Hi all,
In an attempt to save my rapidly dropping leaved meyer lemon(which I believe to be water logged) I want to make the switch to CHC. Rookie mistake... I thought regular miracle grow was ok in the fall time.

The only 'CHC' I seem to be finding are the dehydrated blocks that you moisten and 'ta da' you have a mass quantity of CHC. Is this the type of CHC you guys are using, or are you using loosely packaged CHC?

Thanks

and what is the optimum size of CHC?

Steven,

I have several trees potted in CHC marketed as blocks under the name Original Miracle Mulch. All are doing well. Some received straight CHC mix, others recieved a blend with additional coir at a ratio of about 4 to 1 (CHC/coir). I generally give the CHC 3 to 4 extending soakings and rinsings, then a final soak with epsom salts and calcium nitrate. The temporary setbacks I've encountered are really more a function of heavy handed root cleaning on my part, not a function of the media.

I also have an Orinoco banana which over wintered in Mircale Mulch bought through Ace Hardware (purchased online and delivered free to my local store). It is also sold as a block and has smaller and more consistant chip size than Original Miralce Mulch. I have a couple more trees I need to repot in the next few weeks. I am thinking about going with an even blend of the two CHC brands.

Kent

P.S. I use old bed sheets to contain and filter the CHC as it soaks (inside a plastic tub) and when I drain it.

Thanks for the information Kent,
I appreciate it!!

IMHO If this is your first time with CHC or you aren't a seasoned Citrus "caregiver", I would strongly suggest you adhere to Millet's method exactly as he laid it out. Use only The Crystal Company CHC and be sure to do the Epsom Salt + Calcium Nitrate soak (buy some CalcNitrate from him, if he has any left).

He has posted a phone number around here somewhere.

I have also used a different product, called MulchBrick from AceHW and yeah I've noticed HomeDepot carrying the Miracle Mulch. The AceHW mulch was very different, non-standard. It had various types of CHC (strands + different sizes) which turned out to be fairly positive for me. link

But it definitely had Salt issues. I always rinsed and pressed mine like 4 times (too much work btw). But on my last batch I ran out of Calcium Nitrate, but used only Epsom Salt. I also only rinsed twice. The two trees I put into the last batch had salt (fertilizer) burn symptoms within a week or two. They didn't die, but it was obvious.

It's easiest to make the fewest mistakes by using the recipe Millet set out. The Crystal Company CHC is supposedly top-rated and the cost reflects that: 60$ (includes shipping) for a 4-6 CF order, which will be more than you need for one tree.

Thanks for the tips C4F!
I ended up purchasing my blocks from a petstore. Hopefully those will suffice. I soaked in epsom salts as well(pretty much guessed on that one). Washed 4+ times.
So far so good!!
No dropped leaves yet. fingers crossed

Steven,

When reading C4F's post I realize that I confused the 2 products I've used. The Original Mulch Brick is the product I bought through Ace Hardware and has the greatest size variation as stated by C4F. I originally found it at a local home improvement store, but they later switched to selling Miracle Mulch. MM is the product with the finer, more consistent particle size.

If you don't have access to Calcium Nitrate, I'd second C4F's suggestion to try buying CHC from the Crystal Company. The reason I am trying these other sources is because the volume of CHC I am using would be cost prohibitive for me from CC.

By the way I've also been using the Epsom salts/Calcium Nitrate treated OMB CHC for many of my orchids with no problems.

Kent