Shinjuku
Mame
As most of us know, pumice can often be a great part of a soil mix, but it can sometimes be hard to find locally. I've found a local, cheap source for pumice - Dry Stall. It's been mentioned in the forums before, but I wanted to share some more details about it.
Dry Stall is sold in 40 pound bags. It looks like this:
The bag says that it "Reduces Thrush." I don't know what thrush is, but it sounds nasty, so I'm hoping that it will keep that nasty thrush away from my trees.
It's sold in Feed Stores. These are stores that sell food and supplies for horses, chickens, goats, etc. Apparently, Dry Stall is sold as an alternative to hay for horse bedding in stalls. The pumice absorbs water in the floor of the stall, and I guess horses like a dry floor. I like a dry floor too, so I can see why horses would like it.
After I sifted the fines out, here are all the fines that I got out of a 40 pound bag. I didn't weigh it, but by eyeballing it, I would guess that it's 5-10%. Not bad.
The particles are pretty small, which is nice. Here's a close-up of the particle size.
At my local feed store, it sells for $15 a bag. Very nice. I've used this for a lot of my trees, and I'm happy with it.
If you want to find it local to you, there seems to be a couple of options. First, you could call your local feed store to see if they carry it. Be sure to ask for "Dry Stall" and not "Stall Dry." That's a completely different product that's not pumice. If your local feed store doesn't have it, you can call Dry Stall HQ at 949-493-7825. Your mileage may vary, but when I called them, they gave me the name and address of a local feed store that sells it just about 5 miles away. The company is based in southern California, but the woman said that they had "pretty good distribution across much of the US." Not sure exactly what that means, but I took it that they must sell it in at least 3-4 other stores too, maybe more.
Anyway, I've been happy with it, and I just wanted to pass along the tip in case it helps other people. No hating on me if they don't distribute this in your area.
Dry Stall is sold in 40 pound bags. It looks like this:
The bag says that it "Reduces Thrush." I don't know what thrush is, but it sounds nasty, so I'm hoping that it will keep that nasty thrush away from my trees.
It's sold in Feed Stores. These are stores that sell food and supplies for horses, chickens, goats, etc. Apparently, Dry Stall is sold as an alternative to hay for horse bedding in stalls. The pumice absorbs water in the floor of the stall, and I guess horses like a dry floor. I like a dry floor too, so I can see why horses would like it.
After I sifted the fines out, here are all the fines that I got out of a 40 pound bag. I didn't weigh it, but by eyeballing it, I would guess that it's 5-10%. Not bad.
The particles are pretty small, which is nice. Here's a close-up of the particle size.
At my local feed store, it sells for $15 a bag. Very nice. I've used this for a lot of my trees, and I'm happy with it.
If you want to find it local to you, there seems to be a couple of options. First, you could call your local feed store to see if they carry it. Be sure to ask for "Dry Stall" and not "Stall Dry." That's a completely different product that's not pumice. If your local feed store doesn't have it, you can call Dry Stall HQ at 949-493-7825. Your mileage may vary, but when I called them, they gave me the name and address of a local feed store that sells it just about 5 miles away. The company is based in southern California, but the woman said that they had "pretty good distribution across much of the US." Not sure exactly what that means, but I took it that they must sell it in at least 3-4 other stores too, maybe more.
Anyway, I've been happy with it, and I just wanted to pass along the tip in case it helps other people. No hating on me if they don't distribute this in your area.
