Good article
Learned some new info.
Enjoy
Searching for medium sized DT aggregate to incorporate into soil mix I came across this. Would rather source it locally. Hopefully it is available at one or another farmers stores…
Thanks for sharing!
Glad too share @AAA
Here is another source for the “floor dry” which is 100% Diatomaceous Earth but is medium sized aggregate which can be incorporated into potting mix. I will be using this in addition to perlite and adding to my bagged potting soil mix. Thinking maybe a 20% total of mix and splitting DE and perlite 10% each. Any thought from anyone would be appreciated.
The powdered version from what I’ve read can also be used in soil mix but seems like I would want to use the coarse type instead.
Also I have found that using powder DE on top of soil to deal with fungus gnats etc seems to form a crust on top after watering and I needed to work to soil after using to break it up. Maybe I should have mixed into the top inch or two of soil when dry and then when watering it wouldn’t have formed a crust layer.
I have also used this powder form over the years when my dog would bring in fleas or in winter if mice got in and they brought the fleas rather than using chemical bombs etc. just sprinkle the DE into carpets or on floors etc…wherever the fleas were and they are eliminated in short order.
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Ancient ocean creature skeletons. DE is well known as a filter aid in pool filters.
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I feed food grade to my dog/cats and chickens when I had them. It is good for all kinds of insects as it cuts them up basically. Please be careful if you are planting outside as it will kill bees and a lot of other beneficial insects.
Happy Growing.
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i add some DE into my super soil builds also. i just add it in directly as i make the mix prior to cooking it in totes.
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I was thinking of using the coarse type also.The powdery kind does form a crust on top and I work the soil up before watering.It helps with insect control but I had to use neem oil and stickies to get rid of fungus nats this grow.I am interested in how that turned out for you.
NAPA #8822 available at any NAPA store. I use it for aeration in my soils. I also add 1 cup or more (I don’t think there’s any such thing as too much) per gallon of Red Lake Earth Diatomaceous Earth with Calcium Bentonite (Powder) from tractor supply or local feed mill. The powder DE will prevent any fungus gnat issues, period. Plus all the minerals it adds. The Calcium Bentonate (Montmorillonite) in the powder DE works as a soil additive to increase the CEC of the soil and dramatically enhance the soil profile through natural micronutrients (according to BuildASoil. I also believe that using both forms of DE will also eliminate the need for additional silicone amendments…maybe. The red lake DE at Tractor Supply is the best bargain that I have found on powdered DE. The calcium bentonate just happened to be in it and after some research I found it is also beneficial in soils.
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I did read that if DE got wet it wouldn’t kill insects, I’m not really sure but I did read that doing research on DE