cat litter-dry dog food

[RayR]

Coarse ground freshwater DE works fine as a soil amendment. I've been experimenting with it myself in potted plants. It has a PH of about 7.0, it holds water and nutrients well, it doesn't break down, it is mostly insoluble silica but has some soluble silica and trace minerals as well.
Some Bonsai enthusiasts use it as a growing medium. Read here

I even did an experiment last month germinating onion seeds in coarse ground DE and the seedlings have thrived, no different than those germinated in seed starting mix.

[peppero]

would you mind posting the brand name of the cat litter jon

[RayR]

Blue Ribbon D.E. Premium Cat Litter is 100% freshwater DE mined by the Moltan Company in Nevada. I came across it a local dollar store here who had some on the shelf for a brief time, so it may be hard to find. It is the same product that is sold as NAPA Oil-Dri #8822, which you can get at a NAPA Auto Parts store. I think that is a rebrand of Moltan's OIL ABSORBENT DE. There are others I'm sure, just read the label and make sure it is 100% DE.

JoParrott said he got 100% DE from a Dollar Tree, I've never seen that around here.
The local Dollar Tree stores here sell a cat litter called Soft Paws which is some kind of natural deposit mix of DE and Fuller's Earth mined in Virginia. Stay away from that, it breaks down into a sticky mud when saturated with water.

[Tracydr]

You can get 50 pound bags of food grade DE for quite cheap at most feed stores. May be something to look into. I wouldn't use the pool grade, though. It's not so good to work in, as it can be really bad to breathe that stuff.

tracydr, it works great for me, and I have read that DE is NOT harmful to earthworms- if it was I wouldn't use it. I keep a good supply of the 5# bags on hand.

[RayR]

Food grade DE is finely powdered, if you want coarse grade you have to go the kitty litter/oil absorbent route.
Good point on the pool filter grade DE, it is typically flux-calcined at high temperatures with the addition of sodium compounds, a side effect of the process is it ends up with a lot of free crystalline silica which is not healthy to breath in. Stay away from that stuff!

I will take a photo of mine and post it-

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by JoParrott

tracydr, it works great for me, and I have read that DE is NOT harmful to earthworms- if it was I wouldn't use it. I keep a good supply of the 5# bags on hand.

This is good to know. And Ray, I was wondering about the texture, too.

[Skaggydog]

Originally Posted by delltraveller

Here, I'd have to take a class, pay $25 per year, officially inform neighbors and, to meet distance requirements, build a coop up in the air to have six hens.

That's why there ane no longer any zoning laws in Mexifornia.

OK- Here's what the cat litter bag looks like- (since last year the weight has gone down .5#, but for $1 it's still a good deal) I usually add 1 bag to a wheelbarrow full offwhatever mix I'm using.