Peat,sand and loam

[cmeg1]

Does anyone use peat,sand and loam as bonsai soil.Now that I have a rain shelter,I am reconsidering the idea.Peter Chan suggests it in his semi-recent book 'Choosing and Growing Bonsai.'I mixed some up and it don't look too bad.Deciduous is 1-1-1 and pines and junipers is 2sand-1-1.I used the fine dyna-rok,potting soil,and the loam(dirt) as he suggests that finely chopped bark or garden compost can be substituted for the peat(hence the potting soil).I am thinking about trying it in shallow pots with zelkova I have and am growing.I feel more comfortable with a rain shelter in cold months and I see Peter shows pictures of them in his book 'Choosing and Growing...'.Here are the pictures of it as I am mixing it now to observe it under my rain shelter for rest of winter into spring.The one on the left is the deciduous mix.I really just want to know if anyone uses it.I imagine full of roots it would be even better.

 

[jk_lewis]

"Loam" is more than "dirt." Look it up.

 

[Stan Kengai]

It looks alright on the top, but where did the loam (soil) and potting soil fines go? They are more than likely in the bottom of the pot making a muddy mess. Keep watering this for a month, then scoop the substrate out to the bottom of the pot.

There are so many threads on here about planting media. I don't know why everyone wants to reinvent the wheel. I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to save you some time and heartache. Nothing smaller than 1/16" in a bonsai pot.

 

[KennedyMarx]

Seems like a pretty old school approach to soil versus using almost completely inorganic like most people are doing now. I would be worried about the soil staying too moist.