substrate mixes?

[BonnieLorraine]

The several inches of hydroballs won't really affect how damp the eco earth stays, its kind of like comparing the water retention of a sponge to the water retention of a hand full of sand. The sponge can drain all it wants, it's just going to hold a lot of water. ABG has some sponge like components (the lfs and peat moss) mixed with lots of things to create air spaces and add drainage. Don't forget that in gardening the air spaces in your soil are just as important as the ability to hold water

[Meefloaf]

anything we should look out for when creating ABG ? i've stumbled into a few problems so far to get info on equivalent UK items (drylok being the main one)

[deranged chipmunk]

anything we should look out for when creating ABG ? i've stumbled into a few problems so far to get info on equivalent UK items (drylok being the main one)

drylok is a latex based paint. i think you may be confused? ABG stands for Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

[Meefloaf]

drylok is a latex based paint. i think you may be confused? ABG stands for Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

sorry, i left key part of my question. basically i've joined a few forums to help get some knowledge, so far this forum has been the most helpful, however, mostly american. I know drylok and ABG are different, my point was that some of the stuff that gets recommended is different over in the UK, drylok being my example as you cant get it here and i've been searching for an equivalent UK version. so what i was trying to ask was, being in the UK is there anything you can suggest we look out for on packaging to avoid etc, like with the lumpwood coal, i'm not 100% but we may add something to it over here etc that could be harmful to our pets.

sorry for the mix up

[deranged chipmunk]

i gotcha. the difference in terminologies does kind of screw things up a bit. i do know of people here that use standard grilling charcoal that they crush up for use with abg mixes. but one must beware of brands with lighting fluid saturated in the coals. normally garden/plant centers that deal with orchids will have everything you would need to make the mix. possibly an online vendor of orchids and orchid growing supplies in the U.K. may have what you need. if you can find an online vendor, and you are unsure of an item, post a link and i'm sure someone can tell you if the item will be safe hope that helps.

[BonnieLorraine]

I'm not sure what the UK equivalent to drylok would be, but for the charcoal, garden centers, especially ones dealing with orchids, should carry some form of horticultural charcoal

[Meefloaf]

cheers guys ! i've found things very frustrating when it comes to these things due to terminologies etc because most things on the net are american aha you'd think there'd be one brit doing a viv/terra background using masonry waterproofer, but no aha.

[deranged chipmunk]

believe me, it is just as difficult for us to recommend items as well, since we are unfamiliar with what is available over seas. maybe you can be the pioneer in bridging the gap between the two continents