Bananas.org - View Single Post - Experimenting with creating filtered coarse sand for corms

WildernessGreen · 05-25-2024, 11:17 AM

In the stream I am using metal lathe, which is similar to 1/4 inch hardware cloth for initial getting big stuff/rocks out, then window screen size to get fines out. And a lot of washing and rinses and carrying heavy buckets of wet sand along the way. Hard work! I'm still trying to fine tune my "system" to get a larger amount quicker!!

I'm going to have around 20 or so variegated bananas that I will be needing to put in large containers (25 gallon) late in the summer. My big question is what to medium to use as my permanent mix.

I have several "test mixes" in pots now I'm watering a lot and just watching and testing moisture levels, these include all the sand I must mentioned, and some mixes of said sand with perlite, some with a little Ocean Forest potting medium mixed in. ALL my other types of musa, are doing great in Ocean Forest. I have experimented cutting the already light and fluffy Ocean Forest with up to 50% more perlite in the past, but with "normal" musa, doesn't seem to matter, they all do fine regardless of the overwatering!

With my winter losses of both a good sized A'ea'e, and a Florida, I have been carefully studying my gardening calendar from this past year, as I always write down when I water. It's quite easy to see in retrospect how I killed both, and while all my other musa types are doing fine, these two bit the bullet with all the excess moisture, and not enough drainage previously talked in my other thread.

I am going to be visiting several different quarries, sand/gravel dealers in the next few weeks, one about a 2 hour drive from me, has dozens of different grades types. I'm trying to find someone that has small enough lava rock that I can incorporate into my permanent mix for these "easy to kill" variegated types. Yes, I can make the stuff my self, but for the amount I need, it sure would be nice to get a truckload full!!!

Now, of course, the simple way with my next round of variegated bananas, might be to do just three simple things, a bit more perlite into the mix, tons more drainage holes, and most important.....LESS WATERING DURING WINTER!!!!!!!!!!!

An interesting note, I have spent several years, and searched maybe 15 years worth of posts on this forum for any and all Manini/A'ea'e info, I have yet to find a post with anyone with a big one growing in a pot, in a greenhouse. I'm sure they are out there, but it seems most successful growers have them outside, a lot in sandy soil.

05-25-2024, 11:17 AM	#11 (permalink)
WildernessGreen Location: Northern New Mexico, USA Find me on the map! Join Date: Jun 2019 Posts: 81 BananaBucks : 18,062 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 63 Times Was Thanked 116 Times in 45 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: Experimenting with creating filtered coarse sand for corms In the stream I am using metal lathe, which is similar to 1/4 inch hardware cloth for initial getting big stuff/rocks out, then window screen size to get fines out. And a lot of washing and rinses and carrying heavy buckets of wet sand along the way. Hard work! I'm still trying to fine tune my "system" to get a larger amount quicker!! I'm going to have around 20 or so variegated bananas that I will be needing to put in large containers (25 gallon) late in the summer. My big question is what to medium to use as my permanent mix. I have several "test mixes" in pots now I'm watering a lot and just watching and testing moisture levels, these include all the sand I must mentioned, and some mixes of said sand with perlite, some with a little Ocean Forest potting medium mixed in. ALL my other types of musa, are doing great in Ocean Forest. I have experimented cutting the already light and fluffy Ocean Forest with up to 50% more perlite in the past, but with "normal" musa, doesn't seem to matter, they all do fine regardless of the overwatering! With my winter losses of both a good sized A'ea'e, and a Florida, I have been carefully studying my gardening calendar from this past year, as I always write down when I water. It's quite easy to see in retrospect how I killed both, and while all my other musa types are doing fine, these two bit the bullet with all the excess moisture, and not enough drainage previously talked in my other thread. I am going to be visiting several different quarries, sand/gravel dealers in the next few weeks, one about a 2 hour drive from me, has dozens of different grades types. I'm trying to find someone that has small enough lava rock that I can incorporate into my permanent mix for these "easy to kill" variegated types. Yes, I can make the stuff my self, but for the amount I need, it sure would be nice to get a truckload full!!! Now, of course, the simple way with my next round of variegated bananas, might be to do just three simple things, a bit more perlite into the mix, tons more drainage holes, and most important.....LESS WATERING DURING WINTER!!!!!!!!!!! An interesting note, I have spent several years, and searched maybe 15 years worth of posts on this forum for any and all Manini/A'ea'e info, I have yet to find a post with anyone with a big one growing in a pot, in a greenhouse. I'm sure they are out there, but it seems most successful growers have them outside, a lot in sandy soil.