Is this coarse clay?
 

https://forum.petpitcher.net/attachme...1&d=1230371986

I got this 'soil' from a construction site near my house. Is it course clay? It feels like plasticene, yet it crumbles too. Plus it feels 'course':laugh::laugh:

The 'soil' was rather compressed since the area where I collected the 'soil' from was already flattened and hard. But I dug my way through.....:2thumbup:

And of course, I asked permission of the workers there. They stared at me as if i was weird and said ok.:smile:

Thanks in advance for helping and I would appreciate any help from anyone of what to do with the 'soil' if it is course clay. I may be getting northiana soon.

Cheers

Re: Is this course clay?
 

Hi Ed

Well i duno if that is or not but i can imagine you asking those workers looking at you lol........(Maybe see you so tall ler..)

Ken

Re: Is this course clay?
 

Well the workers don't know Edward's age.It looks like course soil.;)

Re: Is this course clay?
 

Kids, it's COARSE clay! Course is totally something else! :)

Re: Is this course clay?
 

Btw, yes that's coarse clay, but do make sure you flush it well, we don't know what has contaminated the clay!

Re: Is this course clay?
 

Ok, argh, my spelling mistake! Coarse!!! okok, my fault. I spelled couse clay instead of coarse clay.

Yippee!!! Which means I can go and scavenge more!!!

Cheers

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Edward, you don't have to dig into the ground to collect the coarse clay. It occured after a heavy downpour on disturb road banks, construction site, etc. The finer soluble clay will be washed away leaving behind the coarse ones as deposits on the ground surface.

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Well......the place I got the coarse clay was already flattened. The ground was rock hard and most of the soil surface was other kind of sediment. So I just dig a little and I found coarse clay, Robert.

Thanks for helping all of you. Am I suppose to wash it thoroughly? I did wash it, but I realised that the clay eroded and got washed away. Now I am only left with three quarters of the amount that I collected :crying:.

Cheers

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Oops? :p unlucky....Anyways the place i thought i wanted to dig seems a little to bushy and i don't think its really worth going to the bush with stuff in it just for some clay :D To many ferns and bush covering it.

Ken

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Well, Kenneth my area is completely clear. ;)

Coarse clay looks all fine to me.

Cheers

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Now here is a question. I mixed some course clay that was soaked with water with perlite. Then I put it in a pot and poured some water over it. I noticed that the water took time to drain. Actually, it took a longer time to drain than sphagnum moss. Is this common?

Cheers

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Well i guess clay is a little more compact then LFS....

Ken

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

COARSE clay (not course ) are sediments deposited on ground surfaces after a heavy downpour. The fine soluble parts are wash off by rain water. They came in different sizes and the smaller pieces are chosen (5mm to 10 mm) for growing neps. Bigger pieces take up more space and more suitable for bigger pot. They are porous and holds water, therefore a good substitute for perlite.

Use 100% coarse clay. The perlite you mixed with are displacing the air spaces thus discourage water to drain off freely. Maybe the clay you are using are not coarse but consisted of fine clay. clay has to be rinse off fine particles before potting up with plant.

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Well, when I wash the coarse clay, I squish it into a muddy like substance. I just found out the problem. Since the coarse clay is muddy, it clogs up the drainage hole of the pot. So now, I am going to let it dry up, then break the coarse clay into small pieces, not fine pieces. Is this alright?

Oh yeah, coarse clay also can be found at other places than construction sites. I found coarse clay at my condo. The clay is near areas which are hill like and where stunted growth occurs.

Cheers

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

https://forum.petpitcher.net/attachme...1&d=1230887080
This is what it looks like now. Gonaa let it dry up.

Cheers

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

I don't think this kind of muddy clay will be suitable for nepenthes. I think what Robert and others meant for "coarse clay" is actually harden mineralized clay or sedimentary clay, like those red brick type clay when it's harden.

What you got is probably dried up "crushed" muddy clay which will turn muddy when it's wet. I think it's proabably easier for you just to go get burnt soil/clay from nursery for RM2 per bag. :smile:

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Edward, I agree with cpnut.. That clay doesn't look suitable for neps.. It looks like mud.. A better alternative would be to break/pulverize the orangey red coloured clay bricks so that you will get granular pieces which will not become waterlogged.. :) Many orchid growers use the same method to get the broken bricks, which is a good medium..

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

That is basically clay. Coarse or fine, when you mix it with water and stir it, it will become 'plastic' and go muddy. Whilst in nature a lot of neps grow on them, we can never replicate the (hydraulics of) drainage that is offered by, say a clayey hillside. Hence, clay becomes a difficult potting media to use due to its water retention and low aeration characteristics. Try using burnt clay - partial firing prevents them from sticking excessively to each other.

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

When I first colllected it, it was hard. Just like coarse clay. But I broke it into pieces with all my strength, so stupid me. I wil let it dry up. It originally wasn't that muddy. Just that I broke it and mushed it together.

Cheers

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Edward, you better throw it out, even though if it's dried, it won't be the same chunky texture like before + it will break up upon contact with water!

Go and get new fresh one already + don't crush it with all your 'might' again :Þ

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Hi Ed

Nice "clay" you've got yourself there......And also you have MIGHT???? Okay wasn't here to say that but anyways...I agree with most of them that you should just buy a pack of red soil or burnt clay or something since its proven usable for everyone..

Ken

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Okokokok.........Now I just got sooooo fed up, I just went to the nursery to get a packet of burnt coarse clay. It only cost RM1.50, sooo cheap lah. Plus, it comes in a large bag, wowowow........

Something I discover about coarse clay whether it is burnt or not, it tends to be a very bad drainer when it is water logged. I mixed some burnt coarse clay that I bought with perlite, and water it till none of the water could drain of anymore. Now, the water is still at the top of the pot, not draining at all. Same goes to a pot of 100% burnt coarse clay that I water till the water could not drain.

This leads me to believe that if anyone is using coarse clay for their neps, whether it is burnt or not, and whether it is mixed with other potting medias to watch their watering. As in, growers should water carefully, to avoid the coarse clay to become too waterlogged and unable to drain excess water.

This is just my opinion. If I am wrong, please correct me.

Cheers

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Edward , there is no control of what sizes goes into the bag, give it a rinse to separate the coarse and fine parts. Use straight from the bag the finer ones will clogged the pot's drain holes.

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

I agree with Robert.. You have to sieve the burnt clay first and use only the granular ones.. Burnt earth is widely used as medium for terrestrial orchids which require perfect drainage, so I'm surprised you said it holds water...

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Edward,
I've used burnt clay extesively on my neps and have observed no ill effect on the neps. Some like albomarginata and northiana I used 100% burnt clay with good results. I washed, soaked & sieved all the burnt clay I use to get rid of those fine dust which I believe will cause what you've encounter if you don't sieve it.
Just make sure what you get are those hard chuncky clay, not the ones the will break apart when it's wet. Hope this help.

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

I use burnt clay and I wash it over a sieve. The fine particles are washed off. I only have problems of too open media, i.e. it doesn't hold water.

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

You have to add in some organic based media to enable some moisture retention if you want to use burnt clay as part of the media. 100% burnt clay is suitable for neps that prefer drier media, i.e. albomarginata, northiana, campanulata and etc....

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

can you take a picture to show.

since clay are porous and retained moisture the plant ( northiana in this case ) will be fine. The idea was to mimic northiana's natural growing conditions.

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Will take a picture and post it soon.

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Oh, I must have missed a lot while I was gone. Well, now I have to sieve the clay. I got a siever from my mom,(didn't buy one, they are so darn expensive!!). I wil have to get another bag too.

Cheers

Re: Is this coarse clay?
 

Edward, I don't think you need a siever at all. Just a small piece of wire mesh will do.. :)