Seramis- clay granules

[Maggi Young]

Ian bagged four tonnes of sand and gravel and then we've unloaded it from those bags ,  barrowed it and reloaded it to storage bays over the last few days.

A stone slinger can put sand, gravel, mulch, etc into otherwise inaccesible areas.

Do you have them over there?

Or your bags could be lifted up and over with a rented crane.

 Access to where we want to store the sand and gravel is severely restricted, Diane, even for such machinery. Even if that were not the case we could not afford that sort of hire cost.    We are on a very limited income and anything we can do ourselves we will work away at.

[Maren]

Martin,

where do you get your pumice grit from? I have been looking to source it from the UK, but it was so expensive, I didn't bother. Instead, I rented a van and took it to Belgium, where I bought a tonne of pumice, which I decanted into used compost bags so that I was able to lift them into the van.

It proved quite a challenge for the French customs police at Calais who were hoping that I had lots of dope stashed in the bags. Every bag was opened, a sniffer dog was deployed and eight officers stood about supervising, guns at the ready. Two bags were taken to their office, where they were probably tipped on the floor and inspected. Much to their annoyance, they didn't find anything.

Before they let me go, the head honcho asked me why the pumice was in used bags. I told him it was because was unable to lift a 1 tonne bag into the van. - He was not happy.

So if you have a UK source for the stuff, I'd love to try it.

[Martin Baxendale]

Maren,

I've always got mine from Viresco, which used to be John Mclaughlan Horticulture, in North Yorkshire. They've previously offered various grades. But recently they decided to stop stocking it and sell off their remaining stock, a lot of which I bought. They still stock Moler baked clay granules which are also good.

The other day John phoned me and asked if I'd like some more pumice grit as he'd had various customers requesting more than he could supply from remaining stocks. He was taking advance orders so he could place a bulk order for more, but only of the 2-3mm pumice grit (which I find is ideal for composts for small bulbs).

You could try giving them a ring and ask if it's too late to order some. If you want a lot he might even do a special order for you. It's pretty expensive by the bag, so ask for prices, but they do quantity discounts. It's delivered by courier. Here's a link to their web page with the phone number:

http://www.viresco-uk.com/information/horticultural_other_products.asp

[angie]

Ian bagged four tonnes of sand and gravel and then we've unloaded it from those bags ,  barrowed it and reloaded it to storage bays over the last few days.

A stone slinger can put sand, gravel, mulch, etc into otherwise inaccesible areas.

Do you have them over there?

Or your bags could be lifted up and over with a rented crane.

 Access to where we want to store the sand and gravel is severely restricted, Diane, even for such machinery. Even if that were not the case we could not afford that sort of hire cost.    We are on a very limited income and anything we can do ourselves we will work away at.

My husband is in construction and has had to hire cranes to lift material over houses as there in no access at the rear or side of the property. It is so costly, with permits and hire. I think the cheapest cost that we have managed to get is I hr hire @ £250 .No I think the barrow and the good back is better and then you can spend the £250 that you have saved on plants and chocolate cake

Angie
I am with Maggi, wheel barrows and a good back is the way to go.

[Lesley Cox]

Ahhh... but if the back is NOT so good? 

Neither Roger nor the dogs will come near me at present as I've just discovered the benefits of Mentholatum Deep Heat cream for bad back and a strained shoulder. It is not quite a miracle cure but does relieve the pain to quite a large degree. Makes some things possible that have not been recently.