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#811 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: southern california
Posts: 26
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Wanted to thank everyone for sharing the wonders of DE. It outperforms ProMix by leaps and bounds! Recently transplanted some plants into a DE/ProMix mix, and the roots were long, well branched, and a healthy shade of white. I think they’ll be monsters once they go into the ground.
Thank you, Florence |
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#812 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Zone 8 Texas
Posts: 172
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#813 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Yes it is! Happy Growing!
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In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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#814 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Zone 8 Texas
Posts: 172
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@rockporter
Thank You! |
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#815 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Georgia
Posts: 40
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Can someone recommend a good liquid fertilizer to me for growing my tomatoes in DE?
I just bought a 25 lb bag of Optisorb at O'Reilly's and it was $17. It seems awfully steep in price compared to what I'm seeing here. |
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#816 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2008
Location: zone 5 Colorado
Posts: 942
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I just bought 25 lbs. of this at O'Reilly's for $11 as they did not have any other absorbent medium. Could I still use this for starting seeds?
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/e...t/9805/4525770 |
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#817 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: NJ z5
Posts: 281
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If you are using standard inserts or pots in a 1020 tray, you will find that the precut drainage holes in the bottom are much too big to hold back the DE. I turned my 72 cell inserts upside down and put masking tape over all of the drain holes. i turned the insert right side up, put it on a couple of layers of cardboard, and used a home made tool- 1/2 PVC tubing with 3 or 4 small finishing nails duct taped to it, to make new, smaller holes. If you use the original holes, you'll have a lot of DE wash out, especially if you lift the insert to bottom water. Jim |
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#818 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Ohio
Posts: 9
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Go big or go home I always say. Haha |
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#819 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2008
Location: zone 5 Colorado
Posts: 942
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Thanks for the reminder, Jim. I'm going to use the 36 cell trays and have cut coffee filters to put on the bottom of each cell. Yeah, the bottom holes are quite large for the DE.
I was very lucky to have mentioned my proposed purchase and a friend gave me a card for $10 off $20, so I really bought 50 lbs. for $13 including tax. The particle size is not a powder, but very small(er) sized particles. Thanks for the OK to use this non-name brand stuff! Last edited by guruofgardens; March 5, 2018 at 05:16 PM. |
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#820 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas Coastal Bend
Posts: 3,205
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Looks good to me. The manufacturer website info below. Happy gardening.
https://epminerals.com/products/floor-dry
__________________
In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~ ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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#821 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Posts: 3,148
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The PH is not the same in all DE products, (as stated in the beginnings of this thread). So if you are using something other than Opti or Ultrasorb then I would do a PH test and correct it accordingly. This will ensure that you have strong vigorous seedlings.
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~ Patti ~ |
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#822 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63°
Posts: 838
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Removed double post.
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"I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream." - Moomin-troll by Tove Jansson Last edited by svalli; March 18, 2018 at 02:49 PM. |
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#823 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Vaasa, Finland, latitude N 63°
Posts: 838
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Similar DE as in US is not sold here, but I have been using cat litter sand, which is made from Danish moler. It seems to perform as well as the real DE. I just started to transplant my tomato seedlings to coir and made a video about how easy it is to get the plants from the moler.
Sari
__________________
"I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream." - Moomin-troll by Tove Jansson |
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#824 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: canada
Posts: 3
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My local list might just help someone else save some time.
Optisorb(Moltan) at Acklands Granger $20.24 per 25lb bag Qualisorb 628(EP Minerals) at Acklands Granger 20lb bag $10.43 on sale until April 30 then $16.77, Canadian Tire $17.99. pH=7 as per the Safety Sheet PDF. The CT website has one excellent review successfully using Qualisorb 628 as seed starter. There is an Al's potting mix thead guy at gardenweb who was successful in his growing mix using Qualisorb 628. So attempted my own pH test: saliva is greenish = 7, the distilled water was yellow about 5-6, and I crushed up some Qualisorb 628 into a powder then added distilled water, but still only got the yellow 5-6 reading but probably added too much water. NOTE the Acklands "catalogue" lists BOTH Optisorb and Qualisorb 628 under "Optisorb", but listed seperately on the website. Can Dry Supreme 16.3KG(36lb) is $17.99 at Princess Auto, and various sizes at Acklands $14.65(36lb), $26.49 14KG PAIL, $11.91 12kg. Careful calling Acklands when I phoned to verify stock, spoke to some east indian call center somewhere and the guy could barely speak English. Turns out the pickup depot he said had stock is not a retail store and requires at least two hour processing time before your product even arrives from a warehouse. Had to pay then go back again a few hours later. Last edited by fiat84; April 5, 2019 at 03:05 PM. |
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#825 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: canada
Posts: 3
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Update using Qualisorb 628 for a week old now in my seed starting has had no issues. All veggie/herb seeds sprouted fine and continue to grow nicely. Mixed 2/3 Qualisorb 628 with 1/3 Promix BX as my starting mix. If there was a serious pH issue with Qualisorb 628 then there should have been problems but no issues so far.
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