Costa's garden odyssey: cacti special

Cacti segment on Costa's Garden Odyssey, Thursday 27th May 8:00pm SBS One.

I thought is was 7:30

got it ready to record cheers for the reminder

It wasn't a bad little segment. I chuckled to myself at the choice of plant for repotting.

Full episode can be viewed here>

http://player.sbs.com.au/programs#/programs_08/fullepisodes/latestepisodes/playlist/Costa-s-Garden-Odyssey-Ep-21/

Mother's in law seat? Never heard that one before.

I've also heard it called "Mother in Law's cushion" on occasion.

Did anyone get the potting mix recipe? I can't get anything from the site.

i hope my wife hasn't deleted it ill have a look tomorrow and check out the mix recipe

soil mix
Making a Cactus and Succulent Mix
TIPS

• To ensure his cacti grow successfully Horst makes a special potting mix, which combines a mixture of ingredients including perlite, pumice, charcoal, decomposed granite and palm fibre.

Recipe
40 litres decomposed granite
20 litres scoria (5–8mm diameter)
20 litres of pumice
20 litres of quartz sand
20 litres of Perlite
20 litres of palm mulch
6 litres of crushed charcoal (1–8mm diameter)
2 litres of pelletised gypsum (3–4mm diameter)
½ litre superphosphate

Method
• To make the mix Horst sieves the decomposed granite through a 1.25mm mesh and uses only the coarse material.

• He uses a palm mulch block that will give him about 65 litres of ‘expanded’ fibre. He prepares or expands this by mixing the following ingredients in 15litres of water:

30ml Wettasoil
50ml Seasol (or Sea Mungus in pellet form)
1 litre blood and bone fertiliser
50ml trace elements
100ml potassium

• The solution is used to expand the block of compressed palm mulch, which is then stored in a large, covered plastic drum for about eight weeks.

• Once a week, the contents are turned over. Twenty litres of this will then be used to prepare the cactus mix and the balance used for other potted plants. The cactus mix, once prepared, is left to stand for a further four weeks before used for potting.

• He also uses Maidenwell medium grade diatomite in the mix; up to 30 per cent by volume. (40 litre bags of diatomite are available in a few different grades – ‘fine’, which is 0.5–2mm in diameter and ‘medium’ which is 2–7mm in diameter. Coarser grades are also available.) Diatomite is a sterile, high silica growing medium which will absorb water equivalent to 150 per cent of its own weight. It typically sells for about $18–20 for a 40-litre bale.

• For alkaline-loving cactus plants, Horst adds limestone chips to the cactus mix. His seed-raising mixture consists of 90 per cent diatomite (fine grade), 9 per cent palm fibre (fine) and 5 per cent gypsum, in powder form.

MORE TIPS

• If you don’t want to make your own potting mix, nurseries stock pre-made succulent and cactus mix. It needs to be free draining and low in organic matter.

• Like all plants, cacti and succulents need a little fertiliser, but only apply it to the soil not the plant itself and be sure to dilute it. Horst suggests using a half strength fertiliser.


-A (I copy'd and pasted the page cos I knew this would happen) =P

That's a huge mix.
lil to complex for my tastes but looks good all the same.

I have ( due to being lazy) really only used straight Debco cacti and suc mix. Seems fine so far.

Has anyone ever found pumice for sale ? where you you get it?