Diatomite crushing

michael bonsai · Post by **michael bonsai** » July 15th, 2012, 10:34 am

Hi guys,

I bought a bag of mt Silvia Diatomite from enfield produce but i forget to check the size and it turns out it is 7-15mm. Is there anyway to crush it down or will it just turn to dust? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Post by **kcpoole** » July 15th, 2012, 11:01 am

It will break Quite happily although you will end up with lots of smaller bits too
Put a layer on the ground and put a steel plate over it and jump on it.

Ken

Ray · Post by **Ray** » July 15th, 2012, 11:26 am

Adding to Ken's advice. Use some spacers, say 5mm, to stop the plate completely turning the diatomite to dust. That way the plate can only go to the height you set.

Barry1 · Post by **Barry1** » July 15th, 2012, 11:35 am

Michael I just sieve mine and use the larger size on the bottom of my pots for added drainage and mix the rest in with sieved potting mix =good drainage and good water retention

michael bonsai · Post by **michael bonsai** » July 15th, 2012, 11:40 am

Thanks for the advice guys!!! i'll sieve it first and see how much of the bag consists of the larger sizes and if there is too much of the larger stones ill use the steel plate and spacer method to crush it down a tad. At what point does the diatomite become too small, below 5mm?

Barry1 · Post by **Barry1** » July 15th, 2012, 1:46 pm

Oh Michael I should have said before ,sieve outside and wear a mask as there is a lot of dust and it can be harmful if inhaled

Paulneill · Post by **Paulneill** » July 15th, 2012, 2:28 pm

you could try sucking it up trough a lawnmower and see what that does . i keep meaning to try it with pine bark.

Post by **kcpoole** » July 15th, 2012, 3:14 pm

michael bonsai wrote:Thanks for the advice guys!!! i'll sieve it first and see how much of the bag consists of the larger sizes and if there is too much of the larger stones ill use the steel plate and spacer method to crush it down a tad. At what point does the diatomite become too small, below 5mm?

I use 2-7mm size in all my pots. Anything less than about 1 mm I discard.

peterb · Post by **peterb** » July 15th, 2012, 5:32 pm

Hi
A hydro place here in adelaide has a few bags of maidenwell (7-15) i bought a bag and made a steel rolling pin and steel board, crushes up easily. I'm now going to buy a few more bags the really fine stuff i sift out the dust and use the very small stuff for cuttings works very well
regards
peterb

Mojo Moyogi · Post by **Mojo Moyogi** » July 15th, 2012, 6:10 pm

Michael, wouldn't it just be easier to return the bag to where you bought it and swap it for the right size?

Cheers,
Mojo

michael bonsai · Post by **michael bonsai** » July 15th, 2012, 7:00 pm

I thought about that Mojo but they don't have any smaller sizes at the moment so ill just have to make do with the bag I've got for the time being, ill update you guys later with how i went reducing the size of the larger pieces

cre8ivbonsai · Post by **cre8ivbonsai** » July 18th, 2012, 10:46 pm

Paulneill wrote:you could try sucking it up trough a lawnmower and see what that does . i keep meaning to try it with pine bark.

Ive got some old maidenwell 7-15 i need to reduce, mower might be worth a shot, if I try it I'll possibly line the catcher with ... shade cloth?

Edit, I've tried nails in wood, press method ... don't bother, it just sticks between the nails - very slow, not effective

Chris H · Post by **Chris H** » July 18th, 2012, 11:12 pm

Its a good idea to by a few bags of smaller in summer. This time of year all bonsai buffs have already made our pilgrimage to enfield.

They prob have some smaller stuff by now.

AGarcia · Post by **AGarcia** » July 19th, 2012, 12:45 pm

I didn't know Mt Sykvia sold the bigger size. I use the 7-15 mm size for the bottom of pots and planter boxes. I am almost out of this size. I will have to hunt around more to find the larger one around my area.

AG

Steve Warren · Post by **Steve Warren** » July 19th, 2012, 3:33 pm

Hello all,

While not relevant to the topic, I bought 2 bags of 2-7 mm from enfield 2months ago, they had plenty at the time. This is the first time I have used it and due to my impatience I have potted up a few different species (mainly privet and young figs - if they died it wouldn't really matter). What a wonderful product to work with. I have already used 1 bag and spring hasn't even arrived. I hope you lot stay away from Enfield Produce so there is stock left for me.

Regards

Steve Warren (formely Steve W)

AusBonsai