Bonsai Soil Prep Part1

Previously I have discussed the use of Oil Dry as a Bonsai Soil. It can be used either by itself or it can be combined with organinc materials to yield a modified quality bonsai soil. Below are the steps that I have used in Oil Dry prep and what I do with the left over grit.

I created a simple sifter by using a small piece of window screen attached to the bottom of a cut out flower pot. I simply place the Oil Dry into the sifter and shake out the small particles into the blue bucket shown in the picture.

Usually I have to shake one cup at a time for about 3 minutes in order to get through the entire cup and sift out all of the small particles. I save the particles that have been sifted out in the blue bucket  until the bucket is filled.

Once the Oil Dry has been sifted out I take the smaller particles and spread them out onto the surface of the seed beds. Vertrees recommends that a layer of grit be placed over the seedbeds and Diatomaceous Earth is a good choice because it is made of diatoms which are small creatures that have died and their sharp microscopic shells will tear apart any small bugs that will try to attack the trees.


Below is the sifted vs unsifted.