Prime Agra - Reuse or not?

[Ron-NY]

I wondered about that too.

How long do you boil the PA for, Ron? That's usually how I pre-treat new PA. Also, FWIW, the plants who's mix I would be reusing are not sick or dead plants, just going to new homes and I'm short on prime agra!

I boil it for about 20 min. Baking would bring it to higher temps if virus are a concern. Boiling will take care of bacteria.

 

[SlipperFan]

I rinse my PrimeAgra, then soak it in a 10% bleach solution for a day or so. Then I rinse it well and let it dry before using it again. I don't see any evidence of salts on it afterwards, and the bleach kills any pathogens.

 

[couscous74]

I boil first because it leaches out any salts, then throw in the oven. Bonus part about the oven is that it gets the media dry again for storage.

 

[Heather]

Cool! Thanks for the 411!

 

[NYEric]

Sounds like a good solution. Unfortuantely NYC time distortion makes buying new media cheaper. E.

 

[couscous74]

Sounds like a good solution. Unfortuantely NYC time distortion makes buying new media cheaper. E.

Spoken like a man who hasn't bought PrimeAgra...

 

[NYEric]

Prime Agra sounds the same as Aliflor. There's a really good source of supplies near NYC called The Potting Source. Prices are pretty good so material is cheap, time is expensive. Heck I have a cheap parking spot at $125/month. Some of my friends couldn't believe I pay to park, but then again they live in Wyoming. E.

 

[ScottMcC]

PrimeAgra is similar to aliflor, but not identical. Here's a link to more detailed information: http://www.firstrays.com/PrimeAgra/compare2.htm

 

[NYEric]

Thanx a lot for the info. I use the aliflor when I want the mix to drain out. My concern would be the irregularity of the surface retaining salts, so I will acount for that when I repot. E.

 

[Heather]

Has anyone tried Ray's "new improved" Prime agra?
I much prefer the weight of PA to aliflor, which seems very light to me.

 

[NYEric]

Haha. I checked the invoice from the Potting Source and it turns out it is Prime Agra all along. The price doesn't seem unreasonable, maybe I'm just used to NYC pricing $7.00 for a hamburger, no fries, etc. E.