Last year, I read (somewhere -- this is the problem with having
too much bonsai reading material, finding something again ;-)
that a good way to get rid of the limy deposits around pot rims
is to bury the pot for a year or so.

So I did.

The year was up day before yesterday (but since we had a big
storm here yesterday in which I lost the top 1/3 of a 100-foot
pine out in the pasture, my report got delayed a day or so).

In short, it seems to work, though I won't call the findings
definitive yet.

I buried (in one of my large grow boxes where assorted cuttings,
seedlings, and other "stuff" also live) two small (mame/small
shohin size) pots that had heavy deposits of lime around the pot
rims. Both pots were blue, with a gloss glaze -- but one of them
was quite a bit shinier than the other, which was almost a velvet
matte gloss. The insides were unglazed. Both are of Chinese
manufacture -- I think, though the matte pot may be Japanese.

The soil was quite heavy -- a mixture of various old bonsai soils
and horse-manure compost that I use in my grow beds (which get
almost NO fertilizer over the years). After a few years, the
compost breaks down into a very mucky substance. This was my
oldest grow box, and is so rotted now, that it will be "retired"
this year. Anyway, this was real goop that these pots were
buried in. (Growing around them were a dozen azalea cuttings (now
in pots) two dozen bald cypress cuttings (ditto), several large
buttonbush cuttings (undecided), two small black cherry trees,
and a BUNCH of privet cuttings that I don't know what I'm going
to do with.

As I said, the calcium deposits on these pots were heavy -- very
unsightly.

Results: The pot with the semi-gloss, matte-like finish still
has signs of calcium in a few spots around the rim. The bottom
(unglazed, outside and inside) still has quite a bit of calcium.
But the pot is in useable (and showable) condition.

The high-gloss pot is virtually calcium free on the glazed
portions. Again, there still are signs of calcium on the
unglazed portions.

I suspect that if I had left them in the soil for 18 months, the
calcium on the glazed parts of both pots would be gone.

I'm going to expand and extend the experiment this year, using
two brown, matte-finish, pots (much larger) that are caked with
several years' worth of calcium magnesium carbonate (which is
what my well water leaves behind when it evaporates) deposits. I
will bury them in my FRESH compost pile and let them ferment as
the compost ferments, unveiling them a year from this week (or
whenever I get them buried). Look for another report then.

Meanwhile, it seems possible to me that glazed pots can be
decalcified by burying them in soil and leaving them there for a
year or so. Since I have never found any of the home remedies
that makes a dent on the stuff that cakes pots around here (and
I've tried them all!), I plan on having pots buried in my grow
boxes on a regular basis from now on.

I will be watching to see if I can determine any significant
differences between the amount of calcium that is formed on pots
with different kinds of glazes and the relative ease with which
burying de-calcifies them. I have long thought that certain
glazes tend to "attract" deposits more than others, because I
have several pots that never seem to get the stuff caked on them,
and others get it easily.

If anyone else would like to do similar studies, it should help.
I'd especially like the potters among us to look at the glaze
aspect. Note: I have a couple of Mike H's pots, and they both
seem to gather calcium deposits more quickly and deeper than
others (a yellow-brown glaze, and a light blue-green glaze).

Now, if I could only remember (or re-find) where I read about
this in the first place!

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lewis"

Last year, I read (somewhere -- this is the problem with having
too much bonsai reading material, finding something again ;-)
that a good way to get rid of the limy deposits around pot rims
is to bury the pot for a year or so.


Now, if I could only remember (or re-find) where I read about
this in the first place!

There was a thread here a little over a year
ago...................................

(Been waiting for a chance to say that to you!) ;-)

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lewis"

Last year, I read (somewhere -- this is the problem with
having
too much bonsai reading material, finding something again ;-)
that a good way to get rid of the limy deposits around pot
rims
is to bury the pot for a year or so.


Now, if I could only remember (or re-find) where I read about
this in the first place!

There was a thread here a little over a year
ago...................................

(Been waiting for a chance to say that to you!) ;-)


Yeah. That was MY thread. I didn't mention the source there,
either. :-( That year was the start of this little experiment.

jim

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Xref: news7 rec.arts.bonsai:59051

I buried (in one of my large grow boxes where assorted cuttings, seedlings,
and other "stuff" also live) two small (mame/small shohin size) pots that had
heavy deposits of lime around the pot rims.
The soil was quite heavy -- a mixture of various old bonsai soils and
horse-manure compost
the compost breaks down into a very mucky substance.

The mucky substance is humic acid. I don't know the pH, but I suspect it is
very low. Exposing the lime deposits to a weak acid for months at a time would
have the expected effect.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

for lime deposits around the rim of pots.
I have found ordinary table vinegar and a brush usually does the trick.







From: Iris Cohen
Reply-To: Iris Cohen
To:
Subject: [IBC] lime deposits on pots -- a report of an experiment
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 03:12:59 GMT

I buried (in one of my large grow boxes where assorted cuttings,
seedlings,
and other "stuff" also live) two small (mame/small shohin size) pots that
had
heavy deposits of lime around the pot rims.
The soil was quite heavy -- a mixture of various old bonsai soils and
horse-manure compost
the compost breaks down into a very mucky substance.

The mucky substance is humic acid. I don't know the pH, but I suspect it is
very low. Exposing the lime deposits to a weak acid for months at a time
would
have the expected effect.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

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__________________________________________________ _______________
Chat online in real time with MSN Messenger http://messenger.msn.co.uk

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for lime deposits around the rim of pots.
I have found ordinary table vinegar and a brush usually does
the trick.

Well, you're invited to come down and try it on my pots. I have
used straight glacial acetic acid to no avail. (I know --
DANGER! Don't try this at home without heavy rubber gloves, long
sleeves and eye protection -- and even then . . .)

I have used caustic bathroom lime cleaners to no avail (including
soaking the pot in a bucket of the stuff -- straight -- for 24
hours. (It all but dissolved one cheap Chinese pot ;-).

I can use the bathroom cleaner and steel wool with some success
but the steel wool (used as hard as I must use it) leaves fine
marks on the glaze, too, and is thus unacceptable for better
pots.

So, any time you want to try common household vinegar on my
calcium magnesium carbonate deposits, y'all come on down!

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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for lime deposits around the rim of pots. I have found ordinary table
vinegar and a brush usually does the trick.

I use Lime-Away or toilet bowl cleaner. If you are careful, you can use either
of them on a planted pot in preparation for a show. Rubbing baby oil or mineral
oil on unglazed pots removes the last traces for show purposes.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

I use Lime-Away or toilet bowl cleaner. If you are careful, you
can use either
of them on a planted pot in preparation for a show. Rubbing
baby oil or mineral
oil on unglazed pots removes the last traces for show purposes.


The oil (or "Pam" spray) works on glazed pots, too. But it's
still there, and you can still feel it when you hold the pot.

I'm amazed at the wimpy lime deposits other folks have. ;-)

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - "People,
when Columbus discovered this country, it was plum full of nuts
and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just
about all gone." -- Uncle Dave Macon, old-time musician

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Hi, Jim.

I've tried the vinegar routine myself with a lack of success similar to
yours.

I suspect that Iris is on the right track, and soaking the pots for a long
time in an acid solution should do the trick. Vinegar should qualify for
that. When I get really serious about this problem I may give that a try.
White vinegar is sold, inexpensively by the gallon. (Or, you could stick
them in the bottom of your pickle barrel ;-) )

I would not expect caustics, such as lye, to have any effect.

In an earlier thread on this subject, a poster mentioned that letting the
pots soak for a year in his rain water barrel did the trick. I tried that
last summer, and, after 3 months noticed substantial improvement.

Bart

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I haven't tried this on a pot with a bonsai in it yet, but a woman I know
who sells bonsai says she takes cotton balls and wipes all her pots with a
thin layer of cooking oil and she says it helps keep them looking clean and
does somewhat prevent the buildup of mineral deposits.

--I crucified my hate and
held the world within my hands--
Neal Ross-Marysville CA


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In an earlier thread on this subject, a poster mentioned that
letting the
pots soak for a year in his rain water barrel did the trick. I
tried that
last summer, and, after 3 months noticed substantial
improvement.


Oh my! Let's all give three cheers for acid rain.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - "People,
when Columbus discovered this country, it was plum full of nuts
and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just
about all gone." -- Uncle Dave Macon, old-time musician

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************************************************** ******************************
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Jim: Thanks for performing the experiment. I have seen that idea around for a long
time, but haven't found it practical for me to try. Given the incomplete results, I
think I'll continue to skip it!
You can find pumice sticks at a plumbing supply store which are made for
removing mineral deposits from sinks and toilet bowls. They don't seem to hurt the
surface of the pot and are the quickest way I know to remove most of the deposits.
I usually will also wipe the pot with some sort of oil prior to exhibition to
further give it a clean look. and to disguise any remaining mineral deposits.
Alan Walker, Lake Charles, LA, USA
http://LCBSBonsai.org http://bonsai-bci.com
================================
Jim Lewis wrote:
Last year, I read (somewhere -- this is the problem with having
too much bonsai reading material, finding something again ;-)
that a good way to get rid of the limy deposits around pot rims
is to bury the pot for a year or so.

So I did.

The year was up day before yesterday (but since we had a big
storm here yesterday in which I lost the top 1/3 of a 100 foot
pine out in the pasture, my report got delayed a day or so).

In short, it seems to work, though I won't call the findings
definitive yet.

I buried (in one of my large grow boxes where assorted cuttings,
seedlings, and other "stuff" also live) two small (mame/small
shohin size) pots that had heavy deposits of lime around the pot
rims. Both pots were blue, with a gloss glaze -- but one of them
was quite a bit shinier than the other, which was almost a velvet
matte gloss. The insides were unglazed. Both are of Chinese
manufacture -- I think, though the matte pot may be Japanese.

The soil was quite heavy -- a mixture of various old bonsai soils
and horse manure compost that I use in my grow beds (which get
almost NO fertilizer over the years). After a few years, the
compost breaks down into a very mucky substance. This was my
oldest grow box, and is so rotted now, that it will be "retired"
this year. Anyway, this was real goop that these pots were
buried in. (Growing around them were a dozen azalea cuttings (now
in pots) two dozen bald cypress cuttings (ditto), several large
buttonbush cuttings (undecided), two small black cherry trees,
and a BUNCH of privet cuttings that I don't know what I'm going
to do with.

As I said, the calcium deposits on these pots were heavy -- very
unsightly.

Results: The pot with the semi-gloss, matte-like finish still
has signs of calcium in a few spots around the rim. The bottom
(unglazed, outside and inside) still has quite a bit of calcium.
But the pot is in useable (and showable) condition.

The high-gloss pot is virtually calcium free on the glazed
portions. Again, there still are signs of calcium on the
unglazed portions.

I suspect that if I had left them in the soil for 18 months, the
calcium on the glazed parts of both pots would be gone.

I'm going to expand and extend the experiment this year, using
two brown, matte-finish, pots (much larger) that are caked with
several years' worth of calcium magnesium carbonate (which is
what my well water leaves behind when it evaporates) deposits. I
will bury them in my FRESH compost pile and let them ferment as
the compost ferments, unveiling them a year from this week (or
whenever I get them buried). Look for another report then.

Meanwhile, it seems possible to me that glazed pots can be
decalcified by burying them in soil and leaving them there for a
year or so. Since I have never found any of the home remedies
that makes a dent on the stuff that cakes pots around here (and
I've tried them all!), I plan on having pots buried in my grow
boxes on a regular basis from now on.

I will be watching to see if I can determine any significant
differences between the amount of calcium that is formed on pots
with different kinds of glazes and the relative ease with which
burying de-calcifies them. I have long thought that certain
glazes tend to "attract" deposits more than others, because I
have several pots that never seem to get the stuff caked on them,
and others get it easily.

If anyone else would like to do similar studies, it should help.
I'd especially like the potters among us to look at the glaze
aspect. Note: I have a couple of Mike H's pots, and they both
seem to gather calcium deposits more quickly and deeper than
others (a yellow-brown glaze, and a light blue-green glaze).

Now, if I could only remember (or re-find) where I read about
this in the first place!
Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL

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************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Actually, Jim, you could buy a gallon oc sheap vinegar and put it and some
of those small pots you use in a plastic container, such as you buy for
paint at Home Depot, and just put it in a corner of your garage.

Checking it from time to time would be a LOT simpler than pullig it out of
your compost heap, since you wouldn't have to wash it to see progress (if
any).

Bart
"Jim Lewis" wrote in message
news:001501c2dc1d$39e3fc00$28112cc7@pavilion...

In an earlier thread on this subject, a poster mentioned that
letting the
pots soak for a year in his rain water barrel did the trick. I
tried that
last summer, and, after 3 months noticed substantial
improvement.


Oh my! Let's all give three cheers for acid rain.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - "People,
when Columbus discovered this country, it was plum full of nuts
and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just
about all gone." -- Uncle Dave Macon, old-time musician


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****
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****
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