I was listening to Bonsai Wire (a podcast). They had an exchange about using corn starch jelly in muck, in place of clay. Corn starch being easier to get here than clay, I’m going to make a note in case it comes in useful:
Michael: One thing that I’ve found that which works well for me which I didn’t invent, I believe it was somebody in Hawaii who did. It’s a three-part recipe that involves:
* long-fibered sphagnum moss, nothing that you’re shredding or breaking up.
* I use akadama fines because I usually throw them out. But you can use a lot of things. It’s not really sticky; it doesn’t hold together very well. So, there’s a lot of things you can use for that to substitute for that.
* And then corn starch, this should be cooked over a range or in in a microwave. It’s kind of like this jelly consistency.
And roughly thirds of all three of these things put together with some water, mixed up, will give you this paste that you can make any stiffness you want. And it will stiffen as it dries. The next day it’s quite a bit stiff. And roots grow right into it. Of course there’s corn starch in there and they want to go right after that. It’s being broken down.
Jonas: How do you make jelly out of the corn starch?
Michael: It’s normal baking corn starch. You add water to it. I’d do it the other way around. You bakers know more about this than I do. I did this wrong for a long time. What I do now is I put water in a pan or pot or something. And then add tablespoons of cornstarch so that water soaks up from the bottom. Because if you don’t do that you get lumpy – just a mess. So, once it’s saturated you can whisk it up pretty well with a fork or a whisk and then put it over a low heat or put it in a microwave. Take it out now and then and whisk it. But it turns into a jelly and when it cooks it firms up a little bit. And that’s what holds this muck together.
Jonas: Nice.
Michael and Jonas chat about bonsai containers, starting at 45:56
The recipes I’ve heard have all used sphagnum moss. Akadama is often replaced with manure. But corn starch instead of clay is new to me.