Paul, this is music to my ears. Honestly, so much easier and simpler not having to add all these fancy other mixes. I think straight sand combined with the bottomless pot method, the dragons will be set
Not all sands are the same though. I tested water retention in various soils and sands finding great differences. If I fill 1 gal pots with soil or sand and immerse it in water to fully hydrate it, then let it drain, and measure the wt-% of water after 2 hrs, 1-day, 3-days, 1-week, etc, I find that depending on the source of the sand the water retention, drainage, aeration, and compaction can vary by an order of magnitude. Some sands will retain 20% of their original moisture after 1 week, while others retain less than 1% after only 3 days. Some sands have fine particles to small sizes, and set up like concrete on drying, while others have more uniform size distributions and remain free flowing. I ended up using Olympia #2 sand (rounded grains with few smaller than 1/3 mm) with about 10% organic material (by loose volume, very much less by weight) for my DF. The organic material retains some moisture better, while the sand drains well with lots of air getting to the roots. I then top dress with fertilizer/compost/manure. I doubt that I'll have too much volume degradation over time with the mixture.
I got 4 trellises with a mixture of mostly fox farms and pumice. It's been doing well for now, but I have had issues with rust at times. I manage it with that sea kelp spray that you've shared with us, but I'm thinking I'll do things differently when it comes time to re-pot in the future. I'm gonna put it off while I can, but eventually I can see myself using the all-purpose sand and pumice like you did. Maybe some chunky perlite. Top dressing is easy enough.
![[Gardening at home] How to grow dragon fruit at home for your family to eat all year round](/img/n.gif)
Paul, this is music to my ears.
Honestly, so much easier and simpler not having to add all these fancy other mixes.
I think straight sand combined with the bottomless pot method, the dragons will be set
so can I just plant it into the ground because the soil where I live in just pretty much just sand
Not all sands are the same though. I tested water retention in various soils and sands finding great differences. If I fill 1 gal pots with soil or sand and immerse it in water to fully hydrate it, then let it drain, and measure the wt-% of water after 2 hrs, 1-day, 3-days, 1-week, etc, I find that depending on the source of the sand the water retention, drainage, aeration, and compaction can vary by an order of magnitude. Some sands will retain 20% of their original moisture after 1 week, while others retain less than 1% after only 3 days. Some sands have fine particles to small sizes, and set up like concrete on drying, while others have more uniform size distributions and remain free flowing. I ended up using Olympia #2 sand (rounded grains with few smaller than 1/3 mm) with about 10% organic material (by loose volume, very much less by weight) for my DF. The organic material retains some moisture better, while the sand drains well with lots of air getting to the roots. I then top dress with fertilizer/compost/manure. I doubt that I'll have too much volume degradation over time with the mixture.
I think that’s what happened to mine when I tried straight sand. I think my sand was too fine, and turn to concrete
can you talk about options for fertilizers in the next video or so? thanks
I’m using Gary’s mixed with sand and the wind blows it away it so light. My plants have been growing good in it though
Is sand from the beach ok?
I got 4 trellises with a mixture of mostly fox farms and pumice. It's been doing well for now, but I have had issues with rust at times. I manage it with that sea kelp spray that you've shared with us, but I'm thinking I'll do things differently when it comes time to re-pot in the future.
I'm gonna put it off while I can, but eventually I can see myself using the all-purpose sand and pumice like you did. Maybe some chunky perlite. Top dressing is easy enough.
Are you top dressing with fox farm and grow power?
Which sand are you using Play sand or All Purpose Sand from Home Depot? Thanks
I’m going to repot my dragon fruits into sand. They are not thriving yet not dying; get rust and look blah.
Hi Paul, where can I buy some cuttings of amarilla Mexicana , tank you