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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64960

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I think that the substrate leatherback uses, the red kind of fired clay is the same kind of material and have the same benerfits as crushed bricks.

Please fill me in here leatherback. I dont remember the name.

It is virtually impossible to find for sale here. But I found half a bag at a friends place used for culturing grindahl worms in and got some to try. The best non organic substrate for my climate and care regime. I mixed it with bark mulch and it works perfect. Love to find somewhere to get it at reasonable cost in scandinavia.

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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64964

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Topfrog, Do you mean Linda Moler 'catgrid'?

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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64968

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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64975

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I was refering to the crushed expanded shale. Now that I look at the site. It does not looks red as the one I have. Not sure if that makes any difference. But the ordinary expanded clay balls are the same base material but way to porous in my opinion.

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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64981

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But the ordinary expanded clay balls are the same base material but way to porous in my opinion.


It is what I grow all my trees in.

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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64983

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But the ordinary expanded clay balls are the same base material but way to porous in my opinion.


It is what I grow all my trees in.


Not mentioned in the linc posted earlier. Time to update?

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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64988

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It's listed on his site. About at the end of the page, you will find the following text.

Expanded shale

Expanded shale
So I was still stuck for a solution, when I was buying some construction materials for the renovation of my house. And that is where I came a across a product called expanded shale (In German: Blähton). I found them as a product made to level floors, in a good coarseness for the pots. The kernels are broken and sifted to size. This material drains perfectly. Has a large surface area due to the broken nature of it. And dries quickly. This is now the core material of my substrate. On its own it is too dry. So I mix in kitten litter and bark to keep it more evenly moist without having a constantly wet surface area.

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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64989

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Yes lots of confusion here. If you Google expanded clay shale or blähton you will get a few pictures that look like what leatherback use. But you will also get a lot of picure of expanded clay balls. That is a very common product in most parts of the world. Also called leca balls. I am not sure it is the same thing. Maybe the product lb uses is just crushed expanded clay balls? In that case, never mind my comment. But I dont think so.

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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64991

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it is the same material
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brick 3 years 2 months ago #64994

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Thanks ok. The fantasic material I found is somthing different and very similar to crushed brick. I really need to get some more.

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