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I've decided to start rooting cuttings in things other than water. In a discussion under Are these going to become roots on these cuttings? They're taking forever to appear, and I'm worried about the cutting not getting nutrients, vermiculite and sand are suggested as common solid alternatives, and I've read about both.

The former can be bought at gardening supply outlets, but it would be fun to try some of the finer sands from one of the local ocean beaches.

I assume I can wash the sand several times (soaking and agitating) to remove easily soluble salts, perhaps the hotter the water the better?

Is it likely to be that simple or are there other things I should do to be cautious? Boiling? Soapy water? Dilute bleach?

uhoh
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Saltwater beach sand, getting the salt off is the main issue. Repeated freshwater soaking & draining should do it, yes. After the initial couple of rinses, let it soak a good long time.

If you're looking to kill off most things that are of concern (though I have doubts many would be in saltwater beach sand, viably) getting it up to "hot compost temperatures" (140°F/60°C) should do - full on sterilization is not really called for nor practical without an autoclave, as far as I understand things.

I suppose I should also have mentioned perlite as another common media. It wasn't particularly common where and when I started gardening, or perhaps it just cost more than vermiculite at that time so my family didn't buy it. So I'm not much in the habit of using it, personally, but it's functionally similar to vermiculite in many ways.

Incidentally, if you have access to beaches, collecting seaweed and rinsing it of excess salt (typically in areas with adequate rainfall by spreading it out on the surface of the soil somewhere the salt rinsing off it won't affect things you are growing, and leaving it for a while) is an excellent compost addition.

Ecnerwal
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