I've tried the all inorganic route myself and am not a convert. I was hoping
to see phenomenal growth and health as is purported to occur with such mixes as
straight akadama but that did not occur. I was not dissatisfied- everything
grew "fine" but the search for my own personal Holy Grail continues...

I wanted more water retention and less salt retention so of late I've returned
to a 20-30% component of organic and amendments (i.e., shagnum,
bonemeal, "zeolite", "volcanic sand", etc., the rest being possibly haydite,
brickchips and/or perlite.

The other driving force was, as I am a student of Mr. Lewis, was to approach as
nearly as possible the "school mix" as best I could using materials I have
available.

I echo all the sentiments here. Currently I tend to use "hardwood mulch" as
one gets a better yield and I'm told it maintains it's integrity a bit longer.

I'll still use the Home Despot mulch for collected trees. I'm less worried
about 1/2 shredded 6" chunks of 2x4 there... One of the side bar risks of pine
products are tannins. The overall problem being altered pH and growth
suppressing chemicals; the same would be true of oak and other nut tree
products such as pecan...

The "ultimate" organic thus far seems to be fir bark or "orchid mix" which is
fast fading as orchid growers are switching to coconut hull and other such
materials that just reduce to a slimy mess in a season here...

What is the best choice for you really depends on several factors all going
back to your case particulars, namely, watering/feed schedule, climate, desired
repotting frequency, etc., etc.,

Jim Stone
Galveston TX

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