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Granite Grit


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I have finally managed to get hold of some Melcourt Growbark Pine and I now intend to start repotting my plants in to Mike King's suggested mix of Growbark Pine/granite grit/perlite. Mike uses 2-4mm grade grit and I was wondering if anyone has any advice on a suitable brand and where I might obtain some without paying a fortune in postage ! I have looked in some local garden centres and although they stock potting grit (which is the required grade) it isn't granite.

Dave

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5 hours ago, 3Star said:

 

I've used RHS potting grit from Homebase, about £4 for a reasonable sized sack, I'm not a geologist, but it looks like crushed granite to me. If it wasn't so dark/ cold/ like a quagmire I'd go down the garden and check what it says on the sack .

Hope this helps

Phil

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If it's the Kelkay stuff it seems to say quartzite on the bag but granite on the website!

I'm doing some soil experiments and potted some flytraps and sarracenia up in a variety of mixes back in August, including some with the Kelkay potting grit. Everything seems fine in it so far, but need to see how they do when the growing season starts.

I'm not really sure what the advantage is in swapping 50% of the perlite for potting grit is though personally. I'm leaning towards 25% Melcourt / 25% peat / 50% perlite, but like I say we'll see  how these do compared with mixes with potting grit,  100% Melcourt etc.

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Thanks for the replies folks, especially you Phil for braving the elements and checking what it said on the bag ! When I googled granite grit the RHS stuff did come up but looking at images of it on the internet I couldn't see where it said granite on the packaging so was a little unsure whether it was or not. I think that has now been answered. 

I will probably trawl a few more of the local garden centres to see what I can find and if I can't turn anything up go down the route you have Stephen and just go with the perlite.

Dave

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's good stuff, this granite grit. I have recently bought the RHS branded lime-free sharp sand. I haven't done the fizz test so I hope it is alright. I am not totally convinced that a bit of lime in the sand does any harm, I think it is possible that hard water is the real killer.

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I have never seen granite grit for sale anywhere, all the stuff I have seen is either quartzite or flint. I've been in touch with Kelkay, and although I am yet to receive the specific technical info, it seems that yes, officially an amount of lime is allowed in sand and it can still be called lime-free. Out of all the sharp sands I have tested with acid, Kelkay RHS lime-free grit sand fizzes the most! Very surprisingly, the best sharp sand I have found is Diall from B&Q. It almost completely does not fizz, and has a very, very low content of superfine material ..... Sand, UK.

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The size is 6mm which is probably slightly larger than I was looking for but to be honest isn't too bad. It was either use it at this size or get the lump hammer out so I decided to stick with it :laugh:

Dave

 

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  • 3 years later...

Thanks for your advice; I had the same problem now. I will try quartzite grit RHS; I hope it will be ok. To tell the truth, I didn't know that granite can be used for these purposes. Indeed, it is a rather ancient material that has shown its best side for many millennia. It is actually used in many industries because it is very durable. Some years ago, I ordered for our kitchen such a countertop http://countertopshq.com/dallas-white-granite/. Indeed, I remained satisfied because it doesn't absorb dyes, is shockproof, and withstands high temperatures. This is one of the most practical materials

Edited by Mushroom13
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