For people without deep pockets, you can substitute acadama for non-clumping cat litter. Make sure the litter doesn't have any additives for scent and you can sift it to remove small pieces.
I recommend you to go and see peyote in their natural habitat. They usually grow under what in México we call a nurse plant (vg., Lechuguilla, Larrea tridentata...). They have and interesting ecological relationship (there are many scientific articles about this). I think that many cactae cultivators don't see the complete spectrum when they are trying to recreate a natural habitat (wich also includes insects). I personally don't want to cultivate them because it's illegal to do it in México. We are trying to preserve them in their natural habitat. Among other things, since your are interested in America's sacred plants, you should also check out the Toloache (or datura stramonium).
Thanks for the comment! I wish I could go see them in their natural habitat one day. I did see datura years ago as a friend was growing it, beautiful plant with cool looking, spikey seed pods :)
@@sanpedromastery6262 Yeah! when you finally come along, you will notice that two out of every three plants have deadly spines (haha), so remember to bring a nice pair of boots. Greetings, my friend. I really enjoy your videos.
It’s illegal to grow here in the US as well, I always see vendors selling them though at markets. Take park in conserving these species of lophophora by growing from seed!
@@eliasstenhede4435 mmm… I’ve also found some peyotes under cordia parviflora (we call it palo prieto haha) in Querétaro. Note: Be careful with larrea teidentata, that plant dosen’t allow other plants to grow around it. But, for some strange reason, the peyotes seems love those hostile condition haha.
for peyote I use 1/8"-14" calcine clay, same size pumice and same size limestone, granite and oyster shell chips. Those three materials come in bags of chicken grit that I sift the dust and smaller particles away. The peyote love the minerals found in the granite, limestone, and crushed oyster shells, and the pumice and calcine clay adds to the drainage while the calcine clay holds just enough water in them to make the peyote happy with out causing any kind of damage. The calcine clay is the US version of Akadama. We also call ot turface.
Great video! This is more or less the same soil mixture I use as well. I use just a little less peat based soil in my mix but not much less. Great advice here!
Ive tried many different types of soil but I have to agree I prefer a fast draining soil it just seems to work better. I use 1/3 Crushed Coral for aquariums (loaded with minerals), 1/3 pumice, 1/3 limestone and I add about 3 cups of worm castings. I also feed them once in spring with a little worm casting tea.
Thank you for good advice. I'm about to plant some san pedro and peyote seeds. Also got a really old peyote which needs to be transplanted in a bigger pot.🌵
Vermiculite is a nice and practical addition too. I use a topping of clay for germination in coarse substrate. Adding some sand might improve it a bit. The clay is inorganic and helps prevent pathogens (I don't sterilize and use H2O2 and neem). In general it's good to avoid coarse substrate for young and even older plants, I prefer finer more homogenous mixes. IME coarse pumice does not mix too well with clay, but it works. Coarse vermiculite works quite well, but finer is better.
Thank you! Im in SoCal usa and I found a person who is native and lives on a south west reservation. This person is a peyote priest(shaman?) and sells the rocks/soil from where most of the peyotes he finds are growing. He has two kinds of soil he sells, or used to sell, I think he stopped but anyways. One soil is kinda sandy but with bigger granules and the other soil is more rocky. He told me that the older natives call the peyote "Rock Eaters" because they would find many growing straight from the cracks of granite rock haha but most of the soil is granite/limestone and a few other types of rock
I use limestone, native soil from the Chihuahuan desert (where they grow and its also where I live), sand, perlite, and a little bit of a cactus mix soil. The key is to let the soil dry. It cant dry properly when you have them inside a house with a grow light or even in a green house sometimes. Water will evaporate faster outside. I dont put them in direct sunlight but under a nursery plant or object. I bring them in when it rains and i collect rain water to water them with.
Akadama over time gets clumpy since its cooked clay, you should repot a lot more with that soil mix because bonsais tree are supposed to be repotted quite often
Yo uso suelo pesado, desde tierras muy aridas de Cáceres hasta concentrado de minerales de los rios, lo mezclo todo y para las macetas. Intento igualar el suelo natural.
What about 1/3 perlite, 1/3 pumice and 1/3 peat moss? Where I am akadama is hard to get and I can only get online. Hard to tell quality without seeing it.
I’m very curious about the end of the video when you talk about the heavier soil. I like a pretty cactus but I am more concerned with the medicine. Does your mentors flatter “uglier” cactus have better/more potent medicine? Side note I’m also from the Mediterranean but live in Texas now where the cactus grows naturally. I will be mixing some of my very fertile, red clay heavy soil into the mix. I want to add liquid agriculture lime or just lime stones. What do you think?
I use Roots Organics original soil for all cacti and they seem to love it, but I may just put some akadama in when they get a bit bigger. I've heard good things about it multiple times at this point. Thanks for the videos Jerry! I actually got my first San Pedro seeds from you, bought with Litecoin when it wasn't worth a darn thing. That was smart taking it haha.
BTW the reason your peyote arent as flat as others youve seen is that yours arent buried in the soil as far as the others. try burying them level with the surface of the soil and they will be a lot more flat.
Yes peat starts out very acidic and before it's typically used in a mix if it's not specified as being ph balanced it should be ph balanced using dolomite lime. This practice is standard in the nursery industry when working with peat for plants that prefer neutral soil. However, if you are using any other amendments with your peat that is alkaline this may balance out the ph the way lime would. An example would be horticulture charcoal, it has a very alkaline base. Or you might be working with plants that prefer acidic soil which in that case adjusting the ph wouldn't matter. Another thing, if you are sifting peat moss out of a bag of potting soil, this peat has already been ph adjusted with lime. It's only when you buy bags or bails of peat as a raw material that is going into your mix that it may need to be adjusted using dolomite lime..for my peyote I use 1/8"-14" calcine clay, same size pumice and same size limestone, granite and oyster shell chips. Those three materials come in bags of chicken grit that I sift the dust and smaller particles away. The peyote love the minerals found in the granite, limestone, and crushed oyster shells, and the pumice and calcine clay adds to the drainage while the calcine clay holds just enough water in them to keep the peyote happy with out causing any kind of damage. Calcine clay is the same thing as turface.
Most people tell you the organic part should not exceed 10%. In your soilmix you have 1/3 organic ingredients. Is this not an issue? Otherwise i like the simplicity of this mix.
A lot of people do that. I don't, and neither does my dad who has superb plants, so it's not compulsory. In fact I have never measured the ph. Having said that, maybe my plants would look even better with limestone? I don't know...
@@sanpedromastery6262 If it works you don't need even consider it, but what type of the soil mix will someone use it depends a lot on the climate that the plants are. Either do i have ever measured the PH, but on my last soil mix ( that is actually your recipe with some changes :P ) i added a bit of limestone ( about 10% ) and i saw great results of growth. BTW i live in Greece.
Don't use akadama as top dressing. It holds water. I lost a dozen good loph seedlings of various genetics from rot. The akadama held moisture against the plants. Its it all the same either. There's different grades of akadama
Nothing wrong with it. I use it for my peyotes in 1/4 parts just to add volume to the soil. 1 pt coarse sand 1 pt perlite 1 pt potting soil 1 pt peat moss
Yeah Peat holds too much moisture, is acidic, becomes hydrophobic when dry & the mining of Peat destroys valuable ancient habitat that stores Carbon… coco coir & worm castings is a more sustainable alternative 🤓🤘🏻
For people without deep pockets, you can substitute acadama for non-clumping cat litter. Make sure the litter doesn't have any additives for scent and you can sift it to remove small pieces.
I recommend you to go and see peyote in their natural habitat. They usually grow under what in México we call a nurse plant (vg., Lechuguilla, Larrea tridentata...). They have and interesting ecological relationship (there are many scientific articles about this). I think that many cactae cultivators don't see the complete spectrum when they are trying to recreate a natural habitat (wich also includes insects). I personally don't want to cultivate them because it's illegal to do it in México. We are trying to preserve them in their natural habitat. Among other things, since your are interested in America's sacred plants, you should also check out the Toloache (or datura stramonium).
Thanks for the comment! I wish I could go see them in their natural habitat one day. I did see datura years ago as a friend was growing it, beautiful plant with cool looking, spikey seed pods :)
@@sanpedromastery6262 Yeah! when you finally come along, you will notice that two out of every three plants have deadly spines (haha), so remember to bring a nice pair of boots. Greetings, my friend. I really enjoy your videos.
It’s illegal to grow here in the US as well, I always see vendors selling them though at markets. Take park in conserving these species of lophophora by growing from seed!
Very nice tip i see there are seeds to buy of that plant. Is it the only plant that peyote likes to grow under? 👌
@@eliasstenhede4435 mmm… I’ve also found some peyotes under cordia parviflora (we call it palo prieto haha) in Querétaro. Note: Be careful with larrea teidentata, that plant dosen’t allow other plants to grow around it. But, for some strange reason, the peyotes seems love those hostile condition haha.
for peyote I use 1/8"-14" calcine clay, same size pumice and same size limestone, granite and oyster shell chips. Those three materials come in bags of chicken grit that I sift the dust and smaller particles away. The peyote love the minerals found in the granite, limestone, and crushed oyster shells, and the pumice and calcine clay adds to the drainage while the calcine clay holds just enough water in them to make the peyote happy with out causing any kind of damage. The calcine clay is the US version of Akadama. We also call ot turface.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, sounds great!
thanks for your comment
Yeah thats similar to the soil in the southwest. Peyotes love granite and limestone!
using the bonsai soil is a good suggestion. I've heard that before from other people. a wee bit of activated charcoal in the mix is a good idea too.
Love this series! I’ll be buying some seeds ASAP!
Great video! This is more or less the same soil mixture I use as well. I use just a little less peat based soil in my mix but not much less. Great advice here!
Thanks for the new video
Ive tried many different types of soil but I have to agree I prefer a fast draining soil it just seems to work better. I use 1/3 Crushed Coral for aquariums (loaded with minerals), 1/3 pumice, 1/3 limestone and I add about 3 cups of worm castings. I also feed them once in spring with a little worm casting tea.
Thank you for good advice. I'm about to plant some san pedro and peyote seeds. Also got a really old peyote which needs to be transplanted in a bigger pot.🌵
Vermiculite is a nice and practical addition too.
I use a topping of clay for germination in coarse substrate. Adding some sand might improve it a bit.
The clay is inorganic and helps prevent pathogens (I don't sterilize and use H2O2 and neem).
In general it's good to avoid coarse substrate for young and even older plants, I prefer finer more homogenous mixes. IME coarse pumice does not mix too well with clay, but it works.
Coarse vermiculite works quite well, but finer is better.
Thanks I'm just getting into L.W and L.F.
Gracias desde Costa Rica ❤
Thank you! Im in SoCal usa and I found a person who is native and lives on a south west reservation. This person is a peyote priest(shaman?) and sells the rocks/soil from where most of the peyotes he finds are growing. He has two kinds of soil he sells, or used to sell, I think he stopped but anyways. One soil is kinda sandy but with bigger granules and the other soil is more rocky. He told me that the older natives call the peyote "Rock Eaters" because they would find many growing straight from the cracks of granite rock haha but most of the soil is granite/limestone and a few other types of rock
Here is an interesting video from the Southwest in regards to natural habitat and growing conditions.
ruclips.net/video/0wC5TJ67mSo/видео.html
Like Akadama(赤玉), Kanuma(鹿沼) is also good.
Typical Japanese glowers soil mix:
Akadama 50-70%, Kanuma 30% -40%, and perlite and rice husk charcoal!
I use limestone, native soil from the Chihuahuan desert (where they grow and its also where I live), sand, perlite, and a little bit of a cactus mix soil. The key is to let the soil dry. It cant dry properly when you have them inside a house with a grow light or even in a green house sometimes. Water will evaporate faster outside. I dont put them in direct sunlight but under a nursery plant or object. I bring them in when it rains and i collect rain water to water them with.
you LITERALLY JUST posted this after I made my soil mix and re-potted my cacti...I was a few hours late...
Me too! xD oh well, i hope they like sand xX
'STONE EATERS' pdf book advises against any peat moss!!! ... gr8 mix
"I no longer use sand, it's too heavy. I instead use the literal most expensive clay on the market"
For lopho and ario, i use 80%zeolite 20%regular mix with peat/perlite and a little bit of worm casting
Whats up my dude! Just getting into Cacti now, bout to start some San pedros and Peyotes. Thanks for your information!
Welcome! These plants are fun to grow :)
Thank you for the update, really helpful.
Will definitely give this recipe a go on the seedlings currently establishing themselves.
hi do you have an alternative to peat? as it is very environmentally damaging to mine peat. and the uk is banning sale of peat in 2024.
Akadama over time gets clumpy since its cooked clay, you should repot a lot more with that soil mix because bonsais tree are supposed to be repotted quite often
I'm not sure about akadama. I used it and found it held too much water. Maybe it was low grade akadama but I found it held water for too long
Yo uso suelo pesado, desde tierras muy aridas de Cáceres hasta concentrado de minerales de los rios, lo mezclo todo y para las macetas. Intento igualar el suelo natural.
This is almost exactly what i used. Great!
What about 1/3 perlite, 1/3 pumice and 1/3 peat moss? Where I am akadama is hard to get and I can only get online. Hard to tell quality without seeing it.
Small size for that brand of Akadama. Different brands small size may be smaller or bigger. That’s my favorite brand your using.
HELL YEAH! another video!
Thank you jerry
Thanks for watching, Tyrell! :)
I’m very curious about the end of the video when you talk about the heavier soil.
I like a pretty cactus but I am more concerned with the medicine.
Does your mentors flatter “uglier” cactus have better/more potent medicine?
Side note I’m also from the Mediterranean but live in Texas now where the cactus grows naturally.
I will be mixing some of my very fertile, red clay heavy soil into the mix.
I want to add liquid agriculture lime or just lime stones.
What do you think?
I ise 100% Akadama. Is that alright will my loph be lacking any kind of nutrients?
Do you think the akadama mix (with more top soil and organic material) would be good?
hey buds, does peat not acidify? thought lophs wanted alkaline soil slightly
💚
I use Roots Organics original soil for all cacti and they seem to love it, but I may just put some akadama in when they get a bit bigger. I've heard good things about it multiple times at this point. Thanks for the videos Jerry! I actually got my first San Pedro seeds from you, bought with Litecoin when it wasn't worth a darn thing. That was smart taking it haha.
BTW the reason your peyote arent as flat as others youve seen is that yours arent buried in the soil as far as the others. try burying them level with the surface of the soil and they will be a lot more flat.
Hey Jerry how to I order seeds from you?
These are my favorites but very hard to get in my area
Do you think I could substitute lava rock for akadama?
or do 1/3 pumice 1/3 perlite 1/3 soil?
Thanks - is the soil recipe (ratio) by volume or by weight?
Volume
Doesn't peat moss get more acidic over time as the original lime treatment wears off, or something like that? I've been told to avoid it
I have never bothered with lime, my plants don't seem to need it.
Yes peat starts out very acidic and before it's typically used in a mix if it's not specified as being ph balanced it should be ph balanced using dolomite lime. This practice is standard in the nursery industry when working with peat for plants that prefer neutral soil. However, if you are using any other amendments with your peat that is alkaline this may balance out the ph the way lime would. An example would be horticulture charcoal, it has a very alkaline base. Or you might be working with plants that prefer acidic soil which in that case adjusting the ph wouldn't matter. Another thing, if you are sifting peat moss out of a bag of potting soil, this peat has already been ph adjusted with lime. It's only when you buy bags or bails of peat as a raw material that is going into your mix that it may need to be adjusted using dolomite lime..for my peyote I use 1/8"-14" calcine clay, same size pumice and same size limestone, granite and oyster shell chips. Those three materials come in bags of chicken grit that I sift the dust and smaller particles away. The peyote love the minerals found in the granite, limestone, and crushed oyster shells, and the pumice and calcine clay adds to the drainage while the calcine clay holds just enough water in them to keep the peyote happy with out causing any kind of damage. Calcine clay is the same thing as turface.
Hey, thanks for the awesome videos! Can you recommend any place to order Lophophora Williamsii seeds ?
I sell some. You can email me, but please mention your country in your email, as I can't ship them to all countries.
precious-cactus sells seeds. just rec'd my first batch from them
Exotic Seed Company in Canada will ship anywhere.
Most people tell you the organic part should not exceed 10%.
In your soilmix you have 1/3 organic ingredients.
Is this not an issue?
Otherwise i like the simplicity of this mix.
I use 1/3 organic on all my succulents and they are all healthy
Its okay when you live in a very hot place in summer. Here in the south of France, 10% organic isnt enough or you will have to water them each 2 days
What about raising the PH with Limestone or something?
A lot of people do that. I don't, and neither does my dad who has superb plants, so it's not compulsory. In fact I have never measured the ph. Having said that, maybe my plants would look even better with limestone? I don't know...
@@sanpedromastery6262 If it works you don't need even consider it, but what type of the soil mix will someone use it depends a lot on the climate that the plants are. Either do i have ever measured the PH, but on my last soil mix ( that is actually your recipe with some changes :P ) i added a bit of limestone ( about 10% ) and i saw great results of growth. BTW i live in Greece.
Does anyone use maifan?
Yo Yo Yo Jerry
I am in the states can you provide lophorpha seeds
All these fancy Japanese soils are entirely without need. Find a local product.
Do u have seeds available?
I have AKADAMA
Don't use akadama as top dressing. It holds water. I lost a dozen good loph seedlings of various genetics from rot. The akadama held moisture against the plants. Its it all the same either. There's different grades of akadama
I had to pause when I heard peat moss 😖
Nothing wrong with it. I use it for my peyotes in 1/4 parts just to add volume to the soil.
1 pt coarse sand
1 pt perlite
1 pt potting soil
1 pt peat moss
Yeah Peat holds too much moisture, is acidic, becomes hydrophobic when dry & the mining of Peat destroys valuable ancient habitat that stores Carbon… coco coir & worm castings is a more sustainable alternative 🤓🤘🏻
This ain't San Pedro
Thank you captain obvious. That comment was very helpful..
@@ericjerome270 zip ya lip Poindexter