really pissing me off. Anyone else get wet soil from that vendor? How does one sift wet soil? Isn't there a risk of mold, etc., growing in the bags between now and when I end up using it? Or is it not a big deal?
 
Just spread the soil out on a board out of the rain and it should dry in a couple of days. I would think wet soil in an enclosed plastic bag would encourage mold.
 
LeftHandLuke said:
So, to continue this thread -- at risk of greatly embarrassing myself -- my order from Bonsai Jack showed up the other day and the soil is wet. I've never received wet soil before and it's really pissing me off. Anyone else get wet soil from that vendor? How does one sift wet soil? Isn't there a risk of mold, etc., growing in the bags between now and when I end up using it? Or is it not a big deal?
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I think it's reasonable to ask them to pick it up and resend the order..Dry! I wouldn't want to accept it!
 
My orders of bonsai jack sometimes come in with a Humidity factor to then. When something like this is shipped from Fla to my home in NC, when the temperature is 18-20 degrees and Florida’s temperature is in the 70 or higher I m not alarmed.

Again my soil form bonsai jack never arrives soaking wet.

Just my two cents.
 
LeftHandLuke said:
So, to continue this thread -- at risk of greatly embarrassing myself -- my order from Bonsai Jack showed up the other day and the soil is wet. I've never received wet soil before and it's really pissing me off. Anyone else get wet soil from that vendor? How does one sift wet soil? Isn't there a risk of mold, etc., growing in the bags between now and when I end up using it? Or is it not a big deal?
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Assuming that the substrate is just damp, not soaking wet, I would just get out a 5 gallon bucket, dump it from the bag into the bucket, and leave the bucket sitting uncovered in the basement or garage until it’s time to repot trees. With the low winter humidity in the air, it ought to dry out in a reasonable timeframe. This is what I do to dry out substrate when I’m repotting trees and recycling the old soil.
 
LeftHandLuke said:
So, to continue this thread -- at risk of greatly embarrassing myself -- my order from Bonsai Jack showed up the other day and the soil is wet. I've never received wet soil before and it's really pissing me off. Anyone else get wet soil from that vendor? How does one sift wet soil? Isn't there a risk of mold, etc., growing in the bags between now and when I end up using it? Or is it not a big deal?
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Do you really need to sift bonsai jack soil though? I would think it’s all presifted from jack.
 
shimbrypaku said:
My orders of bonsai jack sometimes come in with a Humidity factor to then. When something like this is shipped from Fla to my home in NC, when the temperature is 18-20 degrees and Florida’s temperature is in the 70 or higher I m not alarmed.

Again my soil form bonsai jack never arrives soaking wet.

Just my two cents.
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I got the same thing on the pumice and lava I ordered. Just condensation on the inside of the bag.
 
My orders from Bonsai Jack always has some moisture in it and the plastic bags have condensation. The soil itself is never wet to the degree that is alarming to me though. If yours is soaking wet or dripping, then I would contact them and ask for replacement or refund.
 
LeftHandLuke said:
So, to continue this thread -- at risk of greatly embarrassing myself -- my order from Bonsai Jack showed up the other day and the soil is wet. I've never received wet soil before and it's really pissing me off. Anyone else get wet soil from that vendor? How does one sift wet soil? Isn't there a risk of mold, etc., growing in the bags between now and when I end up using it? Or is it not a big deal?
Click to expand...

Wet is not good but not a big deal. Just open the bag, set aside, evaporation will dry the mix.

Sifting. One should always sift to remove fines before using. Especially if the moisture content has changed, meaning the mix was allowed to dry further, more fine dust will fall off the particles. Always sift before using.

Nothing wrong with Bonsai Jack's mix.

I have raised orchids for many, many years, so I always have a range of components on hand to make my own mixes. Nothing magic, and not that hard to do. @LeftHandLuke - you are in Ohio, you should be able to source your own supplies, if time is not an issue. Check out Robert's Flower Supply, http://www.orchidmix.com/ he has orchid bark, horticultural charcoal and several sizes of perlite, and coconut coir chunks. All are useful. He is in Columbia Station Ohio, 44028 - I don't know how far that is from you, you might be able to save on shipping. Robert's ships thru the lower 48 states.

The Columbus and the Cleveland Bonsai Societies may have leads on where to pick up pumice, in order to get away from dealing with perlite. I went in on a 3 pallet order of pumice that delivered to a Milwaukee Bonsai Society member (Ron F for those of you local who want to buy some). So by pooling resources, harder to source inexpensively materials can be had. This is the real advantage of joining a local bonsai club, even if it is an hour drive away.
 
That video is serious! Wow☺️
Rather than welding and electrical (respect), I’ve considered what I’ve seen before of making a wide box with screen(s) at the bottom that can suspend at four points from a branch significantly increasing the surface area of a standard sifter from a secure movable point that could even be clipped into for portability etc. Thinking large enough to process a two cubic ft. bag in one go…?

Regarding purchasing premixed soil that is wet, sure that’s odd, but isn’t the goal to never let it completely dry out in use? Furthermore, if you are going to process a bag of some pine or fir bark, even if there has been a drought it’s gonna be wet to some degree -gotta let it breathe, feels better to say cure😂.

Never had a problem with pathogens from wet soil from a bag or a bucket or any such containers…I could be wrong, though I believe the non-beneficial bacteria or fungi that you should be worried about are not going to be loving the plastic or whatever container as it’s niche, it’s the soil itself to worry about.. I reuse soil, have again and again. If there’s a rare problem, be rid of it.

A bag of bone dry soil from a nursery or garden center is a rare thing, I’d be less suspect of a bag of wet rocks.
 
While it might be nice to go through couple bags of soil components in a few minutes, I actually like sifting soil. It's kind of relaxing and gives me time to think about all the trees I'll be repotting with this batch.
 
I've ordered from Bonsai Jack multiple times and try to buy in bulk. When I do, it comes out to less than $10/gallon if one buys 28 gallons. The price is right for me, especially since I don't have to mix my own. The soil I received from them wasn't wet, but there was definitely humidity in the bag. This hasn't been a problem at all. As for sifting Bonsai Jack soil, I've been sifting tons of it in anticipation of repotting. They do a good job with pre-sifting it, but things happen in transit etc. and each 3.5 gallon bag produced about a handful of fine particles. I'm very happy with them and will continue to order.
 
namnhi said:
You sift Bonsai Jack premixed? WOW sounds like you have a lot of free time.
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LOL. Probably not needed, but winter simply refuses to go away here and I am bored as hell and starring at my trees with evil intent. Soon I will begin measuring individual pieces of soil.
 
Joe Dupre' said:
Not much if you have just a few trees. I have about 70 trees total. Most of them use between 1 and 2 gallons of soil........some MUCH more. I just can't see spending $1000 a year on soil. Yeah, fewer better trees would help, but that's not what I'm interested in.
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Do you sift the NAPA oil dry or Safety Sorb? If you do, what mesh size do you use?
 
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