FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi all,

I am going to post next springs soil experiment. I realize that is only November but materials need to be prepared and aged before spring planting occurs. The concept and outline of the experiment is as follows:

I will try to attempt to recreate the soil medium that VFT's grow in their natural habitat. I will be drawing on my post-titled "Ultimate Planting Soil?" from a few months ago. Mainly I will look at trying to create a medium that is acidic, highly sandy, incorporates fine organics consisting of Sphagnum Peat, decomposed pin needles, mulched pine barren grasses and weeds.

First, the inorganic material,
The sand will be extremely fine grain white silica, >100 mesh. The it will be repeatedly washed in distilled water, (X3) and then immersed in water for the winter. In the Spring, the PH of the water will be tested to determine if its slightly alkaline. If the PH is neutral then it can be mixed with the organics, if slightly alkaline then the medium may require a short acid soak to bring sand to a neutral PH level. VFT's enjoy acidic soils and this is were the organic component takes over.

Second, the organic material,
Step #1 The peat will be aged while sitting in distilled water,(out of direct sunlight) for 4 months. After this time the material will be allowed to slightly dry and then will be manually pulverized into a slurry.
Step #2 Pine needles, mulched weeds (seedless) and grasses (seedless) will be treated in the same manor, (only a few hand fulls of each). Any remaining organics from step #2 should be allowed to dry for the winter, more on this in a minute. The non-peat organic materials will be allowed to dry slightly after a 4 month soak in distilled water. The aged mixture is then removed from the fermenting container and allowed to slightly dry . Once the moisture is reduce, the organic mixture is pulverized like the peat in step #1

Step#3 Combine the organic components to create a mixture of 75% aged pulverized peat and 25% non-peat organic, (pulverized) material by weight, (not volume).

Third, mixing the materials,
Mix the slightly moist inorganic material with the slightly moist organic material, (80% to 20% by volume not weight). The mix for many minutes to develop a highly uniform blend. The soil should now be spongy and airy. Keep the mixture moist but not wet.

What to do with the unused pine needles, mulched weeds and seedless grass? Burn them and mix the ashes with distilled water. Place this diluted mixture into a spray bottle for potting.

Fourth, potting procedures,
Prepare a 4" plastic pot by washing it with dish washing soap, (squeaky clean). This removes any mold release residue that my still be on the pot that could leach into the soil. I will line the bottom of the pot with 1/2" of sphagnum moss. Now I will fill the pot to the top with the mixed planting medium, press the medium well around the VFT bulb and gently mist the upper surface with the diluted ash-water mixture, (extremely sparingly). Water will be by the tray method. Normal capillary action will keep the planting medium moist.


Wow! now that's a lot of work! This plan came from reading many sources and inspecting actual soil from the VFT natural habitat. I wanted to address as many variables as I could or I will be wondering later on. I guess that is failing of mine. Anyway, I will keep you posted on results in the spring.

Best regards,
Curtis

Hi Curtis, This sounds like a great experiment, please take loads of photos of each stage and keep us posted with the VFT's growth.

Carl

this seems quite complicated. i have one question (for now.) why is it that you have to spray it with that ash-water thing?

Hi Lily,

Good question. In the VFT's natural environment it is quite common to have brush fires, (typically from lighting strikes). It is assumed that fires would effect a location every 2-5 years. These days, local fire departments would put these fires out, (disrupting the natural ways of the bog). Normally fires would destroy everything including the Venus flytraps leaves above ground. The bulb would normally not be harmed by the fast moving fires and would be one of the first plants to sprout new growth. In addition, the fires would remove all the competing plants that sometimes overwhelm the VFT's. As with all fires, smoke and ash return nutrients back into the ground and "may" stimulate VFT's growth like a natural fertilizer. In any event, this is an experiment and we will have to just see if there is any benefit from this ash-water thing.


Hi Matt,

Yes, my wife and I are looking to purchase a house this spring if the economy does not force lay offs at my work place. Good luck on your house hunting. I will keep the forum updated on the progression of the experiment. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your lady. Happy Thanksgiving to all our forum members in the states. Now I need to lay down on the couch and take a nap! Oh, you got to love turkey.

Best regards,
Curtis

is this supposed to be making soil for Venus Fly Traps? why do you have to age it? i also wonder what kind of moss is it if it grows on trees?

Hi Lily,

lemonlily wrote:is this supposed to be making soil for Venus Fly Traps? why do you have to age it? i also wonder what kind of moss is it if it grows on trees?

I am not sure of your first question. Please restate it for me.

I need to age the peat moss so that it starts to rot, (turning almost jet black as in the soil samples from the VFT natural environment). This gives the peat moss time to break down further, (some freshly purchased peat moss has the appearance of being slightly brown).

Your last question of "what type of moss I am using that grows on trees?", I do not use moss that grows on trees, (called tree moss and can kill VFT's). I only use pine needles from pine trees that grow in the the VFT's natural environment. These pine needles have a very basic PH level and help induce the acidic nature of the soil the plants live in.

Best regards,
Curtis

sorry Curtis, i meant are you trying to make soil for Venus Fly Traps?

Hi Lily,

Yes Lily, I am trying to "recreate" the soil that the VFT's grow in pine barren marshes of Southern North Carolina and Northern South Carolina. I do not want to remove soils from this area so the next best thing to do is to create a soil mixture that is as close to the real deal! I believe your next question may be Why?

Well, VFT's genetic make up is expecting a specific type of soil, temperature, photo-period, water purity and many other things to flourish. The farther we (the growers of these wonderful plants) stray from these expected environmental conditions the more the plants become stressed. Stressed VFT's show signs of sluggish growth, deformed leaves, premature decay of traps and not able to produce seed to mention a few of the symptoms. So, if we create conditions that are very similar to the plants natural environment then our plants grow healthy, ( better color, larger size, vigorous growth and live long seed bearing lives). I am not sure that we know how long VFTs live.

I hope this answers some of your questions and thoughts.

Best regards,
Curtis

wow, Curtis

i cant wait to hear the results

Wow...I know this is really late, but I think it's really wonderful what you are doing! good luck! How are your plants doiing now? Can't wait to here the results!

Thank you for asking, all the little ones are still in dormancy for now. I grow all my plants out doors so my spring growth pattern will be delayed a few weeks longer. All looks good for now, our winter was somewhat mild with the frosts occurring last fall. We have had good rains for a change so the soil is a little more wet than typical and all the fall traps are still green and active. I will keep everyone up to date as this second year growing season starts. I appreciate you asking and I hope that your plants also grow strong this spring.

Best regard to everyone.
Curtis

Excellent experiment, Solarin. I hope that you will keep everyone here updated on the progress of the experiment. I'm continuing with my coir as sphagnum peat moss substitute experiment this year, and hope to have some results to show people by late summer or fall.

Bump

This thread is 3 years old!
You would think those pine needles are pretty rotten by now