Coco-Char Mineral Substrate for Slow Growing Cacti!

Description

This listing is for the (mostly) mineral mixture that I have developed over the last 15 years I’ve been growing these plants.  It contains akadama, zeolite, charcoal, pumice, and coconut fiber.

Zeolite – A highly porous mineral with a strong ability to hold ammonium and other nutrient ions due to it’s high cation-exchange-capacity. It can act as a small nutrient reservoir, helping reduce nutrients being immediately washed out while also contributing to aeration and drainage. We get zeolite locally from a mine here in Idaho that is said to have the purest Clinoptilolite Zeolite in the world. Here are some of the more specific benefits of zeolite:

• Approximately 3.5% potassium, a plant nutrient

• Approximately 2.02% calcium, a pH buffer for animals and soils

• Less than 0.5% non-water soluble sodium, a toxin to plants

• No significant concentrations of water soluble toxic trace elements

• Low clay content, making it hard and resistant to attrition

• High CEC (cation exchange capacity) that allows loading of approximately 2.2% nitrogen

• A large surface area of approximately 24.9 square meters per gram.

Pumice – A lightweight volcanic material full of pores. Pumice provides excellent physical drainage and aeration while retaining a small amount of water in its internal pores. It doesn’t decompose or float to the top of the pot (like shitty perlite…), it’s pH neutral, it’s a naturally porous structure excellent for bacteria / microbe colonization, it has grippy, interlocking edges and enough mass to stay stable and provide plant support. We get our pumice from a mine here in Idaho that has excellent quality pumice that sometimes contains small shards of obsidian.

Akadama – A porous, fired clay granule that holds some moisture and nutrients while still allowing air into the root zone. Its structure gives roots a stable growing medium and can provide a useful balance between drainage and moisture retention. We use hard, high quality Japanese akadama in our mix.

Charcoal – Adds porosity and helps keep the substrate open and well-aerated. It can also adsorb various dissolved organic compounds and help with the microbiome.

Coconut fiber (coir) – The organic component of the mixture. It holds considerably more moisture than the minerals and helps prevent the substrate from becoming completely dry too quickly. It also provides some structure and can contain small amounts of potassium and other nutrients. The roots of the cacti absolutely love the addition of coconut fiber and seem to do incredibly well with it.  We use washed and buffered coco coir to get rid of any high salt content.

Sizes we offer come in:

• 1 Quart
• 1 Gallon
• 3 Gallon

Most of these will come in their own package with separate shipping cost for other items ordered because of how heavy they are.

If you have any questions feel free to ask at [email protected]

Thanks!

Astrophora Cactus