Iwas wondering what could be saftly used as a chc substitute? Pine bark w/ peat? same ratio? any of the garden mulches? any wood chip thats NOT good? Would you treat them the same as CHC's? the caution exchange? Any suggestions wouldbe great. I'm having a VERY hard time finding them in Canada. I can only find the fineground coconut husks, mixed with peat.

I just want the best soil possible for my citrus.

I know the 2 most important things are well draining and well aired soil, right?

I know I can buy a really chucky soil mix, orchid mix, I think. Its highly expensive, but would that work? It just feels like a lot of bark pieces.

Pine bark chips or most any type of wood chips with peat moss or coir, would act pretty much the same as CHC's in giving a good medium with adaquate drainiage. The two main differences when using most wood chips would be that they would break down (degrade) in a realitivly short time. The life of wood chips might be one year befor compaction began, greatly reducing drainage, CHC's last 5 - 7 years. Another difference would be the natural pH. CHC's have a natural pH of 6.5. The pH of wood chips would, I guess, vary depending on the type of wood chips used. One good point when using wood chips, you would not have to treat them for cation exchange. - Millet

I've posted on the ubc board.. just to see if the members have an idea of where in that area I may be able to buy CHC's. I would prefer a medium that I can use for more than a year. odds are that I wont need to transplant each year... and I'd hate to disturb the roots more than needed


Nice to know that there are options that'll work the same though