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localtalent

Hey NYC - let's work together to make Gritty Mix

localtalent
12 years ago

I live in Manhattan, and don't have a need (or the space) to keep giant tubs of potting mix.

Given that the ingredients are difficult to get here, I'd be open to renting/borrowing a car and splitting the ingredients for the mix if anyone's interested.

Comments (30)

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    12 years ago

    Hey Localtalent,

    I see that noone in NYC has responded to your request. So ii wanted to chime in and say that you can fine turface on line as well as on Ebay. That is where i found it first.

    I will be more than willing to send youu some gran-i grit to you as well as some turface. Im not sure of how much you need to make your mix. The Fir bark is available in your local Petsmart. That is what i use and im sure you can find that.

    If you cant find it or need help. I will be willing to send you some. The US Postal service has the flatrate postage for these heavy weigh items.

    Let me know and i'll be more than willing to send you some!!

    If it were not for some other helpful people here, i wouldnt have been able to find my mix either.

    So, we all have to help one another...Let me know.

    You can send me an email or i'll check back here later...

    Good Luck!!!

    Take care everyone... : )

    Laura in VB

  • stefpix
    12 years ago

    Turface substitute is Oil-Dri from Napa Auto part #8822.

    they can order it and you can find it in the city easily. Have a hard time finding chicken grit gravel. Maybe will drive to the Bronx to the only chicken feed store of the city.

    stefano

  • Wolfey
    12 years ago

    Did everyone just give up on their gritty mix, or did you all find substitutes? I'm having your same trouble with the grit part of mine and I'd love to hear what you did...

  • susan2010
    12 years ago

    Honestly, once you factor in the cost of the car rental, isn't at least/about the same as ordering on-line and having it delivered?

  • meyermike_1micha
    12 years ago

    Laura, you have a heart of gold!

    That was very nice of you to offer and my mother wanted you to know how much she has gotten to love you through your good heart and generousity, along with me of course!

    Now, that is reason to visit threads like this to see people like you willing to walk the extra mile for others as so many others here have done for me.

    Thank you, and thank you for all that you have done for me!
    :-).

    You remind me of all that Al and Josh has done for me.

    Mike

  • queensinfo
    12 years ago

    I am in queens and know that agway in hicksville has the gran-i-grit and they offered delivery to queens. I think they also have turface too although i am not sure if it is the right turface. Is there a good nursery that you guys buy fruits plants from in the city somehwere?

  • Wolfey
    12 years ago

    FANTASTIC!

    Thank you so much!

    If I stumble across a nursery with fruit plants I will definitely let you know.

    I will make a run to the Hickville Agway this weekend - would anyone like me to pick them up some grit?

  • queensinfo
    12 years ago

    wolfey, where are you located (borough or town)? I havent picked up my stuff yet but will sometine in feb or march. please let me know if they have the "right stuff".

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    12 years ago

    QK - how about adding an email link to your user info?

    Laura - I'm getting low on grit. Plez send 50 lbs. ;-)

    Al

  • queensinfo
    12 years ago

    Tapla-
    I thought it was already there. Thanks for pointing out. Glad I can finally give something back for all the help I received. Can't wait till the warm weather to finally plant

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    12 years ago

    Lol - While you're at it then, why not add your location and zone so it appears on your posts, like my 'tapla
    z5b-6a mid-MI"?

    {{gwi:13161}}

    Al

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    12 years ago

    Hello Everyone,

    I never heard back from LocalTalent, so i would guess that he/she found what they needed?

    We all have to help each other to help our plants grow to their potential right?

    Mike,

    You are so sweet to say that. You and your mom are wonderful people and im so glad to have you as friends. Thank you for the kind words. You have helps me as well as AL and others. So we all have to "pay it forward..." That is that way i was brought up.

    I remind you of how Al and Josh have helped you? WOW!! What a nice thing to say...thank you for such kind words...You make me blush!!! : )

    Al,

    I thought that if you only wanted 50 lbs, i may as well send a few more to even out the truck load. How is 4 bags total? Will that do alright? : ) I'll let you know when it is to be delivered!!! HA!

    i have a few hundred containers to repot this spring...maybe we can do a trade? LOL...

    Take care everyone!!!

    Even tho Josh isnt here....HI JOSH!!! : )

    Have a great night Mike, Sissy and AL!!!

    Nice to see you all here...

    I just wondered what happened to localtalent? Funny when you try to help and then you never heres back? Hmmmm....

    Laura

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    12 years ago

    Hey, Laura!
    I'm never far... ;-)

    Josh

  • Wolfey
    12 years ago

    Queenskitchen -

    I'm in Brooklyn, near Manhattan. I tried to make it to Hicksville last weekend, but the snow stranded me in Queens. I did confirm that they have the correct Gran-I-Grit, so I'll try again on Saturday.

  • queensinfo
    12 years ago

    did you ever get your gran-i -grit? do you have a pine bark place that you found. i am having difficulty?

  • Rob23b
    12 years ago

    Try Gowanus nursery in Brooklyn. They have pine bark fines. I sent them an email, and they said that they're not officially open until the spring but are in the store a lot during winter working on projects and can arrange a time to be there to sell it to a customer.

  • Dr IK
    12 years ago

    Mr. John from HeritageOrchards.com is selling all TAPLA Gritty mix ingredients. He is coming to deliver in NYC in first week of April. He has very good pine bark fines, Gran-I-Grit and Turface. He is very helpful. Shipping cost can be low for New Yorkers if we can order it before first week of April.

    His details are:
    John F.
    Phone: 617-383-7374
    Website: http://heritageorchards.com

    Best,
    Imran

  • queensinfo
    12 years ago

    i saw that listing and figured someone must have gotten wise (the listing showing the pine bark fines and the screened size clued me in that it was targeted to this forum).

  • hookilau
    11 years ago

    I know this is an old thread but I was wondering if anyone ended up ordering from Heritage Orchards and or how everyone solved their problem of collecting components.

    I'm not far from the Hicksville Agway where I get grani-grit & have gotten bark fines as well, but I hate sifting so I opted out & bought stupid repti-bark. Still looking for a cheaper alternative. Turface can also be had pretty readily from a company in Farmingdale, but then again, oil dry from Walmart is cheaper & more readily available.

    The only thing I have trouble with is Pine fines. I'm hoping to hear good things about H.O. in anticipation of ordering for spring. I guess not enough folks wanted to go in on the pallet?

    Antoinette

  • meyermike_1micha
    11 years ago

    Heritage Orchids ignored my calls all summer and never got back to be after leaving several messages..How rude.

    Mike

  • maple_grove_gw
    11 years ago

    I did order form them last spring. The guy showed up with half of my pine bark order. He promised to come back the following weekend with the rest. He never showed up, ignored my phone calls and e-mails. I had to go through my credit card to get a partial refund on the part of my order he never brought. That said, the bark that he did bring was great...

  • nycgarden
    11 years ago

    Hi Everyone,
    I'm a rooftop gardener in the meat packing district.
    I found aged fines at the Lowes in Brooklyn for sale, but did not get over there to see the quality. The fines I used were from an Agway that I had special ordered to an affiliate in the Bronx. The Gowanus nursery fines seemed a bit expensive at $12 a CU. The Orchard service also seemed a bit expensive if you factor in the delivery charge.
    I plan on using the Lowes version next season. I'm happy to work together with anyone else in NYC to pool resources for next season

    Here is a link that might be useful: my garden blog

  • hookilau
    11 years ago

    I found pine fines at Lowes near Garden City too but it was at the end of the summer & either they had decomposed enough to be too fine for gritty & more suitable for 511, or this is the way it is & it's better for 511.

    I bought the pine fines at Agway in Hicksville, I got tired of sifting & ended up using it in the garden & dishing out the $$ for reptibark. (I know, I'm a sucker.)

    I'm also happy to work with anyone to pool resources for next season. I'll probably end up with the Agway fines from Greenvale in Hicksville & commit to sifting. I was thoroughly exhausted from the search & admittedly didn't have the heart to go through that huuuuge agway bag, LOL!! I don't remember off the top of my head but I think it was either 8 or 12$ for a 3 cf bag. eh. I don't remember anymore ;) I was just so darned happy to get it. See pics in the thread below.

    Hmm. HO got fed up with us, huh? I won't bother then. I've had enough of rough treatment from plant nursery people.

    It sucks when a business does more than elude to the fact that servicing you doesn't line their pockets the way they feel it should. At least this is the feeling I get waaaay too often.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the thread with the pic of the agway bark after sifting

  • nycgarden
    11 years ago

    Hi Hookilau,
    Your fines look much more composted than mine did. I also got the same Agway bag as in your pic. I used mine for the 511 mix

    Below is a link to what mine looked like and the method I use to sift the bag. My back was paying me back for days after that exercise.

    I paid 12 for the 2 cu. ft. bag but was told that it's 6 if you get directly from Agway.

    The HO guy seemed nice to me on the phone, I just thought the $50 min. delivery charge made it not really worth it for me.

    Do you venture into the city at all? I'm happy to trade seeds and/or supplies. Right now I've got a 40 pd bag of garden lime that I will probably need 3 lifetimes to use up and rye grass seeds that I use as a cover crop for my containers during Winter. Oh, and 70 strawberry plants that have overwhelmed me plus assorted vegetable, herb, flower seeds.

    -Dan

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • hookilau
    11 years ago

    Dan,

    I got mine just a few weeks ago, sometime in Sept. I've heard there is variation from pallet to pallet. It's also possible, I suppose, that since I got it at the end of the season, it had composted some. At least that's what I surmised about the much cheaper but definitely usable (for 511) Lowe's Pine Fines.

    The agway stuff looked great right out of the bag, I just lost heart when I realized after a whole lotta sifting, I got 1/3 for gritty, and 2/3 for the garden o_O Not really a bad thing compared to NONE, haha. DH said the bags were 8$ each & they're like 3' high, so it's alot!

    I do venture into the city from time to time. The parental units still live in Queens & nothing beats going down to Liberty Ave when the weather gets warm for shopping carribean fruit, veggies & related hard to find paraphernalia.

    I'm right over the Nassau County border just past Belmont Park. I just packed most everything away for the season & with one last roto-tilling, I'll have the backyard put to bed till March. I can't use anything right now. Where are you located?

  • nycgarden
    11 years ago

    Hi hookilau,
    I sent you a private message. Let me know if you don't get it.

    -Dan

  • hookilau
    11 years ago

    got it -_0

  • judylaw
    10 years ago

    Hey everybody,

    I know this is an old old thread but just wondering...does anyone still want to share the Gritty Mix ingredients in NYC area?

    I live in an apartment and only has a few houseplants and Succulents/Cactis. Would love to try THE gritty mix and wouldn't mind hunting for supply. Just the talking of units freaks me out!! 2 cu. ft. bag!! I don't have any space to store that kind of bags!

    Please help!!

    Judy

  • greentoe357
    10 years ago

    Working together is a great idea, I think. I need to get to Hicksville Agway somehow as well for the gritty mix ingredients - not just in the spring, but soon. I hope people are still watching this thread.

    What I have:
    * an apartment on Coney Island, Brooklyn, spacious enough to store ingredients or the mix, including temporarily for someone else,
    * time, health and willingness to help lift and screen the stuff for "the cooperative" (haha, let's call ourselves that),

    What I need:
    * outdoors space to screen the ingredients. I can screen indoors for myself only, but I'd rather do it outside in a well-ventilated space.
    * a car.

    My brother has a car and works 20 minutes from Agway, actually. Asking him does not solve the outdoors screening space problem though - so I like the idea of getting some of us together. It could be as simple as you offering the screening space, me delivering the bags there and us both working together on the mix. Gas /ingredients /equipment cost gets split proportionately.

    I need a bag or two of each ingredient for my mix (so, 3 to 6 bags total).

    Do you guys think we should exchange email addresses rather than communicate here exclusively? If so, hit me with yours through this site or directly to eugsko at gmail. Tell me what you need and what you can offer.

    For people who read this years later :-), feel free to email me as well, and I'll be glad to tell you what I know and if we still have an active "cooperative" at that time.

    Eugene.
    The coop secretary. :-)

    P.S. I wish we could just buy the damn mix!

  • nycgarden
    10 years ago

    greentoe357,
    Sent you a PM. I'm in as a founding member of the 511 NYC coop.

    -Dan