cat litter in stead of akadama....etc

Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:37 pm

its strange but checking the link i post is very facinating
We all know how dear these inorganic soil's cost.
check out the link

http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basicscatlitter.htm

Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:15 am

tarian,

This has been discussed here before. It certainly seems to be a good alternative. I should mention though that a while back a member here had a problem with kitty litter breaking down immediately. I don't recall the exact circumstances, I believe that the correct brand was used but I'm not sure. If you search for it you should be able to find the thread.

At any rate it would not hurt to make a test before using kitty litter. Put a sample in a jar of water and observe it for a while to see if it degrades.

Norm

Edit: Here is the thread.
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... php?t=4356

Mon Oct 15, 2007 12:48 pm

I use a *certain* brand I tested for two weeks and have only found in onme place - a Dollar General store that no longer has any on-shelf. I did find one of the bags that I bought contains 'pieces' that do not stay together at all - poor quality-control maybe? But, it is theoretically possible w/ some 'big-name' folks using it. However, test it 'vigorously' to see if it'll break apart. If it does break apart, it becomes a mass of clay that dries into a solid clay ball that is super-harmful. Fair to say its a fine line to walk

There's other stuff (similar) available that is better/as-good, but spendier for sure asit is a much-higher level of QC, I believe. To test the 'litter', let it sit in small glass of water (whatever) and gently stir it around or such to give it a bit of 'friction' such as having water poured over it and roots pushing (so slowly, though) it around within the soil-mix. If tiny pieces start falling off and layering to bottom of glass, toss the whole bag as far as soil-mix component goes, IMO. Make sense? With more soil-components becoming more-easily obtainable, its not really feasible to search high and low for the 'cat-litter that works', fwiw....

HTH,
Alex