I've been doing a lot of reading, and can understand the benefits of coconut husk chips (CHC) for indoor container citrus. I believe that the recommended ratio is 5:1, CHC to sphagnum moss. Please correct me if I am wrong. But......I have questions:

Why use peat or sphagnum moss? Which is better? If the point is aeration and water-holding ability, why not use sifted Turface? Or crushed brick? I realize that the moss is organic, but who (or what) cares? If one of the benefits of CHC is 4 -5 year durability, why "contaminate" the mix with one that deteriorates in 1-2 years?

I'd appreciate a discussion regarding the "WHY" of the components of any soil mix for indoor container citrus.

Thanks in advance, and I very much appreciate the wisdom and experience provided by this forum.

Tanksalot
Stan F.

Stan, the commonly used ratio for CHC is 4:1. Although many people use peat moss as the secondary element, who is to say that another ingredient such as turface would not be equal or better. The reason that peat moss is added is to slow down the water pass through. I would think the open texture of sphagnum would not do much to accomplish a slower pass through. As far as I know, a CHC:Turface has never been tried. It would take experimenting trials to determine any benefits truface (or any other ingredient) would have. I really do not know about crushed brick. It might depend on what size of particles that it was crushed down to. I would think using any item that was crushed into very small particles, would tend to fill in the porosity, thus reducing the aeration of the medium. However, your suggestion of crushed brick brings a new and exciting type of thinking. Cedar is a very slow degrading material. Using a mixture of CHC:Shredded cedar, or CHC:Cedar shavings instead of peat moss, as the secondary ingredient, would certainly extend the complete durability of the blend. Anyway your type of thinking is what brings new innovations that often result in a better product (in this case a better growth medium). - Millet (785-)

Millet:

Thanks! I've gotten various responses to "my type of thinking". The most common one by far is "stop asking so many questions and do it my way".

So the purpose of "component #2" is to slow down water through-flow when watering, create an aerobic, open matrix and also assist in supporting the plant. The less bio-degradable the material, the better.

I'll try the Turface/CHC concept and see what happens.

Tanksalot

Great, be sure to share your results. I have used CHC:Perlite ((the large size that is used by orchid growers - close to 1/2 inch). However, that blend dried out too fast, I discontinued using it. - Millet (785-)

Weren't you suggestion coconut chips + fine ground coconut husk (coir?) a while back? Does peat work better than that?

I have the vast majority of my trees in CHC/peat, but I have also used CHC/coir. I've seen no difference between the two mediums, as far as the trees are concerned. For people who are concerned about using only renewable products, they can use CHC/coir, as both are renewable. I have used mostly peat, it is easer to locate, and readily available. - Millet (776-)

Thanks, I'll probably go with peat when my next repotting comes up for the same reasons, i just wanted to make sure there wasn't some advantage to the plant for choosing one over the other.

Stan,

A.T. Hagan posted similar info/questions a while back and eventually he did use a CHC and Clay combination in approx. an 80/20 ratio. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this. He said it worked just fine.

Turface is fired clay, whereas Napa Floor Dry is DE product. I've used both, but only Napa with CHC. Both are inert and have a (near) neutral pH. My concern with the 4:1 ratio of CHC/DE was more along the lines of losing the pH lowering affect the peat provided. But of course the pH of the water/fertilizer solution is much more important. So using a little vinegar when fertilizing, or using an acidic fert should be fine.

Turface has a much higher percentage of fines in it (pieces smaller than 3/32") than the competitor products I've used. If you just insect screen sift to remove the dusty stuff, I'm sure it's fine to use the smaller pieces (along with the larger) of Turface for the CHC mix. It will help to serve the purposes it's intended for in that mix and does not become hydrophobic if dried out, unlike peat.

Good luck
Chris