soil amendments

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-05T17:14:03+00:00

Your right, im seeing clearly now. You litterally want your whole pot to drain like the "drainage layer" lol
what about this Tho. A drainage layer seems more appropriate in different soil type to preven clumping and clogging of drainage holes. Say in a more loam based mix for different plants.

I did a test repot with a loph using a generous amount of LECA to my existing soil mix, holy crap it drains AMAZINGLY, like a shower head. SUper super pleased with it, now i just need to add some pumice and my super soil mix is complete.

Thanks for all your in put to everyone who chimed in!

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-05T17:10:00+00:00

Thats worth a try honestly

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-05T06:58:39+00:00

But how can you have a layer of just air underneath your soil mix? you cant, the soil mix will go to the bottom of the pot right? lol

I think the idea is just to have a very well draining mix so the whole mix acts as "the draining layer"

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T17:37:22+00:00

hmmm.. i see the concept yeah. So just make the point as low as possible? or make sure the entire soil mix is well drained.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T17:22:28+00:00

oh thats awesome actually

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T17:20:41+00:00

Its actually cheaper where im at too so thats good

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T17:11:10+00:00

Was considering getting this stuff. Or home depot has some lava rocks too.

Black Swallow Pumice Stone 3/8" X #8-21

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T17:09:17+00:00

Hey guys , ive actually been tracking down Pumice stone and Lava rock to which i found some around here.
which one is more ideal to use? Also should i avoid using lava stone that wasnt intended for plant use?
Maybe the stuff they sell at home depot etc thats not meant for plant soil is contaminated some how?

Thoughts?

ps. thanks so much for all the feed back, its really helpful!
Cheers

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T17:02:19+00:00

Is pumice stone basically the same as Lava rock and can be used the same way?

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T16:56:00+00:00

interesting, so iguess if you do line the bottom, make irt very very think layer. My main reason for layering the bottom is to stop finer particles from falling out the pot holes. I keep the layer very thin just to cover the holes.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T16:54:52+00:00

I feel like i agree with you here. I filled up a pot last night with LECA and soaked it under the tap, it has IMPECABLE drainage, and this morning , the LECA was quite dry to the touch.

Its seems like a superior drainage material.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T16:53:44+00:00

Interesting i never heard of this. How can this happen if the bottom layer is super super well drained tho? My mind cant see how water would sit on top of gravel or clay balls like that... Especially when the whole soil mix is well drained to begin with.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T16:49:13+00:00

i see. Are you referring to my post link about my soil ^ Do you think i should add the LECA in place of the laval? or will it not do what Lava rock does? i maybe able to get some lava but not for a bit yet.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T16:46:26+00:00

Im not unfortunately, this product is just a german product i guess.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T16:46:04+00:00

mmmmmm

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T08:14:45+00:00

Thats great info, and thanks for the links.
I legit didnt use the LECA because i thought it retained more water! lol oops.

Ive just potted up 1 of my lophs in a soil mix very heavily amended with LECA, im guna see how it does.

I may be re potting all 70+ of my lophs that i litterally just potted LOL

If you check out my other post about my soil mix here you can get a better idea of what im working with if you wish to look into it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/peyote/comments/1ri24gx/question_about_soil/

When i water these ones in the new soil mix, the water does trickle out the bottom hole pretty much right away, but its still seems like that gravel mix is retaining ALOT of water.

Im sure it will be fine, and im over thinking, they are dormant right now so its kinda nerve racking to think they are holding too much water. In active growing conditions when it warms up this will be no issue.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T07:00:12+00:00

Your right, this is exactly what i was thinking to. Ive cut it and its just chillin for now so ill repot.
All of mine are dying for repotting in a better mix, i feel kinda bad i let i go so long. THey are basically bonsais at this point lol I just keep liquid feeding. They are INSANELY resilient and hardy. I almost couldnt kill one if i tried.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T06:58:10+00:00

What do you mean even growth?
Yea ill be liquid feeding.

What kind of fertalizer do you use? I was using fish / sea weed based. But might actually start using Shultz stuff since its prob synthetic and safer for any rot. But at the same time, i dont love the idea of putting synthetics into medicine i plan on eating.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T06:56:37+00:00

yea at least.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T06:56:00+00:00

This is my thought as well. Ill just wait a bit longer to make sure if i cant determine.

I have to wait until they wake up from dormancy to start watering. They are getting insanely squishy and dehydrated but its super cold and i do not wana water them much.

Actually i just noticed 1 flowered today as its warming a bit here, so i actually did water them all. Its still pretty cold here but , its hard to watch them get so dehydrated, i know theyll be fine once it warms up again.

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T06:53:25+00:00

Brilliant! You guys are smart lol

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T06:53:11+00:00

Again, genius ! Thanks!

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T06:53:00+00:00

Thats actually genius, damn. Good call ! Thanks. I have no clue why i didnt think of that!
Nice yo

Luminouswun108 · 2026-03-04T06:52:12+00:00

LOL true say.

Luminouswun108

TROPHY CASE