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Which Turface?
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Posted by fignut RI 6a (My Page) on Wed, Oct 15, 08 at 10:50
I found a source for Turface, but they have more than one type.
Tapla or James, which one is the better choice?
Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Which Turface?
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Hi Fignut,
The photos below will show the Turface you need. The MVP is the important part following the word Tuface.
I want Al to know that my problem was finding granite paricles so I did the only thing I could to get something close to
what is actually needed. I don't know if it's going to work
but it is already in two soil mixes of my repotted fig trees.
One photo displays the size of the product. I went to a granite kitchen counter manufacturer and asked if they would let me have just pure granite when they clean their cutting machines. No problem, they even called me when they had some. It shown in the photo below is a 5-gallon pail. It was wet and clumpy but I just use regular rabbit screen to force the stuff through and on a piece of cardboard below I catch the particles and combine them into my soil mix. The way I figure I might get some positive effects from the granite sludge but I don't have the size to make the mix just as Al stated ad I'm hoping this will be a small plus for my fig trees.
Lou ne., PA I went to a granite kitchen counter manufacturer and asked if they would let me have just pure granite when they clean their cutting machines. No problem, they even called me when they had some. It shown in the photo below is a 5 gallon pail. It was wet and clumpy but I just use regular rabbit screen to force the stuff through and on a piece of carboard below I catch the particles and combine them into my soil mix. The way I figure I might get some positve effects from the granite sludge but I don't have the size to make the mix just as Al stated ad I'm hoping this will be a plus for the fig trees.
Lou NE., PA
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RE: Which Turface?
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Wed, Oct 15, 08 at 16:41
FWIW - I don't add the granite for any nutritional reasons - purely physical, so size is the only important consideration. The crushed granite I refer to (Gran-I-Grit) comes prescreened & the particles are all about the size of the largest particles (or just a little smaller) than the largest of the Turface particles - more like fine gravel. The purpose of the granite is to allow you to adjust the water holding ability of the soil. See crushed granite at bottom right in photo. Disregard the soil at the top. It is from my raised beds & because it is comprised of fine particulates, unsuited to growing in containers.
We try to keep soils durable by limiting their organic content to no more than 1/3. When you have a soil with equal volumes of bark, Turface, and crushed granite, increasing the Turface and decreasing the granite increases water holding ability, while increasing granite and decreasing Turface decreases water holding ability. Sludge of any kind in soils will dramatically increase water retention and slow drainage while it reduces the most important aspect of the soils I use/recommend - aeration. Al |
Al need advice
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Hi Al,
What I am getting from what you wrote above is that the only concern using the granite material is the size of I shall refer to them pebbles. If that is the case then can I use any type rock along as it is within that size range of the Gran-I-Grit you recommend? I did see small grit bagged quartz and other types of tiny rock that I passed up in my search. I even looked at buying a bag of pigeon grit until I read what was in the mix. It contained salt plus other things that would not be great for plants. AL a 3 word answer will suffice as yes you can or no you can't. Thanks for your time.
Lou NE., PA |
RE: Which Turface?
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Thanks Lou, but I called and asked for Turface MVP, and that's when the guy asked "which one". I repeated, "MVP", and he said "they are all MVP".
He asked if I wanted the red one. I have no idea. He said they had three types - All Sport, Pro's Choice and something else.
I don't know if he knows what he's talking about or not - but I know I don't!
Could you clarify Tapla?
Thanks |
RE: Which Turface?
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| You can get differing sizes (pretty much under and up to a quarter-inch) of the Gran-i-grit at feed stores as poultry grit, offered for birds from starter chicks up to turkeys - the larger sizes for the larger birds. It comes in a bag, as I recall without going out and looking, of 40 pounds. |
RE: Which Turface?
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Thu, Oct 16, 08 at 15:43
| Fignut - the guy was wrong. There is only 1 MVP, though John Deere dealers sell Turface MVP as Turface 'All-Sport'. They are the same product, so equally suitable for container soils. Turface 'Pro League' is generally used as a top dressing for turf following core aeration so the granules can penetrate the open cores, and is too fine to be appropriate in most container soils. MVP (or All-Sport) has the largest particulate size and that's what you should stick with for your soils. The other types of Turface are also too fine to be suitable. Pezzuti - since you only want a 3-word answer, it has to be "NO, you cannot". Al |
RE: Which Turface?
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Al
My only reason for stating a three word answer was to save you time and extra work. I tried my best and could not come up with the granite in my area. As far as the Turface goes the person I purchased it from told me that's the size I needed for the job when I told him what I was using it for. He also said hat I want the bag that stated MVP.I drove 85 miles to get that. The only other type they had was large, large chunks. Looked like big stone clinkers.
I appreciate the advice you gave me and others as well on
the potting soil mixture.
Thank you
Lou NE., PA |
RE: Which Turface?
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When i was looking for the soil components i called john deere and the man sent one of his salesman to pick me up some 50 pound bags of allsport at 10.00 a bag at another deerre location , he had to go do other buisness on his pickup anyways i was told so that was easy for me, the granite i was able to get at farm and fleet store if anyone has this store near them, its also a 50 pound bag that says cherry stone on brown bag it is the granite component and it is used for chickens at 8.99 , the pine fines i bought as premium pine bark and there not big pieces of wood like i have seen in some torn bags at nursery's its in a orange and white bag labeled Premium Pine Bark Mulch and it looks great bought at Home Depot store at 2.99 for a 2cu ft bag. So if any of these 3 buisness are near you maybe they will have what you need, i did go to many other places near me for the mix and then i came across these 3 luckily that had what i was looking for. Also Tapla thank you so much for helping me and taking part of your time to do so, it was very appreciated and im sure some others feel the same way!
Martin |
RE: Which Turface?
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| Thanks Tapla, it was a John Deere dealer. |
RE: Which Turface?
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Thu, Oct 16, 08 at 23:06
| Lou - There are few absolutes that apply to all plants/situations, so most of what I say requires some qualification, which is why it usually takes me awhile to explain things. I don't mind the time it takes to explain - GW is an extension of my gardening interests, so I consider it my hobby. Whether I am or not - I personally enjoy the feeling that I might be helping someone. ;o) You don't mention where you live (city). If you live near Scranton, for the granite try Schnupp's Grain Roasting Inc
416 Union Rd, Lebanon, PA 17046 (717) 865-6611. Ask specifically for Gran-I-Grit brand grower grit. If they don't carry it, they can likely turn you on to someone who does in your area. You can also ask for cherrystone in grower size. Check the Yellow Pages for elevators or grain elevators. They're most likely to have it. Good luck. You CAN use any kind of stone that is the right size and is essentially chemically inert. You can't have a soil component that is dissolving and contributing to high EC (electrical conductivity) and TDS (total dissolved solids). Granite, silica, pumice, Haydite, all in the right sizes only, fit the bill nicely. Good luck - I hope you find it. I think you'll be favorably impressed with the results & the marked increase in your margin for error. Al |
RE: Which Turface?
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- Posted by bjs496 9/Houston 7/NJ (My Page) on
Sat, Oct 18, 08 at 0:13
| I think it is important to understand what each component of the growing mix contributes, and what the appropriate substitutions (and trade offs) are. As Al mentioned, there are few absolutes. Sometimes a substitution is a better choice rather than driving all over Hellen Gone to find a specific product. This is especially true if one source is more reliable than another over time. It kind of sucks losing years of experience because your supplier doesn't carry the same product as they use to. In my case, I don't use grower's grit. Being on the Gulf Coast, the last time I went out looking for it, most of the grit is ground oyster shells rather than granite. There is a Perlite manufacture about 15 miles from my house. I get the bags cheap. Since they produce it there, it is consistent in quality (vs. buying it at a nursery whose supplier changes from time to time). To my way of thinking, most mixes that you work with year after year and fine tune to your particular situation will outperform those which are not optimized. There are few absolutes, but I think consistency should be one of them. ~james |
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