washing media?

[Carolyn]

Hi guys,

I wanted to get your thoughts about washing your growth media components before you use them. Please forgive me if this topic has already been beaten to death, but in a forum search I only saw a couple threads about washing coco peat but nothing about washing media in general.

At a recent BACPS meeting, a couple members swore up and down that it's imperative to wash all media before using, but others disagreed. I do realize that media with additives such as fertilizers, etc. are not appropriate for CPs; however, is it necessary to pre-wash your standard bag of peat or horticultural sand that you get from a reputable garden center? How about the long fiber sphagnum, vermiculite, perlite, carbon, pumice, etc.? Anyone have any words of wisdom?

Perhaps some CPs are more sensitive than others? I've been growing without washing and generally have good luck but want to set myself up for the best possible results going forward. (Or maybe the reason a couple of my pings kicked the bucket was because I gave them rotten soil? But my other pings are rocking out...)

Thanks for any insight you can give me,
Carolyn

[Aidan]

I think I do OK without...



Life's too short to wash media components! ;D

[paulbarden]

Last year I bought a four cubic foot bale of Canadian Peat to make a big bog pot (and for future projects), and I used it in a 50/50 mix with clean sand, recycled from a sand filter used for irrigation filtration. The sand was re-washed thoroughly to remove accumulated sediment, etc., but the peat was NOT; I used it right out of the bale. Within two weeks of setting up a large bog pot, there were significant accumulations of salt crusts on the soil surface and around the pot rim! I then found out that many people wash their peat before using it to flush out any salts that have either intentionally (fertilizer) or as a matter of process been included in the peat. I had to flush that big pot out repeatedly over the season to clear out the salts, and would much rather have avoided the problem b washing the peat in the first place.

Whether you adopt this practice or not would depend on the sources of your materials; some are likely clean enough to use right out of the bag/box, while others may need a proper washing. I am always going to wash Peat now before I use it. I rinse Sphagnum (LFS) once, squeezing as much water out as I can before using it and find that is sufficient. I don't know about various sand sources....I suggest you soak any ingredient you plan on using in clean water overnight, then drain the water out, and evaporate it to see how much dissolved mineral is left behind. If you have a TDS meter, you can always test that way also.


nitrogenseekers.wordpress.com

[Not a Number]

In the United States unless you are buying peat moss in bulk you have little choice of grades from local supply. The lesser grade peat moss can very in quality and purity from batch to batch. I've had some batches sprout all sorts of mosse, ferns and grasses. Other after two years very little growth except what I planted in it. Rinsing/washing the media gives a much more consistent starting point. The more consistent the starting point the more consistent the results. And if there are problems it helps to eliminate possible sources of the problem.

Suppose the question was: "I was told I should not use tap water, but rain water, distilled or reverse osmosis filtered water only. Is this true?" And suppose someone replies: "I've been using tap water for 30 years, look at my results". What would you make of that?

Well whatever works for you is fine. To quote Jerry Addington (Courting Frogs Nursery) courtingfrogs.com/:

After a long career in horticulture one thing is clear

to us that may surprise some newbies - starting out it seems all one has to do is learn the best way to grow a certain plant and follow that recipe to success. Gradually one discovers that there are almost as many "best" ways as there are sucessful growers. Some practices work great for one person and not another. Climate can be a big factor and so is personality.

Local "cultures" of cultivation practices evolve as enthusiasts share information. "Truth" we hold self evident may be contigent (sic.) on factors specific to local conditions. We keep our fly traps and sarracenias sitting in water constantly year round - a practice excellent cultivators in the southeast have informed us would rot out plants in their climate. We treat cephalotus the same way - works for us. Others strongly dissagree (sic.). Our best cultural advice is to consult many sources and find your own way.

Thank you, Jerry Addington

[Devon]

I wash sand for all of my plants.

I don't wash peat for plants that I am growing outdoors, such as temperate Drosera and Sarracenia because the rain washes it naturally. Sarracenia don't seem to care anyway. Neither to Nepenthes, Heliamphora, Pinguicula, or Cephalotus in my experience.

For some plants that I grow indoors, such as tropical Drosera, I always wash the media. Tropical Drosera seem sensitive to it in my conditions, and since the media is not being naturally washed with rain, I also top water them once every couple of months or so.

Hope this helps!

[Carolyn]

Thanks very much for all the feedback! It really does help.

My take home message is... washing the media doesn't matter until it matters. (This is kind of a general life theme, I think.) Since I don't have so many plants that it would take a prohibitive amount of time and energy to wash the media, I think I'll plan to err on the side of caution and try to wash whenever possible.

Thank you again to everyone who replied,
Carolyn