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Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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Posted by orchidnick z9Ca (orchidnick@yahoo.com) on Mon, Nov 2, 09 at 15:36
| Sonoma Gold that is. I was in Northern California this weekend trick or treating with my grandchildren in Redding. On the side yard of one of my son's neighbor I noticed a light brown/yellow gravel like rock which was remarkably light. We researched it and found out it's called 'Sonoma Gold' and is from -- surprise-- Sonoma county. Apparently there is a guy who blasts it out of a mountain and sells it to Rock and Gravel shops in California, Oregon and Nevada. I could not find anyone carrying or even knowing about it in Los Angeles.
We found it at a local quarry and I bought some. Since my car is engineered to carry an additional 3 fat guys swilling beer and listening to an NFL game, I figured it could handle a few hundred pounds of this stuff.
It reminds me of the rock they use in 'Aussie Gold', light weight and of the same color. I don't think its porous so probably does not retain water. I'm going to try it on some plants insteasd of the granite I use because it's so light and probably does retain a little more water than the granite which retains none.
Has anyone in Northern California, Oregon or Nevada used this stuff? If you know anything about it let me know.
Nick |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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| Nick, Never having heard of Sonoma Gold, I was intrigued by your post and looked it up on the web. Sonoma Gold is supplied by Sierra Rock, in Roseville (near Sacramento), so I called them and was told that it is "basically a limestone rock." Some of it appears to have some quartz content as well. I guess it is fine for orchids not minding a little limestone in their culture. Sc |
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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| I know that some Paphs like limestone as do other specific orchids. Any comments whether the average orchid which does not need limestone would be adversely affected. Nick |
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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| After phoning around a bit, Sierra Rock appears to be the best place. They have it in all the smaller sizes but are the only one I found that offers 1 1/2" size. They are only a small detour form my route from LA to Redding, will pick some up the next time I visit my son. $2.50 for a 5 gallon bucket. Will try that size on larger Catts and larger D speciosums. 1 1/2" crushed granite weighs a ton, I'm looking forward to trying this stuff. They also told me that the person who produces it is an independent crusty type who periodically stops working. Everybody runs out of it and it becomes unavailabel until the guy's bank account balance is low enough to stimulate him to crush some more. The 'Old West' is alive and well. Nick |
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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| Nick, Below is a brief discussion that took place on this forum about a year ago. Sc |
Here is a link that might be useful: Acid or Alkaline?
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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| I'm receiving 30 Cattleya hybrids today from Kawamoto. See 'Help me find a great Cattleya, please'. He has them in bark with additives, very great mix but not for my conditions (water too often) so I usually repot them. I will randomly place every second one in Sonoma Gold, the others in my usual way, water and feed them the same way and then see if there is a difference in growth and root formation. Thanks for your input, it was helpful. Nick |
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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| I use limestone and or granite, with pea gravel for thinner roots. There is no real pH change in watering, that would only happen if you had a bark mix with limestone mixed in so it is wet for long periods and there is a little carbolic acid in the water. I am one county over from Sonoma and have never heard of it. |
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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I just use pebbles in the mix for those orchids that occur mostly as Lithophytes in nature.
Haven't a clue what the origin was but most seem to be mostly composed of the hard form of Silica. I use some Diatomite in my general purpose mix but this rocks is very soft and is made of the skeletons of tiny creatures that lived in Ancient Seas, Is it beneficial? Do not know, but when i told ex resident Scientist how good it was he just sniffed and said. "Did you run a trial". So thinking that something works is just that. Thinking. |
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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| When I first read of Sonoma Gold, my next thought was that you must have a variety of el Primo, West Virginia wacky weed. "I am one county over from Sonoma and have never heard of it." trick or treating? Let's not take ourselves too seriously. Nick, I'm HAPPY to read that you have a Gripp on this matter. Good research. :) Excuse me, I got off your TOPIC ---- !!!!
This is just for fun,
I think.... --Stitz-- |
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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| Diatomite keeps your plants snail free. It gives them cuts between their sweet little toes and they avoid it like the plaque. It's of particular use if you are bothered by Bush snails which live under ground and you have no idea they are there unless you take a plant out of it's pot. Nick |
RE: Thar's Gold in them thar hills.
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| If you want to determine if the rock is absorbant, put some in a container and pour exactly one or two cups of water over them. Then in an hour come back and pour the water out and measure it. |
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