Hi,
I am from Kolkata- India. I am new in this filed and I am trying to make my own bonsai soil. I read the soil preparations part and some comments also but still I have some question. Anybody plz help me to find this answer.
1. In the bonsai soil recipe can I use garden soil or plain soil to make bonsai soil. If yes the plz share the amount of this.
2. Can I use the soil mix direct or do I need to dry it before use.

" Basic or Organic Soil Mix

The basic soil mix for bonsai has, for many years been grit and peat, mixed to a ratio of around 50/50. The peat holds water and nutrients whilst the grit provides drainage and keeps the soil open. The peat used is moss peat rather than sedge peat, the grit, either flint grit or crushed granite. All ingredients should be sifted to remove particles smaller than 2mm.

There are other organic substitutes for peat; leaf mould and composted bark are sometimes used along with other peat substitutes. Farmyard manure, garden compost or garden soils should never be used as they are of questionable quality and frequently carry soil-borne diseases.

The standard mix for bonsai is 50/50 peat to grit, but when repotting Junipers, Pines and other species that require a free-draining mix, the percentage of grit should be increased to as much as 75/25. "

This is the easiest way I found on the net some time ago, and probably will do ok.

Please add the source of the text:

torontobonsai.org/archive/Journal/Journa...03/apr.2003/soil.htm

I think you should not skip this part:
"Varying Soil Mixtures To Suit Different Tree Species

Though all Bonsai require free-draining, water-retentive soils, different species vary in their requirements for water and nutrients and this should be reflected in their soil composition"

I think it would be a good idea to ask what tree species it concerns.

I would appreciate comments on this: 50% grit - 50% humus for deciduous trees? I know it's not a dream soil, but I'd like to know if the plant would survive in there? I thought of it as a transitional soil for pre-bonsai when taken from my garden to the pot. I'm aware of all of the alternatives, but I'm a beginner and I'm not interested in perfection, but in low cost or no cost, somthing I can make with large amount of organic resources available to me as there's a forrest wherever I look. There are no swamps here so peat moss is not an option.

Nikola990 wrote:

I'm aware of all of the alternatives
I'm not interested in perfection, but in low cost or no cost

As you know all the alternatives, I'm sure you know what low cost alternatives there are.

I do, I just wanted to know about the simple proportion mentioned.

Nikola990 wrote:

I do, I just wanted to know about the simple proportion mentioned.

Well, all I know is that someone who knows all soil alternatives said it will probably do OK.

I copied an article as and advice to a felow beginner, not something I made up but commonly used stuff. When I want to know something, I ask a question and expect an answer I can use. So when I say I know everything about everything in this world, except the thing i mentioned in my question, that's a way to avoid all kinds of explanations I often get where NONE of them refers to the thing I wanted to know, but everything around it. If this annoys you, ignore it and save yourself some time.

Nikola990 wrote:

I copied an article as and advice to a felow beginner, not something I made up but commonly used stuff.

So, apart from hijacking someone else's topic, you don't trust the advice you are giving someone yourself?

I cannot really answer your question as you don't want 'all kind of explanations' - and there are quite a few variables, like the tree type, state of development of the tree, your climate, your watering and your feeding regime. I cannot give you a straight answer - except that I personally would use far less or even no soil at all.

I didn't hijacked anything, everything found on the internet is a public property, at least in Montenegro. I typed "", and I didn't read it in the article from the link you gave, it was also from a comment on someone's question on yahoo answers; I copied that and didn't pay attention to the link. You gave me a straight answer in the last sentence in your last comment. I know various terms are to be considered, but according to literature I've read and informations I gathered, there are basic mixes for most of species to react well. Under some other other topics I mentioned plants I'm working with, like ligustrum, ivy or firethorn, considered to grow wherever you throw them here. I wanted the best odds however, so I'm exploring options that seem promissing to me, and ask for people's knowledge and experience on the subject.