Sooooo my peeples... tell me about that there LECA, silica sand, charcoal, pumice and all that what nots..AND SPHAGNUM MOSSS
I'm really dying with curiosity to try some leca it's freaking killing me. But I don't know all the dirty details about it and it's use and q good kind that is Hella cheap but not ewww why would you get that growdy shit cheap. Also I'm trying to do some mad science here and caboom me so personally blended soil mix that isn't really that much soil. I wanted to know what was up with the charcoal? AND where the FUCKKK can I find the right kind of *COARSE ASS SAND* I mean shit is confusing lol #happyplants #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantaddict #planttherapy #plantmafia #plantsmademedoit #plantshelfie #plantstash #greggang #krunchytime #thunderdome
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Yup very very confusing. I would recommend doing some research into it before converting any plant to LECA. LECA is in the category of semi hydroponics. Since LECA or the clay has no nutrients, there is extra front end processes. (1) prep your LECA by washing and soaking (there’s clay dust that’s usually coating them. (2) prep your water with fertilizer and ph up or down to have a ph of 5.5-6.5. (3) prep the plant by removing ALL the soil from the roots. (4) repot plant with Leca and fill the container 1/3 with the prepped water.
Quick tip: use plastic cups as net pots by cutting some holes on the bottom. Use this as the “nursery” pot and any container as the cache pot. Keep the water at the 1/3rd level of the LECA. And you will want to do a flush and compete water change monthly. I’ve had success in changing my syngonium and philodendrons to LECA. My philo. paraiso verde is in pumice and has been thriving. Same steps with pumice
Sphagnum moss is great for keeping soil damp. It’s used for rooting cuttings with nodes because it stays damp a long while. Downside: if it’s over saturated, it will take forever to dry unless you squeeze the water out.
I use Charcoal as part of my tropical plant soil mix. Most plants need the charcoal because they naturally grow in areas where ash and charcoal are present. It’s part of growing exotic tropicals. You want to recreate their natural environment so they can thrive. If they usually have ash or charcoal, you want to add it into the soil mix.
Pumice: I use pumice to help aerate any growing medium. I use volcanic pumice in 3/8s of an inch to let air get to the roots because plant roots also need to breathe when they are planted in any medium.
Leca is clay formed into small spheres. I use it in my tropical mix because that soil is usually fluffy and has no binder. Clay - once it softens - binds and forms up fluffy soil to help give plants a way to anchor themselves and not topple over out of their pots.
Bark is used to give plants some decomposing matter to continuously feed them. Yes, they need fertilizer but those heavy feeder plants need the bark to not only develop a healthy and veiny root system but once it decomposes, it feeds the plant organic nutrients that are in the bark and these nutrients are ones you may not be able to find in a slow and low dose which means you’ll have to feed more often.
Coarse sand is construction sand. It’s gritty. You can find it at bulk material suppliers but possibly find it in smaller amounts.
I use Charcoal as part of my tropical plant soil mix. Most plants need the charcoal because they naturally grow in areas where ash and charcoal are present. It’s part of growing exotic tropicals. You want to recreate their natural environment so they can thrive. If they usually have ash or charcoal, you want to add it into the soil mix.
Pumice: I use pumice to help aerate any growing medium. I use volcanic pumice in 3/8s of an inch to let air get to the roots because plant roots also need to breathe when they are planted in any medium.
Leca is clay formed into small spheres. I use it in my tropical mix because that soil is usually fluffy and has no binder. Clay - once it softens - binds and forms up fluffy soil to help give plants a way to anchor themselves and not topple over out of their pots.
Bark is used to give plants some decomposing matter to continuously feed them. Yes, they need fertilizer but those heavy feeder plants need the bark to not only develop a healthy and veiny root system but once it decomposes, it feeds the plant organic nutrients that are in the bark and these nutrients are ones you may not be able to find in a slow and low dose which means you’ll have to feed more often.
Coarse sand is construction sand. It’s gritty. You can find it at bulk material suppliers but possibly find it in smaller amounts.
@PlantPanda wow thank you so much. I really had/have no clue whatsoever about soil ph and how to change it. I'm definitely taking some notes (only way I'll remember)
I just couldn't get a clear answer on Google bc most of the an suggestions i found would either go against each other or add new info, take away same info. That's how I basically almost killed most of my plants in the beginning bc I had no to and Google hasn't helped me except to confuse me. I was thinking about using it with my pothos or monstera but i definitely need to figure more out before doing so.
Thank you so much for taking the time out to explain some of this to me. I truly do appreciate it and your wisdom 🙏 😊
I just couldn't get a clear answer on Google bc most of the an suggestions i found would either go against each other or add new info, take away same info. That's how I basically almost killed most of my plants in the beginning bc I had no to and Google hasn't helped me except to confuse me. I was thinking about using it with my pothos or monstera but i definitely need to figure more out before doing so.
Thank you so much for taking the time out to explain some of this to me. I truly do appreciate it and your wisdom 🙏 😊
@FitSedum thank you. See I've read you could use sphagnum moss to help propagate succulents and then I read only certain ones and then to none bc it stays too wet too long for them. I was wanting wanting get some and keep around for my peperomias. I'd love to propagate them but so far I have had no oooohhh such luck sadly. Basically all of this would be going towards cacti and succulents. Leca was for my monstera and pothos but I definitely need more research before switching. It just stays so humid and hot here and most of h plants don't Ike it and the ones that do, like it to a certain point so I was trying to find a balance so I can water them, they get hydrated well, but also drain at the right speed so they don't keep anyone's toes wet for longer than what's needed. I got some coarse sand and one bag is smaller than the other by a lot. The smaller one isnused for the peperomia red log in some coco coir but was staying drench no matter how little I watered so I added perlite. To attempt to help it. The other bag had bigger sized ones and I mixed some with my bonsai jack bc I added too much coco with it (help hold little more water for deflating succulents). Trying to find the freaking balance and it's making me unbalanced lol thank you for taking time out to explain♡
@KrunchyWrap I am definitely following this because I don’t know how to use it. Great information @FitSedum
@KrunchyWrap i usually don’t recommend YouTube plant people but these two were super helpful: benjiplant “Grow Plants Without Soil Using Pumice” and Minimalistcali has a playlist on Semi Hydroponics
@KrunchyWrap I use long Sphagnum moss for propagating tropicals. They need a node and they need to be in a sealed greenhouse with moisture and bright lights that stay on all day and night. I do this with a fish tank as the greenhouse. It takes a few months to get them to be on their own and ready to transplant to where they are tough enough but it’s doable. Long Sphagnum moss can be soaked and squeezed of water before use. You do have to most it every week if it’s an open container with a node and a large leaf under bright light but if it’s in a sealed container where moisture can’t escape, then that works best since you can leave them alone and check on them every couple of weeks. I propogate this plant from a rootless chonk and waited until she was about to touch the top of the tank before Re-potting. This was the night she left the tank and is in a transfer tray just before I re-potted.
