A local landscape supply company here sells something they call "shrub and
bedding" soil. It is a mixture of topsoil, shredded bark, and course sand.
You can buy it for something like $15 for a pickup truck bed full (1/2
yard). Buy one or two bags of Turface or Scotts clay soil conditioner and
mix in there and you have a relatively cheap close proximity to Bonsai soil.
If you are planting into large grow boxes or better yet, in the ground,
there is not as much need to get rid of the fines...at least my collected
stuff didn't seem to mind.

-----Original Message-----
From: Kitsune Miko ]
Sent: Friday, March 05, 2004 10:32 AM
To:
Subject: [IBC] collecting


You can go to Turface on line, get the phone number,
and find a local distributor. What I got was MVP used
for golf course greens at $8.20 50# bag.

Kitsune Miko
--- Craig Cowing wrote:
"Peter K." wrote:

Is there anything wrong with using a good quality
potting mix, maybe even
one specifically made for trees and shrubs, for
newly collected specimens?
i'll be digging a few big guys this spring and i'm
not sure if i can afford
to buy enough supplies to make the necessary
amounts of bonsai soil. The
plants are getting ripped out if i don't dig them
up so waiting longer isn't
an option. thanks everybody.

--
Peter Kulibert zone 4a/5b


Peter:
If you can find a Turface distributor (or some
retailers too) you can get Turface
for about $11 a bag, which is 50 lbs. For my big
guys I have in wooden boxes I
use the cedar mulch you can find at any Home
Desperate or Lowe's. The red stuff is
ugly but you can find it without any color added. I
use this and cut it with
Turface and grit, about 50/50. No problems so far
after three years. Remember
that if you have something on the big side (I'm
talking 5" or more trunks, trees
that will eventually be 2-3 ft tall) they're going
to be in those boxes for several
years--you won't be repotting every year. The cedar
mulch will provide plenty of
organic material.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37


************************************************** **************************
****
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken
Rutledge++++

************************************************** **************************
****
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ:
http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail
+++++

************************************************** **************************
****
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** **************************
****
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++