PR-Giants

Many people seem to have difficulties finding Clean Coarse Sand so anyone with alternative sand options please post.

I was in Home Depot and bought this bag to see what percentage of CCS it would yield after grading out the fines and the large pieces. After cleaning I was left with about 17 lb or 33%. $0.23 per pound seems very expensive but it's certainly cheaper than buying online and having it mailed.

I can drill a hole anywhere on my mountain and the hardpan, after cleaning and grading, would yield over 70% CCS by weight with no volume loss. When I use this for my plants and seeds the fines that I removed is now replaced with air and moisture for healthy roots and more importantly healthy rhizomes.

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Jeff zone 8 N.C.

What kind of screening are you using? Not only does my area not have suitable pre-screened coarse sand I have not found any screens except typical window screens for insects and then screens jump up to 1/4 mesh. Would certainly be willing to hunt down the correct screen size. We do have the same sand as in your posted pic but it could be from a different regional source. Thanks for that tip. I will certainly try it if I can find a way to process the sand.

PR-Giants

That's exactly what I use. Fiberglass window screens are more durable than aluminum screens but still wear out. The 1/4"woven welded hardware cloth should last forever. I only buy pots with the drainage holes on the bottom because I cut out circles of the window screen to fit the bottom of the pots to keep the sand in.

It's crazy how expensive sand in the States cost, fire pit sand is graded and cleaned but sells for $2 per pound plus shipping. I use thousands of pounds of sand and even $0.23 is impractical.

If you grade a bag it would be interesting to know your results.

My breakdown was
50% Fine
33% CCS
17% Large

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PR-Giants

The window screen works better underwater and the sand comes out much cleaner.

Some sand can be placed in the middle of a square piece of window screen and by holding the corners and agitating it in a bucket of water all the fines should quickly drop out.

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subsonicdrone

i am going to try sifting some sand like this
what size is too big? if i were screening mixed material

PR-Giants

The larger sizes are not important to how the process works, they're just not an efficient use of the space they occupy. Removing the fines is what makes this work so well, because that newly created space allows for better aeration and more air means higher moister levels can be safely used.

About a decade ago there were a group of members that used pool filter sand because they couldn't find Clean Coarse Sand - Horticultural Sand. And they said their results were good but having more air is much better.

It's commonly said that 95% of potted plants that die are the results of overwatering and that's mainly caused by poor soil aeration.

Soil aeration is simple to control or reduce, so it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

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WildernessGreen

I have worked with many different types of sand the past few years, here in the Southern Rockies, from streams, arroyos (ditches), concrete supply places, landscaping places etc etc. I have yet to find anything that doesn't require a lot of work sifting and cleaning to get a little decent clean coarse sand out of it. I'm actually starting last fall, using a coarse Pumice, locally mined, as my main ingredient for my main musa mix. Will be a year or so for me to see if this stuff works good for me.

The best "sand" I have ever had, or seen, was about a cup of PR's stuff, that was loose in a box of corms he sent me. I kept the stuff in a bowl on my kitchen counter for a year or so, for comparison. It actually to me, isn't sand, it's a fine fairly sharp gravel, and truly magical looking stuff. It was completely different than anything I have ever seen here in the SW USA.

Some musa, for me anyway, are a weed, and will grow in anything. Stuff like Cavendish types, clay soil, any potting mix, etc. But then some, with A'ea'e being the main culprit will rot under my conditions unless you are very careful... I wish I had a couple truck loads of PR's stuff!!!

I have one A'ea'e pup about 3' high, in my new Pumice mix, we will see what happens.

PR-Giants

Good to hear from you.

I've got billions of cubic meters of that stuff, my mountain is one solid piece. A Cat breaks it into chunks and my little 16 pound friend turns it into a pile of Manini Mix, which the fur balls thinks are their new outhouses.

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