Source for Diatomite and other mediums in Europe

[glitchathon]

Originally Posted by orchids3

Will be interested in how it works. Am using fine stalite and Coconut Husk chips for Paphs. It works well. The one problem I will be looking for is the tendency to absorb and hold salts. Sometimes media handles water well but retains too much salts. That was discussed recently in one of the cymbidium section threads. Lava Rock can have that problem in some growing conditions. Stalite works well outside in Florida but then drainage is one of the most important charactistic. Would not use diatomite alone but mixed in some ratio - yet to be determined.

I had the same concern as the dangers of diatomite re salt accumulation is often mentioned.

This is an interesting thread: DE & salt: Orchids Mag Sept 2006? - Orchids Forum - GardenWeb

It addresses the salt issue and have made me less afraid of using DE though it is still worth being cautious about.

[chromebright]

being the semi-hydroponics culture forum, are we all still talking about using diatomite in s/h? Or have we drifted off topic a bit?

FWIW....I explored the Stalite product a bit and it does look as though it would work in s/h.....and is probably as cheap as it comes for that usage....I'm going to ask my local hardware supplier about it.

[orchids3]

Thanks for the Garden Web link. DE looks even more appealing to me for my primary use. I want to use a mix of DE,Granular dolomite lime and sea Shell grit on as a top dressing on my cymbidiums - which I grow outside. That it might hold a little fertilizer salt is all the better as fertilizer is often washed away during the heavy rains we have. It should also help keep the top layer of Stalite slightly moist, yet the remainder of the pot will drain wet. By the way I think pH of 7 is great - cymbidiums thrive at that pH.
The main function of Dolomite Lime is to buffer pH - calcium is only released when the mix goes acid and it raised pH at the same time.

[Watermiser]

I am a little late coming in to this thread, but thought I would chip in with what I know. First a little disclosure; I am a distributor for a unique form of DE who's mineral name is Pozzolan. I sell it under the brand name Lassenite and it is the same material from the same mine as Higromite. It is diatoms fossilized in volcanic ash. It is 100% inert, so has no nutrient value for plants. It will hold in excess of 100% of it's weight in water while retaining an average of 15-20% non-capillary pore space. It has the best moisture release curve of any inorganic soil amendment available. Those are the basic facts on the material. Beware of using materials such as "Floor Dry" etc. These products are designed for absorbing oil, but might not be so great at releasing water to plants. The same holds true for expanded clays, shales granites etc. The reason for this is the pore size of the material. The key to finding the best inorganic soil amendment is to know the pore size. The smaller the pore size, the more difficult it is for plants to draw moisture from them. Materials with small pore sizes tend to hang onto salts as well. Some, such as zeolite based products, will actually attract salts. Lassenite on the other hand will not attract or retain salts. For more on this you can see the study done by MSU on my website AquaFirst Technologies Inc.

[orchids3]

It looks like a good product but where can we get it
in the USA or Europe.

[Watermiser]

We can ship only minimum one skid orders, which is 40x50 lb. bags or one 1.5 cubic yard tote. It is available in a variety of sizes; (American Sieve) 18X60, 7X18, 10 meshX1/8", 1/4"X1/2", 1/2'X3/4 and 1/8"X3/4". If you have a dealer in your area who will bring in this for you, please refer them to me. Alternately, a group of growers in a particular region or a club could share an order. We do this with Bonsai Clubs.