When we have to make jin or shari on branches or trunk selected on a bonsai we need to apply lime sulphur. Lime sulphur is not always available in shops. But sulphur can be easily found. How can we prepare lime sulphur?

Wikipedia helps:

It can be prepared by boiling calcium hydroxide and sulfur together with a small amount of surfactant. It is normally used as an aqueous solution, which is reddish-yellow in colour and has a distinctive offensive odour.

One recipe for the concentrate is 80 lb. sulfur, 36 lb. pure quicklime, and 50 gallons of water. 2.25:1 is the ratio (by weight) for compounding sulfur and quicklime; this makes the highest proportion of pentasulfide. If hydrated lime is used, an increase by 1/3 or more (to 48 lb. or more) might be used with the 80 lb. of sulfur. If the quicklime is 85%, 90%, or 95% pure, use 38 lb, 40 lb, or 42 lb; if impure hydrated lime is used, similarly increase its quantity. Avoid using lime that is less than 90% pure. Rinse magnesium oxide from the lime and do not keep it in the water; it is a catalyst for hydrogen sulfide gas; sulfur in that form leaves the solution by evaporation, diluting it. Boil for an hour, stirring and adding small amounts of hot water to compensate for evaporation.

do a web search for "jin seal" lime sulphur for bonsai ...much easier and less expensive

Hi Keith, have you made this search before? Just wondering if you type in "jin seal" only or "jin seal lime sulphur"?

Hi Jelle, whew! That recipie sounds wickedly dangerous! I had this image of you as Dr.Jeckle/Mr.Hyde in a shadowy basement room, bending over a huge, cast-iron cauldron while stirring your concoction with a big wooden paddle. You were surrounded by test tubes, bunsen burners and bubbling beakers! No offense meant but you were pretty scary looking! Aaaaaugh!

What can I say...being an artist I see things in images.

Here is the results I found on the "Jin Seal-lime sulphur" which is a product name. www.google.ca/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz...1l2344l0.2.2.3.1l8l0

Here is an article I found on how to make a smaller amount of lime sulphur than the recipe *leatherback* posted. This article includes recipe, step-by-step instructions and photos. Hope this helps! milkwood.net/2010/11/02/biofertilizer-re...-caldo-sulfocalcico/

Leslie wrote:

Hi Jelle, whew! That recipie sounds wickedly dangerous! I had this image of you as Dr.Jeckle/Mr.Hyde in a shadowy basement room, bending over a huge, cast-iron cauldron while stirring your concoction with a big wooden paddle. You were surrounded by test tubes, bunsen burners and bubbling beakers! No offense meant but you were pretty scary looking! Aaaaaugh!

Hehehe,

You should have seen me during some of my PhD thesis work. Analyzing the chemical concentration of hundreds of Mopane leaf samples. All sorts of colors, using gallons of acetone per afternoon. I'd get out of the lab at midnight, to crawl into my sleeping bag in the office, completely dazed by all the fumes. I *should* have pictures somewhere, but don't think I can recover them (They are from the good old print-film time).

Actually it is easy to make lime sulphur. Just add powdered sulphur on heated slaked lime shells and slowly add water so that it breaks down and everything fuse together to form lime sulphur. But for doing reactions in the right way we need to follow proceedure which may look awkward.

sai wrote:

Actually it is easy to make lime sulphur. Just add powdered sulphur on heated slaked lime shells and slowly add water so that it breaks down and everything fuse together to form lime sulphur. But for doing reactions in the right way we need to follow proceedure which may look awkward.

Un [?] fortunately, for a normal person these compounts cannot be easily purchased

haha jelle your thesis work ,at least the chemical part, sounds like a regular day at work for me ive got my own 55 gallon drum of acetone in one of my chemical cabinets...if your hands get too cold just light a match

Haha,

Yeah, Acetone is beautifull stuff. But boy, did I detest that work. It was unfortunately required work (My prof. believed firmly in; Do it yourself 1000 times before hiring an analyst). But is was just to do analysis onl ater on. It was fortunately only a few months in a 4 year project.